British Listed Buildings

Listing Text

MORPETH HIGH CHURCH
NZ 1985

24/229 Church of St. Mary

11.8.50

GV l


Parish church. Largely C14. Squared stone with Lakeland slate and lead roofs.
West tower, nave with aisles and south porch, chancel and vestry.

2-storey tower with angle buttresses and 2-light bell openings; low, lead C18
concave spire. 5-bay nave with C19 porch; windows with cusped Y-tracery; south
aisle east window is 3-light with reticulated tracery. Nave and aisles have
low-pitched roofs behind parapets.

3-bay chancel has original priest's door with decorative hinges and knocker.
2-light windows with Decorated tracery, divided by buttresses. Large C18
incised sundial. Large 5-light east window with reticulated tracery; 2 cusped
niches in buttress on south side. High steeply-pitched roof.

On north side an original 2-storey vestry with 2 gargoyles. North aisle partly
rebuilt in C19.

Interior: Original south door with iron knocker. Original door also into
vestry. Arcades with double-chamfered arches and octagonal piers. South arcade
responds have foliage capitals. Double-chamfered tower arch dying into imposts
and double-chamfered chancel arch on octagonal responds. Original nave roof
with arched braces and cusped spandrels between purlins and principal rafters.
Old timbers in aisle roofs also. In south aisle a C14 tomb recess. Squint into
chancel. C14 glass in south aisle east window. East window has C14 "Tree of
Jesse" glass, restored 1851 by Wailes. Elaborate sedilia and piscina with
crocketed ogee heads and figures on the dividing columns. C14 head stops to
all chancel windows. Original door to aumbry on chancel north wall. Chancel
has C19 roof with cusped arched braces on angel corbels. Good late C19 screens
and pulpit. Cartouche to Robert Fenwick, 1717, in south aisle.


Listing NGR: NZ1971385088

Source: English Heritage

Listed building text is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under licence: PSI Click-use licence number C2008002006.