This Grade I listed parish church has probably C12th or C13th walling, there is a window in the south aisle c1300; an early C14th south arcade, north windows to the nave, alterations to the south porch, chancel arch, and details in lower part of tower; C15th upper stage to the tower, clearstorey windows and embattled parapets; early C16th south chapel (the Hoo or Lady Chapel); the chancel remodelled in 1727 for Edward Gilbert of the Bury; the whole church restored 1891-5; north-east vestry added 1901; east window opened 1946; chancel colour scheme 1972 by Raymond Erith; church rooms in the churchyard were linked to the north door in 1973-4.
Built of flint rubble with coursed flint facing and stone dressings, the church consists of a chancel and south chapel, a higher nave with windows at two levels in the north side, a south aisle, a gabled south porch, and a heavy buttressed west tower on the central axis of the whole building, and a small north-east vestry with gabled corner buttresses. The east end and south chapel are plastered. There is a steep red tile roof to the chancel; a slate roof to the nave, hipped to the east; and flatter pitched metal roofs behind the parapets elsewhere.
The West Tower is of two stages with large angle buttresses. The west wall extends to the south in a projecting stair turret carried higher than the embattled parapet. Pole and vane on top. The C14th west doorway is of two continuous hollow chamfered orders. There are narrow plain lancets to three sides high up in ground stage with a two-light quatrefoil headed bell opening on each side, and openings at five levels on the west side. Moulded plinth to stair turret and buttresses but not to the tower. The lowest C14th west window is a single trefoil light, rebated for an internal shutter, and holds a rare survival, an early C14th stained glass window of the Virgin and Child, the Virgin mostly brown and green has lost her face, the Child is draped in red.
The following is a table extracted from Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers showing the weights in kg, the sounding notes of the bells, the founder and the year of casting.
Bell Weight Note Dated Founder
1 217.72 D 1938 John Taylor & Co
2 269.43 C c1665 Anthony Chandler
3 322.96 Bb 1665 Anthony Chandler
4 396.44 A 1665 Anthony Chandler
5 464.48 G 1814 John Briant
6 597.83 F 1665 Anthony Chandler
The bells are hung anti-clockwise, quite unusual these days when almost all bells are hung clockwise. These are terms which may make no sense to non-ringers. Basically the bells are hung in a frame and the ropes fall into the ringing chamber in a circle. With an anti-clockwise ring the 'next heavier bell' is to the right of the lighter bell, except for the tenor, the heaviest bell, which has the treble, the lightest bell, to its right. Conversely with a 'conventional' ring of bells the 'next heavier bell' is to the left. Ringing practice is on Wednesday night at 2000 and the bells are rung for divine services.
Anthony Chandler was one of the Chandler family of bell founders who cast bells in Drayton Parslow, Buckinghamshire from 1635 to 1736. Anthony was the founder from 1650 to 1679.
John Briant was born in 1748 and cast bells in Hertford from 1779 until 1825. The firm was taken over by one T Mears II in 1825. He died in 1829.
John Taylor & Co cast bells at the Loughborough foundry. John was the then founder in a long line of Taylors beginning with Robert in 1786, the foundry having been started by Joseph Eayre in 1735. The foundry is still working and from May 2017 will be the only bell foundry working in the UK, as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry is closing after over 250 years in Whitechapel.
Words variously from British Listed Buildings, Pevsner's Hertfordshire Buildings, Simon Jenkins' England's Thousand Best Churches, all amended and added to with own on-site observations.
Co-ordinates are for the tower.