Stoke Bardolph
St Luke

Archaeology

The building comprises nave and chancel with a vestry extension to the north of the chancel. It is constructed from red brick with stone dressings.

Lancet window

Chancel arch and double
lancet east window

The style is uniformly of the 13th century with plain, single lancet windows throughout and a paired lancet in the east wall. The chancel arch has plain chamfering and the inner order dies into the imposts which are ill-defined. All works are clearly very poor imitations of the gothic fashion.

Apart from functional alterations made in the 21st century the building is entirely of 1844 and contains no visible earlier material.

The fragmentary architectural finds made in 1844 during the construction of the present building indicate that its medieval predecessor may have dated from the 13th century.

Technical summary

Timbers and roofs

	NAVE	CHANCEL	TOWER
Main	Plain rafters with horizontal ties, king posts, and raking braces. All 1844.	Plain rafters with horizontal ties, king post, and raking braces. All 1844.	n/a
S.Aisle	n/a	n/a
N.Aisle	n/a
Other principal
Other timbers

Bellframe

Plain, stone single bellcote on west gable, with copings, all of 1844. There is a similar, diminutive, bellcote on the nave-chancel junction but without a bell. Elphick type A, Pickford Group 9.A.

Scheduled for preservation Grade 3.

Walls

	NAVE	CHANCEL	TOWER
Plaster covering & date	Plastered and painted, C19th - C21st.	Plastered and painted, C19th - C21st.	n/a.
Potential for wall paintings	Very unlikely.	Very unlikely.	n/a

Excavations and potential for survival of below-ground archaeology

There have been no known archaeological excavations. Excavation for the 1844 building apparently revealed 'relics' that appear to have included a fragment of an arch and part of the capital of a shaft, including three slender clustered columns of Early English style. This tends to indicate that the present building occupies the site of the medieval church.

The fabric dates entirely from 1844 with some areas of C20th and C21st restoration and alteration. As the entire church is probably on the site of its medieval predecessor, notwithstanding that below-ground stratigraphy will be very heavily disturbed, remnants of medieval deposits may remain at depth.

The standing fabric was entirely rebuilt in 1844.

The churchyard is square, with the church positioned towards the northern end. Marked burials appear to be present only on the south side, but pre-1844 inhumations may exist elsewhere in the churchyard.

The overall potential for the survival of below-ground archaeology in the churchyard, is considered to be LOW-MODERATE, comprising mainly burials of post 1844, and much evidence of rebuilding in the C19th. It is a possibility that the medieval church was partially sited elsewhere in the churchyard, offset from the present building, in which case the potential for surviving medieval deposits is UNKNOWN. Below the present interior floors of the rebuilt church it is considered to be LOW-MODERATE. The standing fabric of the church is all C19th and the potential for surviving medieval archaeology in the standing fabric is considered to be LOW, with the very remote possibility of some reused material hidden below plaster.

Exterior: Burial numbers expected to be low; this has never been a large settlement and burials may have taken place at Gedling or Shelford in the medieval period. However the true extent of burials has not been established and medieval graves may exist.

Interior: Stratigraphy under the church is likely to be very heavily disturbed mid-C19th building layers but with the possibility of some survival of medieval deposits beneath.