Building record 0069800000 - QUAINTON PARISH CHURCH

Dimensions - Length 38m, Width 13m.
Nave & aisles c.1340; chancel (except chancel arch) rebuilt, extended, & vestry added c.1380. W tower (embattled), clerestorey, N chapel & S porch C15 (B4).
State of decay in C16-C17 & C19 restorations described (B3).
Full description of church, monuments & list of rectors 1224-1822 (B1).
Quainton church is exceptionally rich in large late C17 and C18 monuments (B7).
Included in a collection of sketches of Buckinghamshire churches by Charlotte Pigott in the early 1840s (B11).
Watching brief during excavation of trenches to investigate a damp problem only identified church foundations (B12).
Grade I. Parish church. C14 nave, aisles and chancel; late C15 W. tower, clerestory, N. chapel and S. porch. N. aisle and S. porch rebuilt and remainder restored 1877. C19 N. vestry. Coursed rubble stone, tiled roofs to nave and chancel, lead roofs to aisles. W. tower of 3 stages has plinth, angle buttresses, restored battlemented parapet with carved figures to string below, and stair turret at S.W. corner. 2-light traceried openings to bell-chamber, restored and reused C14 traceried window and moulded door to west. 5-bay clerestory of 2-light cusped windows with Tudor hoodmoulds. Aisles have 3 bays of 3-light traceried windows with flat heads, originally late C15. E. window of S. aisle is restored 3-light Decorated window. Moulded doorways to N. and S., the S. door with stoup over stone with trefoil ornament. Moulded arch and battlemented parpet to S. porch. Perpendicular N. chapel with similar parapet, 2 bays of 3-light traceried windows and small moulded doorway. Decorated chancel has 3 bays of restored 3-light traceried windows and 5-light window to east. Interior: approximately 4-centred arch to tower. Nave has tall arcades of 5 bays with double chamfered arches on octagonal piers, altered C15. Another arch to N. chapel. Remains of rood-loft stairs in N.E. pier. 2 piscinae in S. aisle, one in rectangular niche, the other in window jamb with 2 cusped ogee openings. Tall double-chamfered chancel arch, the inner order on semi- octagonal piers. C19 ogee piscina and triple sedilia. C19 roofs. Fittings: C15 octagonal font with traceried panels; part of low C15-C16 screen with 4 painted figures in cusped ogee panels, now at E. end of N. aisle; chest with linenfold panels and tablet dated 1775; C19 carved stone reredos, stained glass in E. window,and charity boards. Brasses in chancel to: Margery Verney and children 1509: John Spence, priest,1485; Elizabeth Chester 1593; Joan Plessi c.1350; Richard Iwardby 1510; and John Lewys, priest, 1422. Important series of fine wall monuments: In S. aisle: a) to Richard Brett, one of the 47 translators of the Bible, and wife Alice, 163?. Small carved and painted figures kneeling at desk in marble aedicule with segmental pediment; b) marble effigies of Richard Winwood and wife 1689, reclining on tomb chest with incised skeleton on front panel. Winwood has finely carved armour and elaborate wig. Wife in loose classical garb leans on her elbow to look over husband. Draped inscription tablet above. Signed Thos. Stayner. In N. aisle: c) to Sir Richard Piggott 1686, Thomas Pigott 1704, and wife Lettice 1735. Signed I. Leoni Archi. Of coloured marble with sarcophagus, relief of cherub heads and surround of Ionic columns, entablature and broken pediment. D) to Susanna and John Dormer of Lee Grange, 1672 and 1675, signed Wm.Stanton. Black and White marble with inscription tablets in moulded surrounds, the upper tablet with flanking portrait busts. In Tower: e) to Robert Dormer, J.P., wife and son, c.1730, attributed to Roubiliac. Imposing composition, finely carved, with son lying on a sarcophagus, father standing to left, and distraught mother kneeling to right. Classical surround. F) to Fleetwood Dormer and family, 1638 and later. Attributed to Grinling Gibbons but carving not of his quality. Awkward composition of urns, putti and obelisks with eagle finials and carved foliage. RCHM II p.240-243. Illustrations in Murray's Guide to Buckinghamshire (B8).