59 



however, with its ancient doorway and circular window, its 

 clerestory, and the beautiful sepulchral chapel of the Bekkeley 

 family, are well worthy of a study. 



No positive records exist of the erection of the church, but 

 it is supposed by Fosbeoke to have been founded by Eobeet 

 FiTZHARDiNGE during the building of the castle. An older 

 church, attached to a tower of which the present one is a 

 modern reproduction, formerly stood on the other side of the 

 churchyard, biit it is not known whether it was the prebendal 

 church which existed here down to the latter end of the twelfth 

 centuiy, or some remnant of the nunnery which was suppressed 

 in the reign of Edward the Confessor. 



If, however, Fitzhardinge built a church it must have been 

 gradually rebuilt at subsequent periods, as nothing now remains 

 which is clearly of his era except the south doorway and the 

 font. There are, however, some appearances of work of a still 

 more ancient date, which countenance the supposition that 

 Fi'TZHARDiNGE partly rebuilt a previously existing Saxon church, 

 and that his church was again altered and rebuilt by his suc- 

 cessors during the 13th and 14th centuries. The arcades and 

 the west window and doorway were probably the work of 

 Thomas, the 6th Lord, during the reign of Edward I. The 

 chancel was next enlarged and the south aisle rebuilt probably 

 by Lord Thomas his grandson early in the 14th century, and 

 the re-erection of the north aisle took place at a somewhat later 

 period. These alterations were probably made while the vener- 

 able Trevisa was the parish priest. 



The perpendicular windows in the chancel and the rood screen 

 of the same style, are of much later date. The latter was 

 probably put in to replace an older one of timber, and perhaps 

 also to counteract some tendency to give way which is still 

 visible in the chancel arch. 



The paintings on the walls of the church are most valuable 

 and interesting examples of ancient decorative art. 



They are exact reproductions of the original decorations of 

 the 13th century, remains of which were found in all parts of 

 the church when the repeated coats of whitewash and plaster 



