Church Heritage Record id18927

West tower, nave with north and south aisles and north and south porches, chancel and north chancel chapel.

The date of the original foundation is uncertain, but no detail earlier than the 13th century survives. During the 13th century the nave was lengthened by two bays at the west end, the aisles were added and later in the same period the chancel was re-built. In the first half of the 14th century the windows of the aisles were renewed and the west tower was added, the westernmost bay of the nave being demolished for the purpose. In the 15th century the nave clerestory was added, the walls of the chancel were raised and new windows inserted, and the north aisle was extended eastwards to form a chapel. At the same time the porches on the north and south sides of the church were put up. The church originally had a spire, but this was destroyed by lightning in 1828. The church was fully restored in 1867.

The church stands atop a chalk knoll at the edge of the Chiltern Ridge, and is a conspicuous landmark. The walls of the church are mostly of ashlar limestone but extensive repairs have been made in the past with cement, which has disfigured the exterior. All the walls have embattled parapets which conceal the roofs.

The chancel has a late 13th century east window of five lights, the centre light being wider than the others, with geometrical tracery in a two centred head; the window has a richly moulded rere-arch, and shafted jambs and mullions. In the north wall at the east end is a window of two trefoiled lights with tracery of a similar character and date to that of the east window. To the west of this window is a small doorway of 15th century date with: a four-centred head, now leading to the vestry by way of a passage constructedin a small turret of recent date. The western half of the wall is pierced by a large 15th century drop arch of two moulded orders dying into square jambs. In the chancel south wall are three late 15th century windows, each of three cinquefoiled lights under a flat four—centred head. Between the two eastern windows is a small doorway of 13th century date and, west of the westernmost window and slightly above it, is a defaced fragment of a window label of the late 13th century. Both side walls of the chancel have 13th century moulded string-courses, probably marking the springing line of the original roof. On the north side of the chancel is the vestry and organ chamber which can probably be identified with the chantry chapel of St. Mary the Virgin and All Saints, founded in 1338 by Thomas le Botiller. In the north wall of the chapel is a late 15th century window of five cinquefoiled lights. In the west wall, opening into the aisle, is a segmental pointed arch of two hollow chamfered orders, also of the late 15th century. Set into the east wall of this chapel, next to the modern opening to the passage leading into the chancel, are five carved atone brackets, evidently removed from their original positions.

The nave has north and south arcades of four bays each, with two-centred arches. The arcades date from the mid-13th century. The third column from the east end of each arcade is formed by two responds, back to back, and indicates the position of the original west wall of the building. The responds against the present west wall are in the form of complete columns against which the west wall is built. The chancel arch dates from, the 15th century and is of two moulded orders, the inner continuous,the outer dying into the walls. Above the chancel arch the east wall of the nave has a moulded and embattled set-off and in the south east angle is the upper doorway to the former rood-loft. The whole of this wall is filled with a scheme of painted decoration executed by Messrs Bell as part of the 1867 scheme of restoration. The decoration is continued in the spandrels of the nave arcades. The clerestory has four windows on each side, each of two trefoiled lights with modern tracery in a pointed head.

The north aisle is spanned by four-centred arches of stone, dying into the wall and dividing the aisle into four bays corresponding to those of the nave. The easternmost window in this aisle is of the 15th century, and of three trefoiled and transomed lights. The windows in the second and fourth bays are each of c.1330 and of two trefoiled lights; the tracery of these windows is not original. In between these windows is the late 13th century doorway with a depressed two-centred head. At the extreme west end of the north aisle is a small single light, low down in the wall, which contains some mediaeval glass. On the interior face of the wall, between the first and second windows is a shallow niche, probably canopied originally, with a defaced cinquefoiled head. The back of the niche retains much of the original colouring, leaving void the outline of a human figure. On the west wall is another indentation, a rectangular chamferedrecess, at the top of which is the start of a channel or flue. This end of the aisle may have once been occupied by a two-storied cell partitioned off from the rest of the building.