Ickford

61. ICKFORD.

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)xxxi. S.E. ^(b)xxxii. S.W.)

Ecclesiastical

^a(1). Parish Church of St. Nicholas, at the W. end of the village, is built of limestone rubble with stone dressings. The roofs are covered with lead and with tiles. The Chancel, Nave, West Tower and a S. porch were built at the beginning of the 13th century; the North and South Aisles were added c. 1230. In the 14th century the E. wall and part of the N. wall of the chancel were re-built, the upper stage of the tower was re-constructed and windows were inserted in various parts of the building. In the 15th century the church was considerably restored, especially the E. walls of the nave and aisles; a new South Porch was added probably in the 15th century, and considerably altered late in the 16th or early in the 17th century. The church was repaired in 1856 and 1875, and thoroughly restored in 1906, when the S. wall of the chancel was re-built, other alterations were made, and some of the external stonework was renewed.

The church is of especial interest as it was built almost entirely in the 13th century, and retains much detail of that date.

Architectural Description— The Chancel (26½ ft. by 13 ft.) has an E. window of c. 1330, of three trefoiled ogee lights and tracery in a two-centred head, with a moulded external label; the rear arch is chamfered. In the N. wall are two early 13th-century lancet windows; the heads inside are splayed and almost circular: in 1906 the second window was moved westward to its present position, to make room for a 16th-century monument transferred from the N. aisle (see Monuments): below the second window is a square low-side window, now blocked, and E. of it a recess, probably part of a squint. In the S. wall are three windows; the easternmost, of c. 1360, is of two trefoiled ogee lights and tracery under a square head, with moulded jambs and external label, all of dark brown Hornton stone; it is said that when the S. wall was re-built, this window was found to have been brought from elsewhere: the second window is a 13th-century lancet, similar to those in the N. wall, but with a modern sill: the third window is a cinque-foiled four-centred light of the 15th century; the lower part formed a low-side window, now much altered and restored; there are two internal ledges, the upper one is modern; between the second and third windows is a 13th-century doorway, with a pointed head and semi-circular rear arch. The N. and S. walls have each two 13th-century external string-courses; one, below the lancets, is cut for the low-side windows; the other is carried over the heads of the lancets, to form labels, and is cut for the windows of later date. The chancel arch is of early 13th-century date, re-built and altered, probably in the 15th century; it is two-centred, and, on the W. side, of two moulded orders, with a label; on the E. side it has been much thinned, and half the S. jamb cut away, a moulded corbel has been added to support the overhanging arch; the jambs are chamfered, and have attached circular shafts, and moulded abaci; the N. capital has enriched scalloped ornament, and the S. capital an early form of foliage; the bases are modern. The Nave (41 ft. by 13 ft.) has N. and S. arcades of three bays, both probably of early 13th-century date, but of slightly different detail, and the E. arch of the S. arcade has been apparently re-built; the columns are circular, the responds semi-circular, the bases have square plinths, except the base of one column in the S. arcade, which is circular; the third capital in the S. arcade has an early form of foliage on the bell; the other capitals are plainer and two of them have been re-cut; the arches are of two chamfered orders, with plain round labels, mitred in the S. arcade, and with beak-head stops over the N. columns; one stop, with a ring above it, is broken. Over the W. end of the S. arcade is a modern dormer window. The North Aisle (6½ ft. wide) has an E. window of two lancet lights, probably inserted in the 16th century, the head cut out of one long stone; the stones in the angles of the internal jambs are old, the wood lintel is modern. In the N. wall are four windows; the easternmost is of c. 1360, and of three cinque-foiled lights under a square head; the moulded label has been carried out further on the E. side than the W., and the spandrels have been enlarged; the jambs and mullions are moulded; the internal sill is made up of a 13th-century string-course, and has some incised lines on the upper face; the second window is a very small lancet of early 13th-century date, with the jambs rebated and chamfered outside and widely splayed inside; the rear arch does not fit the jambs, and is probably of early 16th-century date; it is trefoiled under a square head, and the sunk spandrels are ornamented with circular flowers; the third window is similar to the second window, but is set higher in the wall, and has a round head and rear arch; both these windows were probably in the original nave, and were formerly blocked by the monument which was removed to the chancel (see Chancel and Monuments); they were restored in 1906; the fourth window is of two lancet lights, the heads are irregularly cut out of one stone, with a horizontal rebate inside, and, with the mullion, are probably of the 16th century, the jambs being of early 13th-century date; the sill is made up of a 13th-century string-course; the N. doorway, between the second and third windows, is probably of early 13th-century date, and has chamfered jambs and round arch. In the W. wall is a window of two lights, apparently of the 13th century, adapted in the 16th century; the heads of the lights are almost round, and are cut in one stone. The South Aisle (5½ ft. wide) has, in the E. wall, a 13th-century lancet; the external label has a corbel, probably re-used, in the apex. In the S. wall are two windows, the eastern of four square-headed lights with a moulded external label; the western window is modern; below the windows, inside, is a 13th-century string-course: the S. doorway, between the windows, is of early 13th-century date; the wall in which it is set was probably the outer wall of the 13th-century S. porch, the aisle having been built out to the same level; the jambs are of two orders, the inner moulded, the outer chamfered; in each angle is a detached shaft with moulded base and intermediate band; the square E. capital is moulded; the W. capital is carved and has a moulded abacus; the arch was re-modelled in the 15th century; the inner order is four-centred, with the moulding continued from the jambs; the outer order is moulded and forms a high pointed segmental arch without a label; over the doorway are two pieces of the weathercoursing of the original porch. In the W. wall is a modern lancet window with a 13th-century head, which was found buried in the S. wall and inserted in its present position in 1906; over it is a small quatrefoil light, probably of the 13th century. The West Tower (10½ ft. square) is of two stages with a saddle-back roof; the E. and W. walls are gabled. The lower stage is divided internally into two storeys. The two-centred tower arch is of two chamfered orders, with a plain round label on the E. side; the chamfered jambs have small detached shafts; the N. shaft has a moulded base and a scalloped ogee capital with a moulded abacus; the S. shaft has, at the base, part of an octagonal shaft of later date, and the capital is carved with an early form of foliage. The W. window is a 13th-century lancet with an external label. The upper storey of the lower stage has, in the N. wall, a single round-headed light, and similar lights, now blocked, are in the S. and W. walls; a doorway in the E. wall, formerly opening into the roof of the nave, has been reduced to a modern loop. The bell-chamber has, on the W. side, a 13th-century window of two trefoiled lights with tympana above them, under pointed lancet heads with external labels; in the N., S. and E. walls are 14th-century windows, each of two trefoiled ogee lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head, under a moulded label with mask-stops; traces of the former 13th-century windows are visible in the S. and E. walls, possibly indicating that all the walls were formerly of the same height; in the E. wall is the weather-course of the original roof of the nave, and in the S. wall is set a carved stone, apparently the finial of a canopy. The South Porch has a low pitched 15th-century gable, under a higher pitched modern gable. The doorway has a two-centred arch with an edge-roll, probably the inner arch of the former S. doorway, moved out when the outer arch was re-modelled; the jambs are modern; inside it is a 17th-century door-frame of wood. In the side walls only the inner jambs of the former windows remain. The Roof of the chancel is possibly of the 14th century, with rough tie-beams and trussed collar-beams and rafters; the wall-plates are said to stop short of the chancel arch, showing the thinning of the arch. The roof of the nave is modern, but retains four old chamfered tie-beams of uncertain date, and under the westernmost, on the N. side, is a moulded corbel post on a stone corbel, probably inserted in the 17th century to support the tie. The porch has roof-timbers of late 15th or early 16th-century date; the S. tie-beam is moulded and has a central boss carved as a Tudor rose; the N. tie-beam is modern, but has an old boss, re-set, carved with a lion's face; the cornice is moulded; the queen-post trusses have been cut away, and the higher pitched roof is modern.

