A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



though the tooling is not decisive on the point. The 

 chancel retains some of its 13th-century facing of 

 coursed rubble banded with ashlar in the south wall, 

 against which the Trj-on chapel is built. The 

 chancel arch belongs to the first half of the 14th 

 century, and the north aisle was added in the 15th. 

 The tower belongs to the early part of this century, 

 and the Tryon chapel to the la"tter part ; the 

 clearstory and porch are of much the same date. 

 The church was 'restored' in 1857, and the wooden 

 fittings are mostly of that date. 



The chancel has a late 15th-century east window 

 of three cinquefoiled lights, the heads of which have 

 been renewed, under a four-centred arch. In the 

 north wall are two square-headed windows, each of 

 two trefoiled lights, of the early part of the 1 6th 

 century ; the head of the eastern of the two windows 

 has been renewed. In the south wall is the head of 

 an original lancet window, c. 1220, visible only from 

 the Tryon chapel. To the east of it, and low in the 

 wall, is a square-headed opening formerly filled with 

 two trefoiled lights, unglazed, giving a view of the 

 high altar from the chapel. This has been blocked 

 up, and no signs of it are to be seen from the chancel. 

 West of the lancet window is a blocked 15th-century 

 archway, with an embattled string at the springing 

 contemporary with the south chapel, and formerly 

 giving access to it. After the arch was blocked a 

 small opening with an oak frame seems to have been 

 left, but this was afterwards built up. At the west 

 end of the south wall is a late ijth-centurj- window 

 of two uncusped lights under an arched head with 

 moulded labels and mask dripstones inside and out, 

 the spandrel over the lights being pierced. Below the 

 sill of this window, and now only visible from out- 

 side, is a blocked low side window of two lights with 

 flattened ogee trefoiled heads, of 15th-century date. 



The chancel arch is of two orders, with a hollow 

 between two wave moulds ; it has half-octagonal 

 responds and plain capitals roughly worked, and on 

 the south side it slightly overlaps the south-west 

 window of the chancel. 



The north arcade of the nave is of two bays, with 

 pointed arches of two chamfered orders, and half- 

 round responds with moulded capitals and bases. 



The clearstory on both sides of the nave has 

 windows of two trefoiled lights with four-centred 

 heads. The north aisle has an east window of three tre- 

 foiled lights, the stonework being modern, and in the 

 north wall two similar windows with modern tracerj', 

 and one in the west w'all. The north doorway has a 

 plain four-centred head, and is of the 15 th century. 



In the south wall of the nave are two large square- 

 headed three-light windows which maybe of 15th- 

 century date, with, in each light, three cusps on the 

 underside of the flat head, and one on each muUion — 

 a curious and somewhat clumsy detail which occurs at 

 King's Cliffe and elsewhere in the neighbourhood. 



The south doorway has a four-centred arch with 

 carved paterae in the head and jambs, and a crocketed 

 ogee label flanked by pinnacles ; in the spandrel over 

 the head of the door is a shield bearing three bells, 

 the arms of the Porter family. The details are well exe- 

 cuted, but the stonework has been a good deal patched. 



The west tower is a fine specimen of local t)'pe. 



with shallow clasping buttresses at the angles built of 

 very good ashlar, with a moulded plinth, and strings 

 at each stage. In the west face is a doorway with 

 continuous mouldings and a low four-centred head, 

 and over it a window of three cinquefoiled lights. In 

 the stage above is a small trefoiled light under a square 

 label, and in the belfry stage two-light transomed 

 windows in each face, the lights being cinquefoiled, 

 with a quatrefoiled opening over them. The parapet 

 is embattled, with tall crocketed angle pinnacles. 



The tower opens to the church with a sharply- 

 pointed chamfered arch of two orders, with half-round 

 responds and moulded capitals and bases.' 



The south or Tryon chapel has an east window of 

 good detail, with three cinquefoiled lights under a 

 four-centred head, two square-headed south windows, 

 each of two uncusped four-centred lights, and a 

 modern west doorway and shallow porch. All the 

 windows and the doorvvay are blocked with 

 masonry, and the interior is quite inaccessible at 

 present. It has been used as a mortuary chapel of 

 the Tr)'on family, and the whole area of its floor is 

 taken up with a large masonr)' vault, the top of which 

 is about a foot above the original floor level. In the 

 north wall of the chapel are several interesting 

 features, already described in the account of the 

 chancel, and in the plaster on its east wall the out- 

 lines of the pre-Reformation altar' and its mensa are 

 clearly to be seen, the sill of the window above being 

 built up with rubble masonry for a short distance to 

 make a backing for a reredos.^ 



None of the woodwork in the church is ancient, 

 and there are no remains of old glass or wall paintings. 



The font, which stands under the tower, is of 

 the 15 th centur)', with an octagonal bowl, shaft, 

 and base, the surface of the bowl having been much 

 retooled. 



At the east end of the north aisle is a brass with a 

 small figure, in memory of Elizabeth FoUett, who 

 died 20 February, I 5 18. 



The plate consists of a silver communion cup, 

 c. 1570, made by the probably local silversmith whose 

 mark is a fish in an ellipse ; a cover paten, undated, 

 of Elizabethan shape, but probably contemporar}' with 

 the bread-holder next described ; a bread-holder of 

 1683 ; and a large flagon of 1 67 1. The two last 

 pieces are inscribed 'The guift of Elizabeth Clarke to 

 the parish church of Colli Weston, 1683.' 



There are two bells, the treble, re-cast in 1903 by 

 Taylor, of Loughborough, reproducing its former 

 inscription. It was by Thomas Norris, of Stamford, 

 1636, and the tenor is of the same date, and from 

 the same foundry. 



The first book of the registers contains baptisms, 

 marriages, and burials from 1 541-2 (4 March) to 

 1653, the years 1649, 1650, and 1651 being blank. 

 There are several licences in this book from 1589-90 

 ' to eate flesh for the time of Lent.' The second 

 book contains baptisms and marriages from 1654 to 

 1752 and burials from 1653 to 1753 ; and in the 

 third book are marriages from 1754 to 1817 and 

 baptisms and burials from 1754 to 1812. At the 

 end of this book a few briefs are recorded. There 

 is one book of churchwardens' accounts dating from 

 1635 to 1905. 



' The level of the 6oor under the 

 tower has been raised. 



^ Its measurements are : 2 ft. 6 in. high. 



and 6 ft. 9 in. long. The mensa was 5 in, 

 thick, chamfered on the underside. 



* The account of the Tryon chapel is 

 due to the courtesy of the Rev. E. F. 



554 



Buckton, rector, who removed the block- 

 ing from one of the windows in order 

 that an examination of the interior might 

 be made. 



