By C. E, Pouting, F.8.A. 273 



CoDFORD St. Mart. 



I have been able to glean some interesting information of the 

 state of this Church before its restoration from " Memorials of the 

 Parish of Codford Si, Mary," written by Dr. Ingram (author of 

 "Memorials of Oxford," and President of Trinity College), and 

 published by Parker in 1844. This book has been kindly lent to 

 me by the present Rector, and as it contains an illustration of the 

 old Church it is valuable. Its plan consisted of nave with a porch 

 on the south near the west end, chancel, and western tower, and all 

 which is shown in the sketch of the exterior is Late Decorated and 

 Perpendicular work. 



In 1843 a portion of the south wall of the nave near the east 

 end fell down " in consequence of its being hollowed out in the 

 inside, first to receive the rood-loft and then the pulpit." On this 

 Mr. Wyatt took in hand the restoration and enlargement of the 

 Church, and "it was deemed necessary to take down the greater 

 part of the old structure to the foundation, with the exception of 

 the tower and a part of the chancel." A south aisle of three bays 

 was added to the nave and an organ chamber on the south of the 

 chancel : Mr. Wyatt's octagonal piers have subsequently been 

 converted into circular ones. Fortunately the re-building did not 

 extend to the unique chancel arch, which I will presently describe ; 

 but all traces of the rood-loft have disappeared, and the Elizabethan 

 monument which previously stood on the south of the sanctuary, 

 the wall projecting on the outside behind it, was removed to the 

 new organ chamber. This projection Dr. Ingram considers was 

 originally built for sedilia, which were removed to make way for 

 the monument, but as the plan shows the two buttresses on the 

 south to have been thinner than those on the north it seems more 

 likely that it was erected to receive the monument. On the removal 

 of the whitewash over the chancel arch it was found that it had 

 been "sprinkled in fresco with a darkish red colour," and partially 

 enriched with a kind of running scroll-work of the same material, 

 and traces of this still exist. Dr. Ingram goes on to say " evidences 

 of the prevalent taste of succeeding periods were observable in 

 difierent parts of the edifice : the hagioscope, the confessional, the 



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