Church of St Mary the Virgin, Astley

Heritage listing

Details ASTLEY Church of St. Mary the Virgin SP38NW 8/18 I 08/09/61 GV Church. Nave built 1343 as the chancel of a collegiate church for Sir Thomas Astley of Astley Castle. Chancel and tower built 1608 for Richard Chamberlaine who re-established the building as a parish church; small C17 porch. Nave of coursed squared and tower of regular coursed red sandstone; chancel of regular coursed grey sandstone. Nave is largely rendered. Porch is timber-framed with rendered infill. Nave has plain-tile roof; chancel has slate roof. Chancel, nave, west tower, south porch. Decorated style nave, late Perpendicular style chancel and tower. 2-bay chancel, 3-bay nave. Low chancel has datestone 1608 below cornice on south side. Moulded plinth and diagonal and side buttresses of 2 offsets. 3-light windows have panel tracery and transoms, deep hollow and roll-moulded jambs, and hood moulds. Large east window has carved stops, a shield panel with cornice to left and right of hood mould, and a shield with hood mould above. Large shaped panels to left and right. Angles have short section of cornice. 2 stones in top left corner have initials RM and RC. Very shallow gable. North and south sides have blind western windows of c.1800 with cusped Y-tracery, rendered infill and remains of carved stops. Eastern windows have return stops. Moulded sill course, and cornice with frieze of shields, Tudor flower, etc. Parapet has 8 pierced trefoiled arches. North side has blocked Tudor-arched doorway below eastern window. Nave has enormous blocked 7-light C15 Perpendicular window, with panel tracery and rendered infill, in moulded ogee arch with fleurons and finial. Blocked C14 rose window above. Crocketed gable parapet. North and south sides have splay plinth and moulded sill course, and diagonal and oth

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.