Fittings—Altar-slab: on the communiontable, found in the floor at the E. end of the N. aisle, date uncertain, stone re-dressed. Bells: three, and sanctus, 1st, inscribed with illegible letters and signs, date uncertain, 3rd, by Ellis Knight, 1623. Brackets: for images, one on each side of E. window of chancel, semi-octagonal, chamfered, date uncertain. Communion-table: in the chancel, with turned legs, 17th-century (see Altar-slab). Door: in S. porch, plain, 17th-century. Font: plain circular bowl and stem, moulded base, apparently 13th-century, much scraped and restored. Gallery: at W. end, said to be copy of original gallery, front made up of 17th-century panelling. Glass: in tracery of E. window of chancel, four-leaf foliage with shields, of c. 1330, shields modern, except one bearing arms, apparently—barry or and azure, over all a bend gules; in heads of lights, some fragments: in lancet window, N. aisle, small quarries, with quatrefoils on cross-hatched ground, in brown, 14th-century. Monuments and Floor-slabs. Monuments: In chancel—on N. side, to Thomas Tipping, 1595, and Margaret his wife, of clunch, with Corinthian order superimposed on Ionic order, each order with black marble columns and complete entablature; between lower columns panels each with kneeling figures of four sons and five daughters, inscription at back in strap-work frame with grotesque figures, above monument, shield with arms; all of crude design and workmanship. In S. aisle—(2), mural tablet to Thomas Phillips, 1704, and Mary, his wife, 1681, with inscription and arms. Floor-slabs: In chancel —on S. side, at W. end, (1) to Edmund Lawrence, 1645. In nave—at W. end, (2) to Ann, wife of Thomas Coles, 1695. Niches: at E. end of S. aisle, trefoiled, with stop-chamfered edges, probably 15th-century. Paintings: on chancel arch, and on E. window of N. aisle, traces of red paint. Piscinæ: in the chancel, with chamfered jambs and shelf at back, pointed corbel sill, probably 13th-century, head modern: in N. aisle, in E. respond of N. arcade, with pointed arch and multifoil basin, inserted in 15th century: in S. aisle, with round head, half basin, broken, 13th-century. Plate: includes large cup and standing paten, both of 1661. Pulpit: hexagonal, made up of 17th-century woodwork, canopy enriched with guilloche ornament, 17th-century. Seating: in nave, number of seats with plain panels, probably late 16th-century. Stoup: in S. aisle, E. of doorway, set low in wall, half trefoiled head, part of plastered back of recess, probably 14th-century, rest modern. Miscellanea: in chancel, three worked stones, probably part of original windows of bell-chamber, part of trefoiled head, capital of shaft with foliage, 13th-century; in E. respond of N. arcade, small holes cut for wood rails of former screens.

