A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



originally consisted of a chancel and nave only, built, 

 it would appear from the shields of arms that decorate 

 them, by Sir John de Benstede fob. 1 3 Z 3)- The 

 north chapel and the south porch were added about 

 1330, apparently by his widow, Parnel Moync, 

 and early in the 15th century the west tower was 

 built by Edward Benstede (ob. 1 + 32), and an addi- 

 tional arch was inserted with his monument below it 

 between the chancel and the north chapel. The 

 raising of the clearstory dates from somewhat later in 

 the ijthcentury. The modern work upon the fabric 

 consists of the rebuilding in 1 889 of the south and 

 east walls of the chancel and the recent restoration 

 of the tower. 



The chancel has a modem east window of five 

 lights with tracery in a high two-centred head. In 

 the south wall are three windows. The easternmost 

 has three cinquefoiled lights in a square external head 

 of the 1 ;th century, but mostly of new stonework, 

 only a few old stones remaining. The middle window 

 in the south wall, also of the I 5th century, has a four- 

 centred head, and is of three cinquefoiled lights with 

 tracery above. The stonework is all modern. The 

 westernmost window is modern, of three trefoiled lights 

 with 'geometric' tracery. Between the two easternmost 

 windows is a small doorway of the late 13th century, 

 having a slightly ogee-shaped, straight-sided arch 

 moulded externally. The jambs are renewed, but 

 there are a few of the original arch stones remaining. 



The north wall of the chancel is pierced by three 

 arches, the two westernmost dating from the erection 

 of the north ch.ipel and the easternmost from about 

 1430. This last is four-centred, under a square 

 head, with tracery and shields in thespandrels. The 

 soffit and the inner faces of the jambs are panelled, 

 and in the apex of the soffit is carved an angel holding 

 small figures of a knight and a lady, of whose altar- 

 tomb the arch forms the canopy. 



The middle and western arches on the north side 

 are of extremely rich 14th-century detail. The 

 middle pier and the responds have engaged shafts 

 with rolls between, and moulded bases and capitals. 

 The arches are of a single order, slightly ogee-shaped 

 and very richly moulded. Both have labels with 

 mask or grotesque stops on the chancel side, that in 

 the centre being the bust of a knight wearing ailettes. 

 The.eastern of these two arches has the added enrich- 

 ment of very closely set and luxuriant crockets on 

 the label, a heavy finial at the apex, and flanking 

 pinnacles, panelled, crocketed and furnished with 

 finials. The gables of the pinnacles are supported 

 by minute mask stops, and that at the east side 

 descends to an independent mask side by side with 

 that at the termination of the label. The two- 

 centred chancel arch was widened and rebuilt early 

 in the 15th century. The responds are cut back to 

 admit a screen. The present screen is modern. 



Under the easternmost window of the south wall 

 of the chancel are three sedilia with detached shafts 

 in the jambs. They are of the 13th century, but 

 the two-centred heads and labels date from about 

 1330- To the east of them is a piscina of the 14th 

 century, with a head similar to, but at a slightly 

 higher level than, those of the sedilia ; the sill is 

 modern. 



The north chapel has a 13th-century east window 

 of three cinquefoiled lights in a depressed two- centred 

 head. The siqi 



i origin 



Thei 



single-light 14th-century windows, trefoiled, with 

 tracery above in a two-centred head, with labels and 

 mask stops. One is in the north and one in the 

 west wall. There is also a small 15th-century door- 

 way in the north wall, with a four-centred head. It 

 is moulded externally, and has a much mutilated 

 external label with stops. 



Behind the organ in this chapel is a communion 

 table of the late 17th century. A piscina of the 

 14th century in the south end of the east wall has 

 an ogee cinquefoiled head, with a crocketed label, 

 much broken. The sill is also broken and decayed. 



The nave is lighted by two two-light windows on 

 either side, of early 14th-century date. They have 

 two-centred heads with tracery, and internal and 

 external labels with carved stops. The clearstory 

 windows, three on each side, are large, of two cinque- 

 foiled lights in a four-centred head. They are of 

 the 1 5th century, and the stonework is much decayed. 



In the north-east corner of the nave, where the 

 window recess is brought down to the ground for half 

 its width, is a doorway to the rood-loft stair, with a 

 four-centred head. At the head of the stair is a 

 similar door facing diagonally to the south-west and 

 opening to the former rood-loft at a high level. The 

 14th-century north doorway of the nave is blocked 

 and the outer stonework is defaced. The south door- 

 way leading to the south porch is of the late 14th 

 century, and has a pointed arch in a square head. 

 The oak door is of the 15th century. The porch 

 has a similar entrance archway, with shafted jambs 

 and foliated capitals, and in a canopied niche over 

 the archway is a mutilated figure of St. George and 

 the Dragon. On the east and west sides of the porch 

 are windows of two cinquefoiled lights under a square 

 dripstone, and to the east of the inner doorway ii a 

 broken stoup. The tower arch opening to the nave 

 is of the 15 th century, and has been restored. It is 

 two-centred with chamfered jambs. The windows 

 and doorway of the tower are modern. In the 

 north-west buttress of the tower is a niche with a 

 shield bearing the arms of Benstede and Moyne. 

 The truss roof of the nave is of the 15th century, 

 and rests upon carved mask corbels of that date. At 

 the intersection of some of the beams are bosses 

 bearing the arms of Benstede and Moyne. 



In the east jamb of the south-east window of the 

 nave is a bracket carved with angels, roses, a shield 

 with horseshoes impaling a bell. To the west of the 

 same window is another bracket carved with a grotesque 

 figure. There is a plain piscina with a trefoiled head 

 under the window. In the south-east corner of the 

 nave behind the pulpit are the remains of a niche. 

 The canopied head has been broken away, but the 

 carved bracket remains. 



The monuments in the chancel include two 6ne 

 altar tombs under the two eastern arches of the north 

 arcade. That under the middle 14th-century arch 

 is evidently to John de Benstede (d. 1323) and Parnel 

 Moyne, his second wife. It represents the recumbent 

 effigies of a knight and a lady, their heads resting 

 on cushions and their feet upon lions. The knight 

 wears armour of the time of Edward I, and has a long 

 surcoat with a narrow girdle. His legs are crossed 

 below the knee. The lady wears a long head veil 

 and close-fitting dress. The hands of both are 

 broken off at the wrist. In the gable-headed cusped 

 panels, which have shields between them with ite 



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