Details
MEREVALE MEREVALE LANE
SP29NE (South-east side)
1/127 Church of Our Lady
25/03/68
GV I
Church, originally the chapel of Our Lady at the Gate, a remnant of Merevale
Abbey. Nave late C13; chancel and south chancel aisle c.1340; chancel renewed
and north aisle added c.1500. Nave aisles removed and arcades blocked, possibly
C18; vestries built on site of south aisle 1850. Restored 1892-1893 by Alfred
Bickerdike. Regular coursed/ashlar sandstone; west end of coursed sandstone
rubble. Plain-tile roofs have coped gable parapets; north chancel aisle roof is
hidden by parapet. Nave, aisled chancel and south vestries. Early English,
Decorated and Perpendicular styles. Unusual plan, with aisled 4-bay chancel and
2-bay nave. Chancel has moulded and splay plinth, and moulded sill course.
Buttresses of differing designs each have offset, weatherings and gablet. Large
5-light Perpendicular window has panel tracery, and hood mould with head stops.
Gable parapet has trefoiled gablet kneelers and cross finial. Perpendicular
4-bay north aisle has moulded plinth, cornice and parapet. Diagonal, western and
3 north buttresses have 2 moulded offsets and crocketed pinnacles. East wall is
blank. 3-light north windows have deep hollow-chamfered jambs and hood moulds
with head stops. Blocked west arch, formerly to nave aisle, has an inner blocked
arch of differing design. South aisle has splay plinth and cornice. Massive C18
or C19 diagonal buttress incorporating old masonry. Tall 3-light east window of
moulded orders has Curvilinear tracery similar to some tracery in the Church
of St. Mary, Astley (q.v.). South side has 3 broader 3-light windows with
similar tracery. Western window is shorter and has blocked segmental-arched
doorway below. 2-light west window set high up. Nave north wall has blocked C14
2-bay arcade of 2 chamfered orders and octagonal pier and half-octagonal
responds with moulded capitals. Early English west front has remains of splay
plinth. Plain buttress. Doorway of 3 moulded orders; the 2 outer orders have
moulded capitals of missing shafts. Ribbed and studded double-leaf doors.
3-light window above has stepped lancets and piercings. Nave and former aisle
walls in one; south aisle wall has coping. Small square bell turret of 1893 on
nave roof is tile-hung and has steep pyramid plain-tile roof and weathervane.
Paired trefoiled openings have wood louvres. Vestries have 3 segmental-pointed
doorways. Central plank door. The other openings are partially blocked, with
windows inserted. Interior: chancel has 4-bay Perpendicular arcades, with
elaborately moulded arches and slender piers of lozenge section, very thinly
moulded; thin half-round shafts rise from abaci to moulded cornice, forming
large framed panels. Boarded 4-centred barrel roof, reconstructed in 1893 from
the old materials, has moulded arch braces, ribs and-purlins and carved bosses,
and wall posts. C13 chancel arch of 2 roll-moulded orders has half-round
responds with moulded capitals to inner arch, and hood mould. Moulded circular
opening above. North aisle has moulded wall shafts. Panelled timber ceiling of
c.1893. Blocked moulded west arch. South aisle has moulded windows with hood
moulds and head stops. Arched common rafter roof. Blocked elaborately moulded
west arch has hood mould with head stops. Nave has blocked C14 arcades with
continuous hood moulds and central head stop, defaced to south. South-east bay
has a re-set head corbel within it. Barrel roof is similar to chancel, but
simpler. Fittings: Perpendicular wood screen across west end is moulded but
without tracery or dado. Doorway has arch and wide straight-headed flanking bays
have curved braces with cusped spandrels. Pulpitum is supported on similar
brackets. Loft has panelled front with blind tracery, probably mostly Cl9. It
was probably originally the rood screen. Some medieval encaustic tiles. Cabinet
organ of 1777 by Johann Schnetzler. C19 family pew in south aisle. Octagonal
font of c.1893. Stained glass. East window has incomplete but very fine C14 Tree
of Jesse, probably removed from the Abbey during the Civil War, found buried in
the grounds of Merevale Hall and restored and installed in the early C19.
Tracery has some late C14 and C15 work. 2 south windows and a north window have
some C14 glass. South aisle east 1882, south-east 1871. Monuments: brass in
chancel floor: Robert, Earl Ferrers 1412 and his wife; of high quality.
Alabaster chest tomb against nave south wall c.1440 has effigies of a knight and
lady, and 4 angels holding shields. Effigy of a knight against north wall of
second half of C15 is headless and footless. Wall monument across east corner of
south aisle: Francis Stratford 1762 and Ann 1779. Panel with moulded frame with
cornice and scrolled pediment, with cartouche and palms below. 3 hatchments in
nave, and 2 to Francis and Ann Stratford in north aisle. Medieval stone coffins
behind screen.
(Buildings of England: Warwickshire: pp351-353; VCH: Warwickshire: Vol IV,
pp144-147)
Listing NGR: SP2905197725
