A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



The oldest part of the building is the south doorway, 

 which dates from c. 1180, but no other trace of the 

 church of that date has survived. This re-used doorway 

 has a plain round arch of two square orders,' with hood- 

 mould, the outer order on shafts with scalloped capitals 

 and moulded bases.- The rebuilding of the church 

 was begun at the east end about 1225, to which period 

 the present chancel belongs, and later in the century 

 {c. 1270—80) the nave and aisles were built, probably 

 by Nicholas de Cogenhoe (d. 1 281) whose arms are 

 on the pillars of the arcades. The chapel on the north 

 side of the chancel appears to have been erected early 

 in the 14th century, perhaps by William de Cogenhoe 

 (d. 1 3 13), and c. 1350 the aisles were widened, the 



Scale of Feet 



Pl.\n of Cogenhoe Church 



north aisle being brought into line with the chapel. 

 The porch was added about the same time, and in the 

 1 5th century a tower was built at the west end, a clere- 

 story added to the nave, and two windows inserted 

 in the north aisle. 



The 13th-century chanceP is lighted by three pairs 

 of lancet windows on the south side and a single pair 

 on the north, all with plainly chamfered jambs and 

 dripstones following the line of the heads. The modern 

 east window is a gradated triplet of similar lancets. 

 Internally, however, the work is of a more elaborate 

 character. The north and south walls are arcaded and 

 the rear arch of the original east window, which is con- 

 tinued to the ground, has banded shafts with moulded 

 capitals and bases. The south wall-arcade consists of 

 three pointed arches resting on triple attached shafts, 

 the capitals of which have square abaci, and on single 

 shafted responds.'* The arches are of a single chamfered 

 order, with chamfered hood-mould, and the capitals are 

 quite plain, with round neckings.^ Within the arches 



the pairs of lancet lights are divided by circular engaged 

 shafts, or columns, with square moulded abaci carry- 

 ing the rear arches, which rest at the ends on square 

 corbels similarly treated. The circular bases of both 

 the arcade and window shafts are moulded. Below 

 the window in the eastern bay is a plain stone bench, 

 or sedile, but there is no piscina. On the north side 

 the window is near the east end and the arcade con- 

 sists of two arches only, the westernmost bay having 

 been pierced in the early 14th century by a low arch 

 to the chapel,* and in the middle blank bay are three 

 aumbries, an upper one with trefoiled head beneath a 

 hood-mould, and two plain rectangular ones below, 

 forming a single architectural composition.^ The 

 pointed chancel arch is con- 

 temporary with the nave 

 arcades ; it is of two chamfered 

 orders with a hood-mould 

 towards the nave, and on the 

 capitals of the responds are 

 the faces of a knight and 

 lady.8 



Thelate-i 3th-century nave 

 arcades consist of three 

 pointed arches of two cham- 

 fered orders with hood-mould 

 on one side, on pillars which 

 are square on plan with an 

 attached shaft at each angle 

 and a hollow in the face of 

 the intervening spaces. The 

 responds are of similar charac- 

 ter. The shafts have separate 

 moulded capitals, in the spaces 

 between which are shields and 

 grotesque heads, each pillar 

 having thus four shields or 

 heads and each respond one: 

 the necking goes round the 

 whole of the pillar. In all there are ten shields, and, 

 with two exceptions, these are confined to the eastern- 

 most pillars and responds. In all other cases the spaces 

 are occupied by grotesque heads. The shield on the 

 west side of the south-west pier is blank, and {a) the 

 arms of Cogenhoe (a fesse between three mascles) occur 

 on four of the others. The other armorial shields are 

 as follows: (^) ermine a chief indented (Morteyne); 

 (f) barry of ten a bend (Pabenham); {d') a bend 

 sinister (probably meant for Hastings); (f) a fesse and 

 in chief three martlets (possibly Cheyne); and (/) in 

 chief two human hands displayed (unknown).' 



On the west side of the south-east pillar is a mutilated 

 holy water stoup supported by a draped figure,'" and 

 in the usual position at the east end of the south aisle 

 there is a small trefoiled piscina recess, wholly restored, 

 without bowl. The pointed 14th-century windows of 

 the south aisle are of two trefoiled lights with quatrefoil 

 in the head, but the tracery is modern: a square-headed 

 two-light window at the east end is placed high in the 



122 Century late 



E 1 3ffl Century 

 LJ I4I!i Centur.y 

 □ ism Century 

 CZ] Modern 



' The arch of the outer order is a true 

 semicircle, but that of the inner order is 

 slightly pointed: the jambs are square 

 below the impost. The hood lias one edge 

 roll. 



^ The bases have a triple roll. 



3 \ buttress at the east end of the north 

 wall is modern. 



* The shafts of the responds and the 

 middle shaft of the triplets are filleted. 



5 An elevation, plan, and details of the 

 south arcade are given in Sharpe's Ch. of 

 the Nene Falley^ plates 2S-9. 



'■ Proc. Soc. Anliq. (Ser. 2), xix, 236. 



' The upper opening was probably also 

 used as an Easter sepulchre, but all three 

 are rebated. They were fitted with doors 

 in 1920. The lower openings are 20 in. 

 by 1 3 in., the upper one 27 in. by 16 in. 



8 They occupy a position similar to that 



238 



of the shields in the nave arcade? (q.v.). 



9 The identifications are those given by 

 Hartshorne, op. cit. 238—43, w^here all 

 the shields are figured. 



*° The basin and figure are worked on 

 the two lower stones of the pillar, the total 

 height above the fioor being 4 ft. The 

 figure is 19 in. high. The basin is broken 

 away. The position is near to the south 

 doorway. 



