EDWINSTREE HUNDRED 



ANSTEY 



land in Anstey and Nuthampstead, and in 1870, 

 when it was held by John Williamson Leader of 

 Buntingford, extended to some 500 acres.^^ 



The parish church, the invocation of 

 CHURCH which is traditionally to ST. GEORGE, 

 stands about a furlong to the south-west 

 of the village on high ground and a little below the 

 crest of the hill. It is built of flint rubble, with 

 dressings of clunch and Barnack stone, and is roofed 

 with lead. All the roofing, except that of the north 

 aisle, dates from a restoration of the 19th century. 



The church consists of a chancel 37 ft. by 18 ft., 

 central tower 1 3 ft. square, north and south transepts, 

 each 1 9 ft. 6 in. by 1 8 ft., nave 46 ft. 6 in. by 1 3 ft., 

 north aisle 9 ft. wide, south aisle i o ft. wide and 

 south porch. A 14th-century north vestry has been 

 destroyed. The restoration in the 19th century 

 included no structural alterations. 



The growth of the fabric is interesting. The 

 earliest church, of the late 12th century, is now 



last addition to the church is the south porch, of late 

 15th-century date. The original 14th-century door- 

 ways in the north aisle and north transept are now 

 blocked up, only traces of the latter being visible. 



The chancel has a modern east window of 15th- 

 century design in place of the original window, of 

 which only the internal jambs remain. These are 

 shafted, like those of the remaining original windows 

 of the chancel, which are six in number, three on the 

 north and three on the south. All these are traceried 

 and have moulded labels. The seven windows are 

 linked together by a moulded string-course. Those 

 on the north have, as already noted, high external 

 sills to clear the roof of the vestry, which was part of 

 the 14th-century structure. The sill of the south- 

 east window is carried low down, with its jamb 

 shafting, to form the two easternmost of the three 

 seats of the sedilia, whose third seat is formed by a 

 niche in the wall. A large piscina, ranged with the 

 windows and immediately to the east of the sedilia, 



r~l lafc IZ'*' Century. 



circa 1300. 

 ^ I4rt>Cenrciiy. 



mid is"- Century. 

 ^ lafe 13"'CentUK/. 

 il l&^Cenlu^&mockMrj. 



Plan of Anstey Church 



represented by the central tower and about two- 

 thirds of the nave. The original chancel and north 

 and south transepts were superseded at the end of 

 the 13 th century and beginning of the 14th, when 

 the present chancel and transepts were built outside 

 them. The destroyed north vestry was built at the 

 same time, as is shown by the fact that the original 

 14th-century windows on the north side of the 

 chancel have high external sills to clear the roof of 

 the vestry, The carved stalls of the chancel are an 

 unusually early example of woodwork, being con- 

 temporary with the chancel itself The nave was 

 increased to its present length about the middle of 

 the 14th century, and the arcades and aisles were 

 added, and the clearstory pierced with three quatre- 

 foil openings on either side. In the following 

 century the aisle walls were heightened and new 

 windows were inserted. At the same time the arches 

 leading from the aisles to the transepts were altered 

 and the top stage of the tower was added. The 



'* Cussans, loc. cit. 



is of the same date and has a double drain and a 

 stone shelf. The original splayed door on the 

 north side, with a hood mould and figure corbels, 

 leads to the vestry, and another door on the south 

 side, also of the same date as the rest of the chancel, 

 leads to the churchyard. At the north-west and 

 south-west are squints looking into the two transepts. 

 There are twelve stalls of the early 14th century 

 with plain ends, except one, which is moulded and 

 crocketed. Of the seven carved misericordes three 

 are certainly original, two of the 17 th century and 

 two of uncertain date. The stall-fronts have a rusti- 

 cated arcade in low relief of 1 7th-century work. On 

 the outside of the chancel at the north-east is a wide 

 and low trefoil-headed niche of the same date as the 

 fabric. 



The chancel arch is the easternmost of the four 

 semicircular arches which support the tower. It has 

 the same heavy ringed roll- moulding, jambs with 

 shafts similarly ringed, and simple capitals as the 

 corresponding western arch, while those to north and 



15 



