|
History
of the village and early church
In 1631 the church was 'in decay'.
The nave seems to have been roughly repaired either then or later,
and in the early 19th century had a single pointed window (without
tracery) east of the porch, a large rectangular window to its
west, and a roofline lower than the chancel.
The chancel was repaired in 1677.
A church clock mentioned in 1814 survived, in need of repair, in
1897, but was not mentioned later.
General repairs were noted in 1847,
but by 1867 parishioners were seeking to demolish the church and
rebuild it. Those plans were vetoed by the diocesan architect in
favour of a restoration to designs by John Luker of Faringdon
(then Berks.), who between 1868 and 1870 entirely rebuilt the
south wall of the nave (including the south porch), the north wall
of the aisle, and the arch into the north chapel, some original
carved features being incorporated in new walling. Luker also
enlarged the chancel arch and reroofed the chancel, cleaning and
scraping its remaining medieval masonry, replaced the east window
of the north chapel by one matching the chancel east window, and
unblocked the squint, probably also building the surviving
fireplace into the north chapel south wall. The church was repaved
and repewed, a gallery was removed, and a stone pulpit was
installed.
The total cost was met by subscription and a twenty-year loan
secured on parish rates, together with a small grant from the
Diocesan Church Building Society.
Heating was installed about 1883.
|
