St. Mary's Church - The Interior

A view to the east along the nave

My exploration of the architecture and building stones of Nottingham coincided with the Easter weekend and when visiting St. Mary’s church, extensive preparations were being made for the Easter Sunday service. 

A view west along the nave

With temporary seating seeming to fill every available space, it wasn’t easy to explore certain parts of the church without getting in the way and, to properly see the features in the interior, I will have to come back another day with my camera tripod; however, I found several points of interest that relate to the Language of Stone. 

Various grotesques

Entering by the west door, the tall columns and arcades either side of the nave at first sight look quite featureless but, once you get accustomed to the light, a wide variety of grotesques can be seen on both sides of the arcade; however, being so high up and not highlighted by artificial lighting it is quite hard to see their details. 

A detail of the stone floor in the nave

The nave is mainly notable for its heated stone floor, designed by the artist Tess Jay and installed in 2012, which is based on a chevron pattern with alternating Jurassic Ancaster Weatherbed limestone and Triassic Cove Red sandstone. 

The effigy of Robert English in the north aisle

Along the north aisle, there are various wall memorials from the C18 and C19, made of various marbles, but the most interesting monument is the highly mutilated alabaster effigy of Robert English, d.1484, who was once the Mayor of Nottingham. 

The monument to Thomas Thurland

In the north transept, another former Mayor of Nottingham – Thomas Thurland who died in 1474 – is commemorated by a large canopy with an ornate ogee arch, below which there are remnants of other monuments that have been salvaged from elsewhere in the church. 

A view from the chancel to the vaulted crossing tower

The Perpendicular Gothic style of architecture is clearly evident throughout the church with tall columns and arches that have minimal embellishment, and a vaulted ceiling in the tower crossing, which was rebuilt in the C19 by Moffatt and Scott, but it was the decorative stone that most interested me. 

Decorative stone in the floor of the chancel

Moving into the chancel and sanctuary, their floors were laid in the 1920’s with squares of Campan Vert from the French Pyrenees, Derbyshire fossil marble – which is packed with crinoids – and what may possibly be the Italian Botticino Classico. 

A fragment of C15 alabaster in the Lady Chapel

In the Lady Chapel, various stones are used in modern wall memorials and, although covered in a perspex sheet and very difficult to photograph, there is a fragment of an alabaster tablet, depicting Thomas Beckett in exile, which is thought to be from the C15.

The alabaster effigy in the Samon tomb

In the adjoining south transept, that is another example of another canopy with an ogee arch, this time the Samon tomb, where three generations of the Samon family are buried, including John Samon, yet another former Mayor of Nottingham, who is represented by an alabaster effigy. 

The Perpendicular Gothic style font

At the west end, the C15 octagonal font has traceried panels of a similar style to the Perpendicular windows seen elsewhere and I ended my quick tour of the interior by leaving through the south door, where the porch is thought to be the oldest surviving part of the church.

The roof of the south porch