Pipe and Lyde

63 PIPE AND LYDE (B.c.)

(O.S. 6 in. XXXIII, N.E.)

Pipe and Lyde is a parish 3 m. N. of Hereford. The church is the principal monument, the stone stairs to the rood-loft being an uncommon feature.

Ecclesiastical

(1). Parish Church of St. Peter stands towards the W. side of the parish. The walls are of local sandstone rubble with dressings of the same material; the roofs are covered with tiles, stone slates and shingles. The Nave was built c. 1200; the West Tower added in the first half of the 13th century and the Chancel re-built c. 1300. The tower was restored in 1816 and the chancel in 1874; the Vestry and South Porch are modern.

The stone stairs to the former rood-loft are unusual, and among the fittings the leather case for the communion plate is noteworthy.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (23½ ft. by 16 ft.) is of c. 1300 and has an E. window of three plain pointed lights in a two-centred head. In the N. wall is a modern arch and farther E. an opening, probably a former window but with the sill cut away to form a modern doorway. In the S. wall are two windows, the eastern of two plain pointed lights in a two-centred head and the western of a single trefoiled light. There is no chancel-arch.

The Vestry is modern, but re-set in the E. wall is a window of c. 1300 and of one trefoiled light. Re-set in the W. wall and blocked is an early 14th-century window of two trefoiled ogee lights.

The Nave (47 ft. by 21¾ ft.) has, in the N. wall, seven windows, all modern except the fifth from the E. which is a single round-headed late 12th-century light; the blocked N. doorway has chamfered jambs and a modern lintel. In the S. wall are five modern windows; the late 12th-century S. doorway has roll-moulded jambs and two-centred head; the lower jambs are modern. In the W. wall, above the tower doorway, is a late 12th or early 13th-century lancet-window partly restored and now opening into the tower. In the N.E. angle of the nave is a stone staircase formerly leading to the rood-loft.

The West Tower (about 11½ ft. square) is of early 13th-century date and of two storeys with a modern capping and timber spire. In the E. wall of the ground stage is a restored doorway with a segmental head. The N. and S. walls have each a lancet-window, and E. of the S. window is a doorway all modern externally. In the W. wall is a lancet-window surmounted by a round opening and both included under a moulded label. The bell-chamber has two modern windows in the E. wall, the N., S. and W. walls have each a lancet-window, that in the S. partly restored.

The Roof of the chancel is of 14th or 15th-century date restored and is of three bays and with curved braces below the collars and a trefoiled opening above; the wall-plates are moulded. Between the chancel and nave is a 15th-century moulded and embattled tie-beam carrying a framed partition above. The partly restored roof of the nave is of braced collar-beam type, with moulded purlins and principals, and is of 14th or 15th-century date.

Fittings—Bells: six; 3rd probably from the Worcester foundry, 15th-century, and inscribed "Sancte Petre ora pro nobis" (Plate 40); 4th, by Thomas Clibury II, 1672; 5th inscribed "Sancte Thoma ora pro nobis," 15th-century; 6th by John Finch, 1648. Bracket: In nave—E. of S. doorway, shaped corbel, mediæval. Chest: In nave—of oak and of hutch-type panelled front with carved enrichment to styles and rails and carved arches to panels, of doubtful antiquity. Churchyard Cross (Plate 47): square to octagonal base with niche in W. face having trefoiled head, lower part of shaft, 14th-century, later capping. A square to octagonal stone base of a cross, of uncertain origin, is preserved at Highway Farm, 700 yards S.S.E. of the church. Font: round stem and moulded octagonal base, probably 13th-century, bowl modern; in churchyard—part of octagonal bowl with moulded projecting rim, probably 14th-century. Monument: In nave—on W. wall, to John Adys, 1691, stone and slate tablet with eared architrave, scrolls, pediment and cartouche-of-arms. Piscina: In chancel—recess with chamfered jambs and trefoiled head, mutilated projecting drain, c. 1300. Rood-beam (Plate 71): At E. end of nave— moulded beam, formerly front-beam of rood-loft, with carved and pierced vine-ornament, 15th-century. Miscellanea: In sill of N. window of vestry—slab with chamfered edge and one incised cross, possibly altar-slab. In nave—in S. wall,-slab perhaps one side of stone trough. In churchyard—N. of church, right-angled octagonal stone, perhaps part of cross. Now in the Hereford City Museum—Cuir bouilli cylindrical case (Plate 68) for cup or chalice, with embossed ornament including the letters IHC, fleurs-de-lis, palms and two shields, one with a plain cross and one with three roundels on a chief and a 'black-letter' inscription below, early 16th-century.

Condition—Good.

Secular

(2). Lower Lyde Court, house and moat, 1 m. E. of the church. The House is of two storeys with cellars; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are slate-covered. The L-shaped wing on the N.W. side of the house dates probably from the 17th century but has been much altered and faced with stone. Some chamfered beams are exposed inside the house.

The Moat formerly surrounded the house but is now fragmentary; it has an extension on the E. side.

Condition—Of house, fairly good.

(3). Upper Lyde, house, on the N. side of the road, 780 yards N.W. of the church, is of two storeys with attics. The walls are of rubble and the roofs are covered with slates and stone slates. It was built in the 17th century but has been much altered and re-roofed. Inside the building is a cupboard with some original panelling.

Condition—Good.

(4). Farmhouse, on the S.W. side of the road, 100 yards S.W. of (3), is of two storeys, partly timber-framed and partly of later brickwork. It was built early in the 17th century but was largely reconstructed early in the 18th century. On the N. side is a stone with the date 1710, perhaps that of the reconstruction; the adjoining door is of battens with strap-hinges having ornamental ends. Inside the building is some re-used timber-work and a wall-post with a moulded top. Some doors, a fireplace with a marble surround and the staircase date from the 18th century. Below the stairs is an early 17th-century door with open upper panels.

Condition—Good.

(5). Culvert carrying bye-road over Lyde Brook, 300 yards N.N.W. of the church, has a span of about 3 feet and a roughly built arch of stone of irregular form. The faulty construction of the arch would seem to indicate a fairly early date for the structure which is otherwise quite indefinite.