Clifton: St Mary the Virgin
Overview
Grid reference: ST 580 738
The material within and without is warm pink sandstone, with Bath stone dressings, doorways and window surrounds. The west front is striking and not without dignity, the wall of the nave being taken up almost entirely by the west door in the lower part and an ample rose window in the upper.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Four-bay aisled nave, chancel with arches opening into an organ chamber on the north side and a transeptal chapel on the south. The sanctuary extends one bay further east. The slope of the site allows for a vestry beneath the south transept and further vestries and a large room beneath the nave. The ground floor of a projected tower forms the north-west porch.
Description of Archaeology and History
By James Piers St. Aubyn, whose practice was chiefly in Devon and Cornwall. The foundation stone was laid on November 23rd, 1870, and the church was consecrated (without the two west bays of the nave) on 30th June, 1874. The building was completed on 13th October, 1881. The porch which was to have supported a tower and spire was inaugurated on 27th January, 1884. The church replaced an iron building which had for eight and a half years previously been used for worship. This was constructed by Kent of Euston Road, London, to a design by G.E. Street, but has long since gone.
Exterior Description
The material within and without is warm pink sandstone, with Bath stone dressings, doorways and window surrounds. The west front is striking and not without dignity, the wall of the nave being taken up almost entirely by the west door in the lower part and an ample rose window in the upper. The double doorway is set within five receding pointed arches, all with identical mouldings below a gable which projects slightly from the wall surface. The tympanum is not carved'and the central column dividing the doorway should have a statue above it. The rose window above is a prickly design with much cusping; there are twelve mouchettes in the central circle surrounded by twelve cinquefoils in lesser circles. In the gable above is a small lancet which lights the roof space within. Buttresses with set-offs at unequal intervals divide the nave wall from the aisles, and the aisles have smaller buttresses at the corners of the building. The windows in the west walls of the aisles are three-light Decorated designs.
The porch at the north-west corner is a reminder of the ambition to have a fine tower and spire by which the church would indeed by visually much enhanced. But all that was built was the lowest stage, which now forms the porch for the north entrance to the church, finished with a low-pitched gabled roof. The doorway itself is grandiose with nook—shafts and recessed arches enclosing a group of three quatrefoils in the place of a tympanum. Tho bell is housed in a small wooden cote on the wall above the porch at clerestory level.
The windows of the aisles on both is one church are two-light with trefoils in the heads. Each bay is separated by gabled buttresses with set-offs which are similar to those at the corners of the building. The clerestory has four windows, one in each bay. Each is of three lights and, in the upper part, they have alternately a single cinquefoil and two trefoils and a quatre-foil.
The north transept has (like the main parts of the church) a steeply pitched roof. In the gable wall is a very large window of four lights with cinquefoils and a sexfoil in the tracery. Two small lancets light the east wall. The east window of the chancel (the only window of the chancel) is of five main lights with a rather unusual design based on a cross and a circle in the head. The side walls of the chancel, having no windows, are blank outside.
The south side of the church is similar to the north except that, the ground falling away quite steeply, various rooms have been formed under the church. Outside the windows of the vestry in the basement of the south transept are buttresses in the form of half-arches against the wall. These are structurally useful and also an interesting visual feature. Under the south aisle are windows of simple design, six to each bay grouped in threes. The most prominent feature of the south side of the church is the chimney which rises above the roof-lines at the junction of nave and chancel.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
The east window is by Wailes of Newcastle, and representsscenes from the Life of Christ.
Stained Glass
In the north aisle by the north door, the Last Supper, the design being by Philip Westlake.
Stained Glass
In the south aisle, the window by Lavers and Westlake represents the Sacrament of Baptism and was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Easter 1894. The central light has St. John baptising Christ, and in the side lights are the scenes of Christ with Children recorded by St. Matthew (18: ii) and St. Mark (10:xiv).
Stained Glass
The windows of the south aisle are devoted to the life of Christ, depicting: (a) Christ in the Temple (1899). (b) The Resurrection (1898). The colouring of this window is bright. (c) The window nearest the east end of the aisle is exceedingly strange.
