St. Mary’s Church in Blyth - The Interior

 

A view along the old nave

Approaching the Priory Church of St. Mary and St. Martin, having taken photos of half a dozen listed buildings in Blyth for the British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge, I was dismayed to find that preparations were being made for a wedding and that, after 2½ hours of travelling by bus and train, I might not get to see its interior. 

 

The entrance to the churchyard

 

When undertaking a survey of a church, I start by walking around its exterior to note the various phases of construction but, on this occasion, because of the imminent wedding I didn’t take a single photograph and only recall seeing a Perpendicular Gothic style tower and a rebuilt south aisle that has later Early English Gothic style intersecting tracery to the windows. 

 

A view east along the south aisle

 

Introducing myself to Reverend Tissington, I was given permission to look around and I immediately set about very quickly photographing the architectural elements of the church. I was immediately surprised to see that the south aisle is the part of the church that functions for the congregation and not the traditional nave. 

 

The church guide

 

I didn’t have any time to read the basic Heritage Inspired produced black and white leaflet, but I later discovered that this stems from a longstanding dispute between the monks of the priory and the first parochial vicar, William de Flecham, who was appointed in 1256. This resulted in the widening of the south aisle, which was used as the nave for the townspeople and the original nave was used by the monks. 

 

The south arcade of the original nave

 

The original nave is very impressive, with its very tall arches to the arcades, a tribune above and the high level clerestory. Founded in 1088 by Roger de Busli, who held the Honour of Tickhill and was tenant-in-chief of numerous manors in Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and other counties, the priory is one of the oldest examples of Norman architecture in the country. 

 

Another view of the south arcade

 

The church guide states that the columns all have slight differences in style, which reflects the transition from the Anglo-Saxon to the Norman style but, except for one crudely carved face, I was too busy taking a set of general record photographs that I didn’t record any of the details. 

 

A capital with a crudely carved face

 

The separation of the church for the monks and the parishioners continued into the C15 and a wall was built to separate the now demolished east end and the existing west end, to which another tower was added. This wall was decorated with a Doom painting, which was covered after the dissolution of the priory, but was rediscovered in 1985. 

 

The Doom painting

 

Returning to the west end of the nave, I stopped to take a few photos of the tribunes and clerestories, which rise to a vaulted ceiling that dates to c.1230. On the south side, the tribune arches are open and enclosed by the tall south aisle, which replaced the original galleried aisle.

 

A view of the south side of the old nave

 

The north side, however, has had its tribune arches infilled with windows, which is explained in the entry on the Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project (SNCHP) website as being the result of the removal of the gallery and the vaulted aisle being reduced in height. 

 

A view of the north side of the old nave

Walking back along the old nave, I was struck by just how tall the tower arch is compared to the very many other mediaeval churches that I have visited. When first approaching the church, although I did notice the height of the tower, which the SNCHP compares to St. Mary’s church in Tickhill and describes as having lofty proportions, I didn't appreciate the scale of the interior.

 

A view west along the old nave

Before returning to the south aisle, where I was now very conscious of the gathering of groomsmen and various other members of the wedding party, I took a couple of quick snaps of the C17 font, which has a cherub as part of its decoration. 

 

A cherub on the font

 

Quickly making my way to the east end of the south aisle, I just took a few general photographs that included several wall monuments - which I did not have time to examine - the east end where blocked arches led to the south transept and a view west along the aisle. 

 

Views of the south aisle

 

I finished my very quick tour of the interior, which took only 16 minutes, at the effigy of a knight, which dates to c.1240 and is thought to be Percival Fitzwilliam. Most of the body is covered with a large shield, but the cylindrical helmet with a visor that he is wearing is quite unusual and I wish that I could have got a closer look.  

An effigy of a knight with a cylindrical helmet