Parish Church of St Germanus Faulkbourne, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

TL 81 NW FAULKBOURNE

3/40 Parish Church of St. Germanus 21.12.67

GV I

Parish church. Mainly late C12, with C13 alterations, restored in C19. Walls of flint rubble and some Roman brick, mainly plastered, with dressings of Barnack stone, roofed with handmade red clay tiles. S porch and vestry of red brick in Flemish bond. Timber framed bell-turret and spire, clad with shingles. Aligned NE-SW, Nave with slightly narrower Chancel, extended approx. 2 metres to NE in late C13. Early C18 S porch, C19 S vestry. In both side walls of the Chancel the original quoins of Barnack stone are present to a height of one metre, rebuilt above. The E end has diagonal buttresses with string courses. The E window, late C13 and partly restored, is of 3 pointed lights under a 2-centred head, with moulded external and internal labels and headstops; the NE external headstop is defaced. In the centre of the N wall is a C12 window of one round-headed light, partly restored, with widely splayed jambs. In the S wall are 2 windows; the eastern, late C13 and partly restored, is of 2 pointed lights under a 2-centred head; the western window is a 'low-side' of the first half of the C14, much restored, of one trefoiled and transomed light under a 2-centred head. Between these windows is the original C12 doorway, with semi-circular arch springing from chamfered abaci. This doorway and the western window are enclosed by the C19 vestry. There is no Chancel arch. The Nave has in the N wall 3 windows; the easternmost is of c.1340, restored, of 2 trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil under a 2-centred head; the other windows are original, of single round-headed lights with widely splayed jambs. Between them is the N doorway, early C13, with square head on shouldered jambs, blocked with C18 brick. In the S wall are 2 windows; the eastern is early C15, of brick, partly restored; it is of 3 lights with 4-centred heads with moulded mullions and vertical tracery in a square head, with moulded label; the western window is original, similar to those in the N wall. W of this is the original S doorway, set in a gabled projection, with a semi-circular arch of 2 orders, the outer roll-moulded and supported on square shafts with chamfered arrises. The capitals have a simple cross-shaped ornament in low relief and the bases resemble inverted capitals; the base of the E shaft has a round abacus with cable ornament; the other abaci are square and plain. The door leaf is C14/C15, with hollow moulded durns forming a 2-centred head, and 4 humped planks of irregular widths, the joints covered by hollow-moulded fillets, on a simple rivetted portcullis frame, with 3 rear strap-hinges, drop-handle, and later stock lock; the bottom rail has been replaced. The outside has a graffito TN 1744. In the W wall are 5 windows arranged in 2 tiers. The middle upper window is a single round-headed light flanked by circular lights, restored; the lower windows are C19. The roof of the Nave is 7-canted, originally in 3 bays (excluding the bell-turret), but the western tiebeam has been severed; the eastern tiebeam is inside the Chancel. Octagonal crownposts with unusual arched stops are mounted on the remaining tiebeams, with thin axial braces to the collar-purlin. The soffits of the rafters, collars and soulaces have nail holes, and were formerly plastered. The roof timbers then exposed are lightly charred; the crownposts appear to be inserted. The bell-turret at the W end of the nave is supported on 2 trusses, of which the western is supported on the W wall. The eastern is supported on a N post with chamfered attached shaft; externally a short length of timber hangs from the end of the tiebeam, apparently part of a former external post. The S post is mounted on a frame enclosing the S doorway, with solid knees at the angles. There are chamfered arched braces below the E tiebeam, and arched braces above it. Straight diagonal braces at the front and sides of the turret are l