A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



to the north aisle, is doubtful. The east wall of the 

 transept was in consequence either wholly or partly 

 taken down at the time. The latter theory seems 

 the more likely, as the final development of the plan 

 by the rebuilding, in the beginning of the 14th cen- 

 tury, of the eastern half of the south aisle, of equal 

 width with the western half, fellows naturally. The 

 last remains of the south transept, the south and part 

 of the east wall, would be destroyed by this process. 



The arrangement of the windows in the south wall 

 of the chancel shows that there could never have been 

 a chancel arch at the west of the l 3th-century chancel, 

 and the plan of the church has remained unaltered to 

 the present day. The levels follow the rise of the 

 ground from west to east, and the upward slope of the 

 floor at the east is very noticeable. 



The structural chancel measures 1 8 ft. in length by 

 1 3 ft. 6 in., and has an inserted I Jth-century east win- 

 dow of three wide cinquefoiled lights with tracery 

 under a four-centred head. On either side of it are 

 the jambs of 1 3th-century windows, the remains of an 

 original triplet of lancets. 



In the north wall are two 13th-century windows, 

 that to the west being a lancet, and the other of two 

 uncusped lights with a lozenge in the head. In the 

 south wall are a similar pair of windows, but the two- 

 light window is wider and has a circle in the head, 

 and the lancet is further to the west. 



The nave is 66 ft. long by I 3 ft. 6 in. wide, but 

 the ritual chancel extends 20 ft. into the nave, taking 

 up the two eastern bays of the north arcade. This 

 arcade is of six bays, of which the three to the east are 

 of the 13 th century, and the other three of the 12th. 

 The arches in the three eastern bays are pointed and 

 of two chamfered orders, the second and third from 

 the east having circular shafts i ft. 6 in. in diameter with 

 moulded capitals and bases, while the eastern bay, 

 which is narrower than the others, has plain responds 

 with a necking at the springing line, and is blocked 

 below that line by a contemporary wall enclosing the 

 vestry. In the spandrel between the first and second 

 arches are to be seen parts of two labels belonging to 

 windows or wall arcades of the early 12th-century 

 chancel, and the capital of the east respond of the 

 second bay is that of the east respond of the mid- 

 1 2th-century north arcade of the nave, re-used as 

 explained above. 



The three western bays of the arcade are of the 

 middle of the 1 2th century, with round arches of two 

 square orders, square scalloped capitals and round 

 shafts I ft. 8 in. in diameter. 



The south arcade of the nave is of five bays, the 

 first three from the east being of 1 3th-century date. 

 The east respond, as on the north, has a re-used 

 scalloped capital, and the two eastern bays are of the 

 same detail as those on the north. The difference 

 in spacing of the b.iys has been already explained, 

 but it is to be noted that the remains of the 

 eastern arch of the mid- 12th-century arcade are 

 used up in the third bay, which takes its place, and 

 the capit.il between the second and third bays is a 

 re-used scalloped capital in two stones with the 

 joint running east and west ; and may be made up 

 of the two half-capitals of the responds of the for- 

 mer chancel arch. The tooling, however, is vertical 

 on the southern half, so that the former may be a 

 13th-century copy made to match the latter, to com- 

 plete the capital. 



The two western bays of this arcade are of the 



same date as those of the north arcade, and of similar 

 detail. 



Part of the south wall of the early I 2th-century 

 chancel remains at the east end of this arcade, with 

 two strings with scallop and billet ornament, originally 

 external, still in position. The nave clearstory is of 

 the 14th century, having on each side three square- 

 headed windows, each of two trefoiled ogee-headed 

 lights. 



The north aisle of the nave, 6 ft. 9 in. wide, belong- 

 ing to the 13th century, has at its east end a vestry 

 8 ft. long, enclosed by dwarf walls of masonry on the 

 west and south and lighted on the east by a two-light 

 window, and on the north by a single light, both 

 having re-used 1 2th-century labels. It is entered 

 from the south by a doorway with a pointed arch 

 having a line of dogtooth, and small angle-shafts 

 on the jambs with nailhead on their capitals, much 

 ' restored.' 



West of the vestry is a two-light 14th-century 

 window, probably inserted to light an altar which 

 stood against the west wall of the vestry, and of which 

 traces were found during some recent repairs. The 

 remaining windows in the aisle are, on the north, two 

 lancets east of the north doorway, and a Ivvo-light 

 window with a modern quatrefoil in the head to the 

 west of the doorway, and in the upper part of the 

 west wall a small quatrefoiled opening with roll cusps, 

 not in situ, as all this end of the aisle has been rebuilt. 

 An external roll string runs round the aisle under 

 the windows, breaking up under the two-light 14th- 

 century window, and stopping on either <::de of a 

 small pilaster buttress which is opposite the first pillar 

 of the north arcade, while inside the church a simi- 

 lar string runs from the west as far as the west 

 jamb of the eastern lancet window, where it meets a 

 double-chamfered i 2th-century string, re-used in the 

 13th century, which continues round the eastern half 

 of the aisle. 



A similar string is re-used in the eastern half of 

 the south aisle, which belongs to the 14th-century, 

 and as the building of both of these parts involved 

 the removal of parts of the early 12th-century 

 chancel and transepts, it is probable that the string 

 belongs to that date, and was internal, as the charac- 

 ter of the external strings, known from the remains ex- 

 isting at the south-east angle of the nave, does not 

 correspond with the re-used work. 



The north doorway, under a modern north porch, 

 has a pointed arch of two orders, with zigzag on both 

 orders and the label, and ringed nook-shafts in the 

 jambs with foliage capitals. 



The south aisle is 1 5 ft. wide, and its eastern half 

 dates from the beginning of the 14th century, with a 

 large three-light window at the east and two on the 

 south, very widely splayed inside. The western half 

 is of the 13 th century, and has a two-light window 

 east of the doorw.iy, and a single light to the west, 

 and in the west wall a small lancet low in the wall. 

 The north half of this wall projects 3 ft. 10 in. west- 

 ward beyond the rest, and appears to be the west end 

 of the mid- 12th-century aisle, left standing when the 

 rest was destroyed, for reasons given above. 



The south doorway has a pointed arch of two 

 orders, with dogtooth on the outer order and label, 

 and nook-shafts with moulded capitals. The south 

 porch has been much renewed, but seems to be in 

 part of the 13 th century, though later than the door- 

 way, as the external string on the aisle walls below 



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