St. Peter & St. Paul in Mansfield - Part 3

A view east along the nave from the tower

I finished my exploration of the exterior of the church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Mansfield by looking at the headstops on the outside of the south porch and, once inside, I noticed that those on the south door had lost a part of their noses despite the protection from the elements. 

Headstops on the south door

Before stepping into the interior, I noticed that there are a couple of fragments of mediaeval grave slabs with crosses – both made from the yellow dolomitic sandstone – and I later discovered that more are found in the church. 

Mediaeval grave slabs in the porch

My first impression, when entering the church, was that the tall arcades, with quatrefoil columns, were C15 in date and they reminded me of the arcades that I had seen earlier in the year at Tideswell in Derbyshire. 

The south arcade

I don’t have a Pevsner guide for Nottinghamshire, and Historic England listings often don’t give much information but, from the previous 3 years of investigating mediaeval churches, I was now more confident in recognising various architectural styles and dates. 

A view west along the nave from the chancel

The Southwell and Nottingham Church History Project website, however, does provide some useful historical information, especially the fact that the church was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1304, and provides useful reference points for dating the various architectural elements. 

The arch to the north chapel

The chancel arch has responds and mouldings that match those of the arcades and it therefore seems clear that the chancel was built at the same time; however, the arches and arcades that link the C15 chapels to the chancel and the aisles have octagonal sections to the piers and responds. 

The tower arch and old roofline

At the other end of the nave, the round tower arch and the opening above it are typically Norman features and the steep old roofline marks the original position of the roof. Inside the tower, there is a round arched doorway leading to the spiral staircase and the internal splay to the slit window reveals very thick walls.

The west window in the tower