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St Mary the Virgin

St Mary The Virgin

Steeple Ashton

Wiltshire

Late C15, some rebuilding 1670, chancel rebuilt 1853 by Clutton

Architectural Features

both aisle and nave roofs have richly-carved battlemented parapets

string courses with large gargoyles

Four-stage tower with flanking bays, each with 4-light window to north and south, 2-light to west ends, polygonal stair turrets, tower has Tudor-arched moulded west doorway, 4-light window over, fine canopied image niches, 3-light windows to second, third and fourth stages, blocked to lower but with Somerset-type stone louvres to bellstage, set-back buttresses, string courses, gargoyles to battlemented parapet with corner pinnacles

Interior: Porch has lierne vault with carved bosses on bust corbels, fixed stone benches, early C19 double doors plus original ledged Tudor-arched door

Four-bay nave with unusual wooden lierne vault with carved pendants and bosses, originally intended to be stone, tall moulded pointed 4-bay arcades on compound piers, tall clerestory with moulded stone springers on busts for vault

Four-bay aisles with stone lierne vaults, crocketed image niches with finely-carved busts below, possibly recut

Baptistry in southbay flanking tower, moulded cross beam ceilings, C19 octagonal stone font with tall wooden cover

Moulded pointed chancel arch, blocked 5-light window over and original lower roofline visible, C19 three-bay vaulted ceiling, C19 carved wooden reredos, Minton tiled floor

C19 polygonal carved wooden pulpit

three C19 brass candelabra

Some medieval stained glass in aisles and Lady Chapel

1879 west window glass

Good collection of monuments: Baptistry group includes large coloured marble to John Smith died 1775

A brass inscription at the west end records the fall of the spire in 1670 and subsequent rebuilding of tower in 1675

Brass plate records building of aisles, paid for by Robert Long and Walter Leucas