St. Mary's Church, Longcot
St. Mary's Church in Longcot stands on the south side of the village and consists of chancel 29 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 6 in., nave 67 ft. by 20 ft. 9 in., north porch, and west tower 12 ft. 6 in. square, all these measurements being internal. There is also a small modern vestry on the north side of the chancel. The chancel and nave are of 13th-century date, but with one exception all the windows are later insertions. The porch was added in the 15th century and the tower was rebuilt in 1721. The tower is faced with ashlar in large blocks, but the rest of the walling is of rubble and appears to have been at one time entirely covered with rough-cast. All but the north side of the nave is, however, now stripped. The roofs are caved and covered with stone slates. That of the nave seems to have been altered or repaired in 1606 and again in 1702, both dates being on the tie-beams, and the west gallery, since removed, was erected probably at the time that the tower was rebuilt. A south aisle, 30 ft. in length by 16 ft. wide, separated from the nave by semicircular arches, was added in 1847, but was pulled down in 1897, when the south wall was rebuilt on its original foundation. The church was at the same time restored, the roof being opened out and the plaster removed from the walls inside. The chancel has slightly projecting angle buttresses of a single stage, but the north and south walls are unbroken. The east window is of the 14th century and of two trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil above and an external hood mould; on either side of the altar, 16 in. above the present floor level, are two squareheaded aumbries, differing in size, with rebated and chamfered jambs. In the usual position in the south wall is a mutilated piscina with trefoiled head, the mouldings of which, together with the projecting part of the bowl, have been cut away. In the north wall is the only original 13th-century window in the church, a single lancet with wide internal splay and sloping sill. It is widely chamfered outside, but internally has a flat lintel. The two south windows are of the 15th century and of three and four lights respectively, both with square heads, the smaller with cinquefoiled and the larger with trefoiled lights. A two-light 15th-century window, formerly on the north side of the chancel to the west of the lancet, has been reset in the vestry wall. The chancel arch is pointed and of a single chamfered order, springing from hollow imposts carried along the walls on either side as a string. In the north-west corner of the chancel, about 4 ft. above the floor, are the remains of the rood-loft stairs, four steps being still in position. The doorway, which is placed across the angle, has a segmental head, and the upper opening to the loft remains facing the nave, though built up, and one of its jambs is gone. The corbels which supported the rood-beam remain one on either side of the arch near the crown. The chancel floor is flagged, and the roof consists of old coupled rafters with plaster between. Part of the head of a carved gable cross, found within the piscina when it was opened out, is preserved in the chancel. The nave has four windows on either side and two small low-side windows of 15th-century date close to the chancel arch, north and south, with cinquefoiled heads. The sills are 3 ft. above the floor. Of the nave windows proper, the easternmost on the north side is of 14th-century date and of two trefoiled lights with a lozenge-shaped trefoil opening above. The four-light window to the east of the porch has a four-centred head and perpendicular tracery, and that to the west is square-headed and of two lights. With the exception of the jambs, however, it is entirely new. The two middle windows on the south side are modern, being in that portion of the walling which replaced the destroyed arcade, and the easternmost is entirely new outside, though the jambs internally are original. The westernmost windows, north and south, are square-headed and of two lights high up in the wall. They appear to be of 15thcentury date, but have been restored, and were most likely placed in their present position when the gallery was erected. The north doorway is good 13th century work, with moulded trefoil arch below a semicircular label. The arch springs from moulded imposts and engaged angle shafts with carved capitals and moulded bases set within moulded jambs. On the west jamb is a votive cross. The nave roof consists of coupled rafters and five plain tie-beams, and is probably a reconstruction in 1702 of earlier work. The floor is flagged. The front of the porch is a good example of 15th-century timber work with ornamental barge-board and pointed arch moulded on the edge. The side walls are rough-casted and the roof covered with modern slates. The tower is of three stages with a straight parapet and angle ornaments. The belfry windows consist of single wide louvred openings with rounded heads and keystones, and there are similar blind windows in the middle stage. The west window is pointed and of two cinquefoiled lights above a segmentalheaded doorway. The diagonal angle buttresses are of three stages, and the tower arch is semicircular with keystone and plain blocks at the springing. The font consists of a plain circular stone bowl, shaped to octagonal on the underside, and may be of 13th-century date. The pulpit is a good example of Jacobean oakwork, hexagonal on plan, with carved and panelled sides, but all the other fittings are modern. Considerable remains of wall paintings were found at the time of the restoration in both chancel and nave, but they have not been preserved. There are no ancient monuments. Below the tower are the royal arms of George II, dated 1733. There is a ring of six bells by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester. Five were cast in 1722, the treble being added in 1729. There is also a little bell given by Archdeacon Berens, vicar of Shrivenham, in place of one which was cracked. The plate is modern and consists of three chalices, two patens and two flagons. The registers begin in 1667. Historical information about St. Mary's Church is provided by 'Parishes: Shrivenham', in A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4, ed. William Page and P H Ditchfield (London, 1924), pp. 531-543. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4/pp531-543 [accessed 6 March 2023]. St. Mary's Church is a Grade II* listed building. For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ST MARY, Longcot - 1048781 | Historic England. For more information about St. Mary's Church see Parishes: Shrivenham | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk). |
