St Mary’s Church, Standon, Herts, UK - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The church of St. Mary, situated in the middle of the village, consists of chancel, north vestry, south organ chamber, nave, north and south aisles, south porch, west porch, south-east tower. The walls are of flint with stone dressings; the tower is covered with cement.

The earliest part of the existing church is the chancel, which dates from about 1230–40. The nave appears to have been rebuilt about the middle of the 14th century, but the west doorway is earlier, about 1320–30. The north and south aisles are of the same date as the nave. The west porch and a detached tower to the south of the chancel were added in the 15th century. The unusual position of the tower is probably due to the existence of the west doorway of an earlier date. In 1864 the church was thoroughly repaired, much of the external stone was replaced, the whole building re-roofed, a vestry built north of the chancel, the upper part of the tower repaired with brick and cemented, an organ-chamber erected on the south side, connecting the chancel with the tower, and a timber south porch added.

This church presents several interesting features unusual in the Hertfordshire churches. The chancel has a considerable elevation above the floor of the nave. The floors of both nave and chancel have a perceptible inclination upwards towards the east; this is probably partly due to the slope of the ground, and there is a belief, which, however, has never been investigated, that a vault exists under the chancel. The other unusual features are the detached tower on the south, now connected with the chancel, and the west porch.

The fine chancel arch dates from about 1230–40. The arch is of two richly moulded orders, with the dog-tooth ornament between. The jambs are moulded, and have modern detached shafts of red Devonshire marble. The moulded bases and the capitals of carved foliage are original.

The nave has north and south arcades of five pointed arches. Over each pier is a clearstory window of two lights, the inner jambs of which belong to the early 15th century, the rest of the stonework being modern.

The west doorway is of early 14th-century date, with moulded clunch arch and jambs of oolite. The west window has four lights, with flowing tracery of about 1340–50.

The east window of the north aisle is of three cinquefoiled lights with flowing tracery. The west window is also of three lights with flowing tracery. The four windows in the north wall are of two lights with traceried heads. All the windows are of mid14th-century date, repaired

The windows in the south aisle are similar to those in the north, the section of the inner label in the windows in the south wall being different.

The south porch is modern. The west porch is of 15th-century date.

The south-east tower is of three stages, with doorways on the north and west sides. The second stage is pierced by loops. In each face of the belfry stage is a two-light window with traceried head. The tower is finished with an embattled parapet and a small leaded spire.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1350 Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Church of England Street address of Church: St Mary's Church High St Standon, Herts UK Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: Not Listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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