A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



7 ft. 7 in. high to the crown of the arch, is cut straight 

 through the wall, and the door was suspended on the 

 inner face by iron hooks. The jambs are formed by 

 large slabs set upright, alternating with flat stones, but 

 they differ in construction, on the north side a single 

 slab 4 ft. 6 in. high, 6 in. thick, and 3 tt. 7 in. deep 

 forming almost the whole height of the jamb. The 

 doorway is enriched with an outer order of upright 

 pilaster strips bent round above in the shape of the 

 arch, and upon the outer and inner faces of the square 

 imposts is an incised arcading, which may have been 

 added in the 12th century. The plinths are square 

 blocks. 



Immediately above the doorway is a round-headed, 

 internally splayed 12th-century window, taking the 

 place of an original double window, like that in the 

 south w-all of the tower. This is double splayed with 

 cross-shaped piercings in the mid-wall slabs, whereas 

 those on the western side were circular.' Externally 

 the openings are ornamented with three projecting 

 baluster shafts set on square corbels, and above each is 

 an enrichment of narrow roll-mouldings disposed about 

 a central cross carved in relief.- The openings occupy 

 the upper part ot the two middle vertical spaces 

 between the pilaster strips, immediately below the 

 string course, the south face of the tower being divided 

 into six such spaces; on the north side there are only 

 five, and both of the lower stages are quite plain. 



In the second stage, except on the north, are round- 

 headed upper doorways.' That on the east side, which 

 is placed higher than the others, now gives access to 

 the roof of the nave, but originally opened into a space 

 between an upper and an under roof'' On the south 

 and west sides the doorways, which are 2 ft. 6 in. wide 

 by 7 ft. in height, provide egress from near the floor 

 of the ringing chamber, but the external apertures are 

 at too great a height from the ground to admit of access 

 by a ladder from the outside, nor is there any sign of a 

 gallery or platform. In the third stage, one on each 

 of the four sides, are small triangular-headed openings' 

 which, like the doorways in the stage below, are cut 

 straight through the thickness of the wall without any 

 splay.* 



The short upper, or bell-chamber stage has on each 

 face a group of five round-headed openings so arranged 

 that the main part of the wall is carried by simple 

 square stone pillars, while the baluster shafts, which are 

 intended to be seen, are thrust forward to the external 

 edge of the opening. The shafts differ from those 

 generally in use, being mostly oblong in plan instead 

 of round, and only equipped with mouldings on their 

 outer faces.' 



The present opening from the tower to the nave 

 is of the late 13th century, with re-use of 12th-century 

 material, and is 1 2 ft. 6 in. wide. The arch is a pointed 

 one of three chamfered orders dying out above plain 

 jambs with scalloped and moulded imposts, and the 

 outer order facing east has a double row of billet 



moulding. The ground floor of the tower is now a 

 vestry and has a modern floor at the height of the crown 

 of the arch. 



Of the 12th-century nave only the angles with their 

 ashlar quoin-stones and the jambs of the chancel arch* 

 remain in position, the south doorway having been 

 moved outward. It has an enriched semicircular arch 

 of three orders, the innermost continuous with chevron 

 ornament and plain soffit, the two outer on nook-shafts 

 with sculptured capitals and moulded imposts and 

 bases. The chevron is also used on the outer order, and 

 the middle order has beak-heads on an angle roll, the 

 soffits in each case being plain; the hood-mould has a 

 circular arched ornament. The circular inner shafts are 

 enriched with spiral decoration, but the others are 

 octagonal in section with studded and plain chevrons. 

 The west capital of the middle order has a bird with 

 wings displayed at the angle. 



The opening of the chancel arch is the full width of 

 the 12th-century chancel, with two shafts on each side 

 towards the nave, all with cushion capitals. Upon these 

 is a I4.th-century arch of three orders facing west and 

 two on the east side, the latter chamfered, the former 

 with wave-moulding. 



The side walls of the Norman chancel still form the 

 western part of the present structure for a distance of 

 about 24 ft. At this point on either side the walling 

 is reduced in thickness where the 13th-century work 

 begins, thus increasing the width of the chancel at the 

 east end by 18 in. Externally a flat, shallow buttress 

 remains on each side 12 ft. from the west end, but no 

 original windows have survived, and the internal wall- 

 arcading, which seems to have been carried all round 

 the 12th-century chancel, was reconstructed and some 

 of the spare arches from the east end were inserted as 

 sedilia in the new part of the south wall,* while pieces 

 of chevron ornament, probably from the jambs of 

 earlier windows, were built up at the interior angles of 

 the old walls at their junction with the thinner walls 

 of the added portion.' On the south side the wall 

 arcade now consists of six semicircular arches with 

 chevron moulding, on shafts'" with scalloped capitals, on 

 a continuous bench-table, the easternmost arch being 

 occupied by a rectangular aumbry. On the north side 

 are five similar arches, with the springing of a sixth at 

 the junction of the old and new work, but the capitals 

 of the shafts vary, one being cushioned, another scal- 

 loped, one with volutes, and two sculptured. Over 

 each arcade, at sill level, is a string-course with double 

 billet moulding. The arcading now begins about 5ft. 

 from the entrance to the chancel, two low-side windows 

 having been introduced at the west end opposite to 

 each other. That on the south is pointed, with cham- 

 fered arch and hood-mould terminating in corbels, 

 whilst the other is a plain rectangular opening. Both 

 have flat sills forming seats and on the north side the 

 hooks for the shutter remain." The moulded, round- 

 headed priest's doorway apparently belongs to the 



' Baldwin Brown, op. cit. ii, 286. 



2 Ibid, ii, 287; y.C.H. Norlhanls. ii, 

 193. 



3 'Enigmatical doorways, apparently 

 leading no whither', Baldwin Brown, op. 

 cit. ii, 287; the subject is discussed, ibid. 



337- 



* Ibid, ii, 336. 



5 That on the east side again at a higher 

 level. 



' 'This is usual in the case of doorways. 



but quite abnormal in that of window 

 openings, which especially in late Saxon 

 work are always deeply splayed either 

 internally or on both faces of the wall' : 

 Baldwin Brown, op. cit. ii, 287. 



' Ibid, ii, 263. The earliest and most 

 elaborate shafts were turned in a lathe; 

 the Earls Barton shafts are roughly hewn 

 to shape by mallet and chisel, and may be 

 regarded as clumsy imitations of the turned 

 balusters. 



8 Arch. your. Ixix, 5 i 2. 



•> Ibid. 



■° One shaft has gone. 



'' Assoc. Arch. Soc. Repts, xxix, 405. 

 Both windows are 1 3 in. from the aisle 

 wall outside and their sills are 3 ft. 4 in. 

 above the floor. The north window is 

 5 ft. high by I ft. 7 in. wide, the south 

 window 3 ft. II in. by i ft. 4. in. They 

 are probably of 13th-century date. 



120 



