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St Mary The Virgin

Sheering

Essex

Parish church, late C13 to late C14, extended in C20.

Architectural Features

Flint rubble with some Roman brick, dressings of stone and clunch, and quoins of Roman brick at NW angle of nave only.

Nave roofed with lead, chancel and vestry with handmade red clay tiles.

Consists of chancel, late C14, nave, S porch and N vestry with chamber over, C14, W tower late C13, repaired with brickwork in C16, N aisle (and general restoration) 1901-04.

The E window is of five cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery in a 2-centred head, restored, with late C14 glass representing eight of the orders of angels with their names beneath, and a coronation of the virgin with two censing angels.

the moulded label has carved head-stops

The door is present, of plain battens with a narrow panel of carved quatrefoils, restored.

In the S wall two windows of two and three cinquefoiled lights respectively under 2-centred arches with fragments of C14 glass in square heads.

The door is divided into five vertical panels by chamfered fillets, with two long strap hinges and late C14 stock-lock.

E of the door is a stoop and W of it a painted consecration cross, red with flowered ends within a circle, C14 In the W wall is a C13 arcade of three bays the middle bay forming the tower-arch, the others forming recesses

The tower is square, in three storeys, with a C16 brick embattled parapet.

The third storey (the bell chamber) has in each wall a late C14 window of two quatrefoiled lights and a depressed quatrefoil under a semi-circular arch, variously restored.

The nave roof is C14, of gambrel form supported on king posts and queen posts with upper knees on moulded tie beams.

The chancel roof is C16, of side purlin form with wind bracing of flattened 4-centred curvature In the chancel there is a floor slab to Margaret, wife of Richard Sayer with shield of arms, 1705, and in the nave a brass to Robert Hurste, 1583, and Anne his wife, 1573, inscription only.

There are four bells, the first and third by Miles Graye, 1619, the second probably by William Wightman, 1682, the fourth probably Richard Keene, 1702.