Condition—Good; the building has been well and carefully restored.

Secular

^a(2). The Rectory, N.E. of the church, is of two storeys, built of brick, with some stone and plastered timber-framing; the roofs are tiled. The plan of the older part of the house is H-shaped, with the wings extending towards the E. and W.; the S. wing was built probably in the second half of the 16th century; the N. wing appears to have been added late in the 17th century, and the main block was probably remodelled at the same period; a small addition, of one storey, was built at the S. end, probably in the 18th century, and the space between the wings on the W. side has been filled in by a modern addition. The W. front, except the end of the N. wing, is of modern brick; the N. wing is gabled at each end, and is chiefly of stone rubble, with quoins and a projecting chimney stack of late 17th-century brick; the S. wing retains, at the E. end, the original timber-framing in the upper storey, which is gabled and formerly projected; the lower storey is of modern brick; the S. side is almost entirely modern, but has a little 17th or 18th-century brick; the lower part of a projecting chimney stack is of late 16th-century brick, but has been reduced in width. Interior:—The S. wing has, on the ground floor, an original stone fireplace with a four-centred arch, reduced in width and restored; in the back and one side are original thin tiles; on the first floor is a similar fireplace, intact, but without the tiles. The main block and the N. wing have old chamfered beams in the ceilings.

Condition—Good.

^a(3). Church Farm, 80 yards S. by E. of the church, has been re-built and enlarged at various dates after 1700; all that is left of the original building is a projecting chimney stack, of c. 1600, at the N. end of one wing; the lower part of the stack is of stone rubble with two tiled offsets; the upper part is of brick, and has flat pilasters at the sides; the top has been re-built.

Condition—Good.

Main road, E. side

^a(4). Cottage, 120 yards S.E. of the church, is a 17th-century building of two storeys, timber-framed, with brick filling covered with plaster; the N. end has been re-built in stone rubble. The thatched roof is hipped at the S. end and carried over a small outhouse. A chimney stack, at the junction of the stone and timber-framing, is of 17th-century brick, and has flat pilasters at the sides; a second stack, at the S. end, is of later date. At the N. end is a weather-boarded outhouse.

Condition—Fairly good.

^a(5). The Rising Sun Inn, ¼ mile N.E. of the church, is of one storey and an attic, timber-framed, with filling of brick and some stone; the roof is thatched. It was built probably at the end of the 16th century, and subsequently altered and partly re-built. The plan is roughly L-shaped; on the W. side, the gable retains the original framing, which forms a rough truss.

Condition—Fairly good.

W. side

^a(6). Cottage, on the W. side of the road, 300 yards E. of the church, is of one storey and an attic, built probably in the 17th century, and timber-framed, with modern brick filling. The roof is tiled. The plan is of the central chimney type.

Condition—Fairly good.