Stained Glass
In the north aisle are three windows, the two more notable being (a) Christ preaching to the people (1877), with rather poor colouring. (b) Christ in the carpenter's shop, by Burlison and Grills (1880).
Interior
Interior Description
Inside, the church is rather dark, but the large windows of the clerestory help to light the nave, and the texture and warm colour of the stone wall-surfaces is attractive. The nave is spacious. The arcades are slender and there is a low screen which allows a full view of the chancel. The east window repeats the rhythm of the chancel arch, which itself goes well with the nave arcades.
The plain cylindrical piers of the nave arcades contrast strongly with the profuse and idiosyncratic carving of the capitals. On that nearest the pulpit on the north side, are the heads of four female characters of the New Testament - "the Blessed Virgin ( to whom the church is dedicated) a face of beauty; St. Elizabeth, the features showing the thoughtful gravity of age, then the Magdalene with flowing locks and St. Salome". The next pillar has on shields the instruments of the Passion. The third pillar has four angels with outspread wings. The half-capital against the west wall has the Good Shepherd. On the south side, the Western capital is "the Children's pillar, built mainly by the pence of the children who attended the Catechizing Service in the first built part of the church.
Most of the windows in the aisles are filled with stained glass of variable quality, but the clerestory is clear to allow some light to enter. The organ takes up the whole of the north transept, and the south transept is a chapel from which stairs lead flown to the vestry beneath. The vestry has a central pier and quadlipartite vaulting. The transepts have wide double arches opening into the chancel. In the spandrel between the arches on each side is a roundel. That on the north depicts in high relief the Resurrection of Our Lord and that on the south the General Resurrection.
The chancel arch itself is supported on shafts of Dartmoor marble, three on each side and the arches at the sides of the chancel are on piers of Cornish serpentine.
The whole chancel is an ecclesiologistls delight, just right in,every way; from the patterned encaustic tiles on the floor to the superb carving of foliage on the capitals, from the east window of scenes from the life of Christ to the rood in the chancel arch.
The nave is divided into two levels by a stringcourse which runs about a foot above the points of the arches of the arcade. The roof timbers are supported on corbels carrying attached columns, and the fluting of the corbels seen with the ebullient naturalistic foliage of the capitals is reminiscent of flaming torches. The foliage occurs in line with the stringcourse so that a sense of continuity is The west rose window seems set too high in the wall, although this is explained by the high gable above the west door outside. Certainly some relief on the large blank space below it internally would be welcome.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
The High Altar is said to be by Street, and has seven arched panels in the front painted with Saints on a gold background, the centre panel having a small copy of a Madonna by Raphael.
Reredos
The reredos is probably also by Street, a bold design which has five gables but on closer inspection is seen to have a central tabernacle behind the Cross and a single panel in relief each side. These side panels are painted in unsyypathetic colours (not original), and the architectural framework of the whole is also coloured.
Screen
The screen is about four feet high, modified (v. supra) by Singer of Frame, and is a fine example of richly curlicued ironwork. Steps, tiles and screen commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887.
Organ (object)
The organ, a three manual instrument by Hele and Co. was last rebuilt in 1942. It retains its stencilled display pipes.
Lectern
The Lectern is a double-bookrest type-of brass, given by the first Incumbent.
Pulpit
The pulpit is a round stone drum with niches under a richly carved band of foliage which encircles the top. In these niches are statues of Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, James, Andrew, The Virgin Mary, Christ, John. and Peter. The pulpit stands on clustered columns and has stone steps leading to it with a brass handrail.
Font (object)
The font stands at the west end of the south aisle and is octagonal with the symbols of the Evangelists in the panels round the bowl alternating with Alpha, Omega, the Dove and three fish. The carving was executed in 1908 although the pulpit was in the church from the first.
Plaque (object)
Plaque records that the baptismal rails (now removed) commemorated the architect, James Piers St.Aubyn.
Churchyard
Grid reference: ST 580 738
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
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