Church Heritage Record 632242

Rectangular nave, with west portico and shallow north and south transepts; at the east an apsidal sanctuary embraced on either side by 'semi-apses'; Attached to the west facade of the church on north and south sides are open screens, linking the church to the aedicular mausolea of Sir Lyonel Lyde, who paid for the church to be built, and his wife.

Nicholas Revett, 1778. The church is one of the earliest and therefore from that point of view most significant examples of the Greek Revival in England.

Whereas the western aspect of the church is dressed with stone and stucco the greater part of the nave and eastern salient of the building are of brick, and this adds to the impression of austere classical grandeur. In addition, the walls are punctuated by remarkably few windows and these are played down by being set high up and the glazing set at the inner level of the deep reveals.

Examining the building from the south-east, the following architectural features are to be noted, three upper windows in the south wall, the middle window set in to shallow projecting transept, all with shallow segmental heads; at the west are two narrower rectangular windows, which light the staircase and gallery. The semi-apses flanking the sanctuary have each a flattened rectangular window providing light for the sanctuary from either side, the sanctuary itself having blank relieving arches but no window openings. The arrangement of windows on the south side is exactly the same as on the north, except that the lower subsidiary window at the west is a double window and appears to have been panelled up inside. At the junction of the south side of the nave with the south screen is a small bell-cote with a single bell.

The linking screens and mausolea which add so greatly to the dignity and picturesque qualities of the western aspect of the building have a solid-void-column-void-column-void-solid rhythm. There are no triglyphs on the frieze of the screens and, as these do appear both on the main facade and on the mausolea, this may be a deliberate element of additional austerity rather than the result of a later repair and simplification of the design; it is very difficult to tell, simply from a visual examination of the building. The two mausolea are pedimonted on the east and west sides and articulated at the corners by exceptionally shallow pilasters. They have round-arched openings on three sides and, as is to be expected, the fourth side linking with the screen is solid. Over the western arches are narrow rectangular sunken panels. Within the south mausoleum stands the monument to Sir Lyonel Lydel builder of the church, beneath a shallow groined vault. The monument (matched exactly by that of his wife in the northern mausoleum) takes the form of classical altar, also austere in shape, with a pineapple finial.

The great west portico is raised on a plinth of three steps. The order is that of the Temple of Apollo of Delos, which Nicholas Revett had published in Antiquities of Athens, Vol.I, in 1762, compiled by himself and James 'Athenian' Stewart. Four columns, with a central space wider than the flanking spaces, the relationship of columns to frieze all follow carefully the Greek precedent and the columns (as also on the screens) have fluting at the extreme top and base only. The visual capping of the portico is a shallow pediment.

Inside the church there are three main spatial divisions. At the west, the end bay consists of a vestibule with a screen towards the nave of two Ionic columns supporting an entablature set back somewhat from the main order which runs round the walls of the nave, and flanking the vestibule are the vestry and the staircase to the gallery. The second element is the nave itself, rectangular in form, with the shallow transepts providing ideal positions for the pulpit (north) and organ (south) respectively. Thirdly, at the eastern end of the building, is the apsidal sanctuary with its subsidiary chambers on recesses providing indirect lighting.

The walls are articulated by a series of tall pilasters with egg-and-dart moulding serving as shallow capitals. These pilasters are wrapped round the corners of both nave and transepts. The transept ceilings have each a single band of broad hexagonal coffering. The rectangular curved ceiling of the nave is more elaborate, being divided by north and south main pillars into three portions the centre bay being wider and enclosing a great circle within which the coffering tapers radially towards the IHS in the centre further beams east and west divide a single band of square coffering along the north and south extremities of the ceiling, and then the east and west compartments are also coffered in squares. The sanctuary ceiling is the most elaborate of all: the apse is divided into three segments, each with hexagonal coffering. These hexagons have been coloured blue, each with a gold star in the middle.

The nave still has its black and white marble paving, with wooden flooring over the area where the seating is placed, and the sanctuary flooring is also of black and white marble. The sanctuary paviors are arranged radially with a semi-circular pattern at the top of the steps reflecting the glory of rays in the ceiling above. Finally, the deep west gallery over the vestibule is also coiled with hexagonal coffering.