^a(7). Cottage, 30 yards S.W. of (6), is of one storey and an attic, built late in the 16th or early in the 17th century, of brick and timber, and subsequently much altered. The roof is tiled. The S.W. front has been re-faced with 18th-century brick; at the ends of the building some original timber-framing remains, and there are late 17th-century windows, partly restored, with moulded cornices. The central chimney stack is L-shaped, with a rough moulded cap and the stump of one square shaft set diagonally; another stack, at the S. corner, is apparently a late 17th-century addition.

Condition—Poor, the chimneys are in a dilapidated state.

^a(8). Bridge, across the Thames from N. to S. on the road to Tiddington, consists of three three-centred arches on very heavy piers, built of stone, and dated 1685. The walling is ashlared, with chamfered coping and weathered buttresses. On each side of the bridge, facing up and down stream, between the two northern arches, is a 'cutwater'; between the second and third arches the bridge widens, and has a buttress on each side; the parapets are plain, and the cutwaters are carried up to the coping, forming a V-shaped niche on each side. In the eastern niche on the S. side is a stone inscribed:—1685, HERE ENDS THE COUNTY OF OXON; and on the N. side a stone inscribed:— HERE BEGINNETH THE COUNTY OF BUCKS, 1685.

Condition—Good.

Little Ickford

^b(9). The Manor Farm, nearly ½ mile E.S.E. of the church, is a house of two storeys, timber-framed, with plaster and some brick filling, partly covered with rough-cast; there are traces of arabesque pattern worked flat on the plaster; the roofs are tiled. It consists of a range, running N. and S., with a small staircase wing on the E. side, built probably late in the 16th century; in 1675 a square block was added on the E. side, projecting towards the N. The range is divided by transverse partitions, with the kitchen and offices at the S. end; the square block has four rooms on each floor, with a staircase on the N. The house was probably considerably altered, and part of the older building destroyed when the addition was made; it was again altered c. 1700 and at later dates. The 16th-century range is gabled at the S. end and over the staircase wing; at the N. end, on the first floor, is a slightly projecting window of five lights with moulded mullions and transom, and a moulded pediment, of wood, with remains of plaster rustication above it. The coved cornice is of later date. Other original windows have plain iron casements in solid wood frames. The roof of the N.E. addition is hipped, and has a simple cornice and eaves; the windows have solid frames with plain moulded mullions and transoms and iron casements. The 16th-century chimney stacks are plain; the 17th-century stack has round-headed sunk panels. Interior:—On the ground floor of the original range one room is lined with large 17th-century panels in two tiers, and there is similar panelling in the N.E. addition. The plain original staircase is enclosed; and the 17th-century staircase, now also enclosed, has a moulded handrail and square newels, with turned tops and turned balusters.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b(10). Cottage, opposite the Manor Farm, is of one storey and an attic, built late in the 16th or early in the 17th century, and timber-framed with brick and some plaster filling. The roof is thatched. The plan is of the central chimney type.

Condition—Poor.

^b(11). Cottage, 100 yards S. of (9), is of two storeys, built in the 17th century, and timber-framed; the brick filling is modern. The upper storey formerly projected, but has been under-built with brick. The roof is tiled.

Condition—Good.

^b(12). Cottage, 50 yards S. of (11), is of one storey and an attic, built probably late in the 16th century, and timber-framed with plaster filling. The roof is thatched. A few original iron casements remain in the windows. One square chimney stack is of 16th-century brick.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b(13). Cottage, 60 yards S.W. of (12), is of two storeys, built probably late in the 17th century. The walls are of stone rubble with brick quoins and dressings, and a projecting course of brick at the level of the first floor. The roof is thatched. The plan is of the central chimney type, with a small gabled porch on the E. front; the walls have been heightened and the roof altered at the S. end.

Condition—Poor.

^b(14). House, now five tenements, 30 yards S.E. of (13), is of two storeys, built probably early in the 17th century, altered in the same century, and much altered and enlarged in the 19th century. It is apparently timber-framed, and is covered with plaster; at the angles are remains of quoins in smooth plaster, and some windows retain fragments of plaster rustication of late 17th-century date. The roof is tiled. One chimney stack is original, and has square shafts set diagonally.

Condition—Poor.

^a(15). Cottage, on the E. side of Bridge Road, 300 yards W. of (9), is of one storey and an attic, built probably late in the 16th century, and timber-framed, with brick filling partly in herringbone pattern, the rest of modern brick. The roof is thatched. The plan is rectangular, with a chimney stack at each end.

Condition—Poor.