St. Bartholomew the Great - Part 4

 

A section of the nave

Leaving the interior of the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, I made my way through the raised churchyard to Cloth Fair, where I started my exploration of the exterior at the north transept, which was built in 1893.

 

The north transept

As with the west front, the north transept is built in knapped flint walling, with Portland stone used for the quoins and dressings; however, a section of the demolished nave to the west of the crossing has been retained.

 

A retained section of the west bay of the nave

The masonry here comprises blackened Kentish Rag rubble walling, with courses of squared blocks and the voussoirs probably being Reigate Stone, which here has a green/grey colour. Compared to the Kentish rag, it is quite soft and in places the stone blocks have delaminated and are eroding away.

 

Various blocked arches in the nave

Various blocked arches reflect different phases of construction, but the Historic England description of this Grade I Listed church is extremely poor and I haven't yet found any information that provides any explanation of their purpose.

 

A view along the north elevation

Continuing up Cloth Fair, the view of the shortened north transept and the choir beyond it present a mixture of architectural styles and materials. All of the work by Sir Aston Webb towards the end of the C19 appears to be built in flint and Portland stone, but the Lady Chapel has a ground floor and a clerestory that is in built in Kentish Rag, with renewed Gothic windows.

 

The north elevation of the choir

 

There is also a large extension, rising up to three storeys, which is built in soft red brick and is marked on the 1949 archaeological plan by J.M.W. as being modern - i.e. post 16th Century – and which presumably includes the brick tower, which was built in the early C17.

 

A detail of the north elevation

Except for vague references to the remaining building being occupied by squatters, a forge and various other parts added to it for secular and commercial uses, I have not yet seen any explanation of this range of brick buildings.

 

The Lady Chapel

A little bit further up Cloth Fair, at the time of my visit the exterior of the Lady Chapel was being restored, where more flint and Portland stone has been used in the Victorian restoration of the mediaeval building, but I just took a few record photos.

 

The east end of the Lady Chapel

Moving on to the east end of the church and looking down to the lowermost walling of the Lady Chapel, the area now occupied by a garden space appears to have been built up over the years – as seen in the levels of the ground floor windows.

 

The south elevation of the Lady Chapel

Although flint and Portland limestone used in its C19 restoration are the principal building stones seen here and also on the south elevation, many of the mediaeval Kentish Rag or Reigate Stone buttresses and the tower part of the walling are still intact.

A general view of the south elevation

Access to the south elevation was very limited, but I was able to see yet another range of Victorian extensions in flint and Portland stone, which further illustrate the scale of the rebuilding - with only the clerestory to the choir retaining the original masonry.

A view of the clerestory