Worminghall

100. WORMINGHALL.

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)xxxi. N.E. ^(b)xxxi. S.E.)

Eccleslastical

^b(1). Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, stands at the S. end of the village. The walls are of rubble with limestone dressings; the roofs are tiled. The whole building was drastically restored in the 19th century and the original history much obscured, but the Nave appears to have been built c. 1160, the Chancel re-built in the 14th century, and the West Tower added in the 15th century. The N. wall and part of the S. wall of the nave were re-built when the church was restored, and the North Vestry and South Porch are modern.

Architectural Description— The Chancel (22 ft. by 11½ ft.) has an E. window of three cinque-foiled lights and tracery under a four-centred head, apparently of the 15th century. In the N. wall is a window of 14th-century style, of two lights and tracery, all modern, and a modern doorway opens into the vestry. In the S. wall are two windows, each of two lights, also modern, except possibly the splayed inner jambs and head, which may have been re-used. The chancel arch is probably of c. 1160, but entirely re-worked and restored; it is semi-circular, of small stones and square in section; on the E. side the jambs are square and of modern stone; on the W. side they have small attached shafts with moulded bases and carved capitals; the abaci are modern. N. of the arch is a modern arch opening into the pulpit. The Nave (38½ ft. by 18 ft.) has, in the N. wall, two modern windows, each of two lights. The N. doorway has a modern square head, with a semi-circular arch and tympanum over it. The S. wall has 12th-century quoins at the S.W. angle; in the E. half of the wall is a modern window, and at the W. end is a wide lancet window with a moulded label, completely restored. The S. doorway is of 12th-century design, but entirely of modern stone. The West Tower (10½ ft. by 10½ ft.) is of two stages, with an embattled parapet and a moulded string-course; at the S.E. angle is a stair-turret, which rises to a level just above the string-course between the stages. The 15th-century tower arch is two-centred, of two chamfered orders, with square jambs. The W. window, apparently of the 15th century, is of three cinque-foiled lights with tracery under a four-centred head and a moulded external label. The doorway opening into the stair-turret has a three-centred arch of one chamfered order. In the upper storey of the lower stage the N., S., and W. walls have each a small cinque-foiled single light. The bell-chamber has N., S., and W. windows, each of two pointed lights under a square head, probably modern, and a 16th-century E. window of two four-centred lights under a square head.

Fittings—Bells: three, modern, bell-frame of oak, old. Brasses: in chancel—at E. end of S. wall, (1) of Philip, son of Robert Kinge, Bishop of Oxford, 1592, and Elizabeth, his wife (who put up the brass), five sons, six daughters, all kneeling, and chrisom child, figures incised on one plate, with verse in English and inscription in Latin below them. Chest: in the vestry, oak, iron-bound, with three locks, probably 17th-century. Font: round bowl with tapering sides, lower edge chamfered, plain stem and base re-tooled, possibly 15th-century. Monuments and Floor-slabs. Floor-slabs: In chancel—W. of altar step, (1) to Winnifred Littlepace, 1686, and Elizabeth Pryce, her daughter, 1694; (2) to Thomas Stevens, 1687, to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Stevens, 1685, to Thomas Philips, 1686; (3) also to Thomas Philips, date hidden by organ platform, probably 17th-century; (4) to Francis Price, vicar of the parish, 1701, and Jane, his first wife, 1662. Piscinæ: in S. wall of chancel, with trefoiled head, round basin, shelf at back, re-tooled, probably 14th-century: in S. wall of nave, with roughly pointed head, round basin, at each side length of roll-moulding set vertically, probably 13th-century, on face of piscina, three small painted crosses of uncertain date. Plate: includes large cup and small cover paten of 1629. Seating: in W. half of nave, open seats and two front desks, with plain panelled standards of oak, probably 16th-century. Miscellanea: on N. wall of chancel, wood tablet carved with arms of the see of London impaling those of King, 17th-century.

Condition—Good.

Secular

^b(2). Court Farm, about 80 yards S.W. of the church, is of two storeys and an attic, almost entirely re-built in the 18th and 19th centuries, but one chimney stack with diagonal shafts is of c. 1600.

Condition—Good.

^b(3). Cottage, on the E. side of the road, about 150 yards N.E. of the church, is of one storey and an attic, built in the 17th century of brick and timber. The roof is thatched. The chimney stack is original, and the windows have old iron casements.

Condition—Poor.

^b(4). The Post Office, on the W. side of the road, about 300 yards N. of the church, is of two storeys, built late in the 16th century, of brick and timber; the roof is tiled. The plan is rectangular with a small staircase wing at the back. The original central chimney stack has shafts with V-shaped pilasters.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b(5). Guy's Farm, on the E. side of the road, about 350 yards N. of the church, is of two storeys, built of brick and timber in the 17th century, but re-fronted in the 18th or 19th century. The roof is tiled.

Condition—Poor.

^b(6). Almshouses, 500 yards N. of the church, were built in 1675 for six men and four women by John King, son of Henry King, Bishop of Chichester, and grandson of John King, Bishop of London, as recorded on a tablet over one entrance. The walls are of brick, with stone dressings and a moulded stone cornice; the roofs are tiled. The building is of two storeys and of H-shaped plan, with the central block pierced by a passage; over each entrance to the passage is a carved stone cartouche bearing the arms of King impaling those of Russell; above the cartouche on the E. side is the inscribed tablet. The doorways, with plain flat heads, are chamfered; two are in the passage and four, each serving two tenements, open into the courts formed by the wings. The windows have square heads and chamfered jambs and mullions.

Condition—Good.

^b(7). Cottage, now two tenements, on the W. side of the road, about 400 yards N.W. of the church, is of one storey and an attic; it is of central chimney type, built probably in the 17th century, and timber-framed with brick filling. The half-hipped roof is thatched.

Condition—Poor.

^b(8). The Clifden Arms Inn, about 400 yards W.N.W. of the church, is of two storeys. The timber-framed walls, with brick filling, have been much re-faced and under-built with brick. The roofs are thatched. It was built c. 1600 on a rectangular plan; later in the 17th century a wing was added, making the plan T-shaped, and a further addition was made in the 19th century.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b(9). Cottage, about 300 yards N.W. of the church, is of one storey and an attic, of central chimney type, built of timber and brick probably in the 17th century, but much re-built or re-faced with brick in the 18th century. The roof is thatched.

Condition—Fairly good.

^a(10). Panelling and a Barn at Wood Farm, 2 miles N.W. of the church. The farmhouse is an 18th-century building, but contains some early 17th-century Panelling and door-hinges brought from elsewhere. The Barn, possibly of mediæval date, has walls of rubble, with dressed quoins, and pierced by square-headed loops. The open timber roof, covered with tiles, is probably of 1774, the date cut on one of the beams.

Condition—Good.