Lee

66. LEE.

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)xxxviii. N.W. ^(b)xxxviii. N.E.)

Ecclesiastical

^b (1). Old Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, at the N.W. end of the village, is built of flint rubble with blocks of clunch, almost entirely covered with rough-cast; the dressings are of clunch; the E. buttresses are of brick, and the W. buttresses have clunch quoins. The roof is tiled. The Chancel and Nave have no structural division, and the whole building is probably of the 13th century. The South Porch was added in the 18th century.

The following fittings are of especial interest:—The 13th-century glass in the E. window, and the bell by Michael de Wymbis, of c. 1300, (now in the modern church).

Architectural Description— The Chancel and Nave are in one range. The E. window is of early 14th-century date, much restored and scraped, of three uncusped lights in a two-centred head with internal and external labels; the jambs were originally shafted, inside and outside, but the shafts have been cut into chamfers; the bases and the moulded internal capitals and shaft-niches remain. In the N. wall are three lancet windows, rebated inside, and apparently all of mid 13th-century date: the second is a low-side window, larger than the others; one hinge for the shutter remains: the westernmost window is the smallest of the three. In the S. wall are two windows similar to those in the N. wall; the eastern is a low-side window with two hinges, and the western window is the same size as that opposite to it; at the E. end of the S. wall is a doorway of uncertain date, with slightly chamfered jambs and segmental head; at the W. end is a 15th-century doorway with continuously chamfered jambs and four-centred head. In the W. wall is a doorway with a rounded head, of uncertain date. The South Porch is of the 18th century. The Roof has queen-post trusses of rough adzed timbers; the curved braces and wall-plates have been added or restored.

Fittings—Bells: one, now in the modern church, inscribed, 'Michael de UUymbis me fecit', c. 1300. Door: in S.W. doorway, plain, with strap-hinges, mediæval. Font: circular, with two staple holes, uncertain date. Glass: in E. window, half figures of saints, 13th-century. Paintings: on arch of S.W. doorway, round panel on W. wall, traces of scroll-work, 15th-century: on N. and S. walls, traces of painted panels, 15th or early 16th-century. Piscina: at E. end, with cinque-foiled head, in elaborately moulded pointed arch, moulded label with one mask stop, other end joins label and stop of sedile, shafted jambs, stone shelf, foiled basin, partly cut away, early 14th-century. Sedile: in range with piscina, having moulded pointed head, moulded label with mask stops, shafted jambs, early 14th-century, removed to new church, but re-set in original position. Miscellanea: on S. wall of chancel, fragments of moulding, finely carved, part of figure of angel, probably part of window tracery, 14th-century; moulded capitals, 13th and 14th-century; on N. and S. walls, at E. end, short lengths of embattled string-course, 15th-century: in N. wall, between first and second windows, small rectangular recess: on N. jamb of W. door, small incised cross, with smaller cross above it, probably consecration cross.

Condition—Good.

Secular

^b(2). Village Site, covers a pear-shaped area of 7½ acres; both the old and new churches and Church Farm are within the enclosure. The defences now consist of a rampart, strengthened in some places by a ditch. On the S.W. the rampart is 4 ft. above the ditch. The N. part of the work is partly obliterated by the main road, and the positions of the original entrances are not apparent.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b (3). Cottage, at Rab's Meadow, about 700 yards N. of the old church, is a two-storeyed rectangular building of late 16th or early 17th-century date; it is timber-framed with plaster filling, but the walls and a large chimney stack projecting from the N. end are covered with modern rough-cast. The roof is tiled. On the ground floor one room has a wide fireplace, partly blocked, and in the ceilings are chamfered beams with moulded stops. On the first floor the roof trusses and wall timbers are visible. Three old doors are of wide battens and have fleur-de-lis strap hinges.

Condition—Good, restored.

^b(4). Cottage, at Lee Gate, about 1,000 yards N.N.W. of the old church, is of two storeys, built of timber and brick, probably in the 17th century, but now considerably altered. On the W. front, the upper storey has remains of the original timber-framing, but the filling is of 18th-century and modern brick. The S. end has, above a modern addition, a gable covered with plaster. The other walls are of modern brick. The roof is tiled. A large chimney stack of 17th-century brick formerly projected from the N. end, but has been enclosed by a modern addition. On the ground floor one room has a wide fireplace, partly blocked, and the ceilings have chamfered beams. On the first floor the timbers are visible in the walls and roof.

Condition—Good, much restored.

^b(5). House, now two tenements, at Hunts Green, is a timber-framed building of the 17th century, almost entirely re-faced with 18th-century brick; the E. wing is weather-boarded. The roofs are thatched. The plan is L-shaped, with the inner angle facing S.; the N. wing is of two storeys, the E. wing of one storey. Interior:—The old ceiling-beams and other constructional timbers are visible, and in each tenement is a wide fireplace partly blocked.

Condition—Fairly good.

Unclassified

^b (6). Grim's Ditch (see also Aston Clinton, Bradenham, Buckland, Drayton Beauchamp, Great and Little Hampden, Great Missenden, Monks Risborough, Princes Risborough and Wendover). It is faintly visible in the meadow immediately N. of Bushmoor Wood, ⅓ mile S.W. of the church, and a stronger section remains in the wood. It is not shown on the O.S. maps.

Condition—Poor.