Puttenham

101. PUTTENHAM.

(O.S. 6 in. xxv. N.W.)

Ecclesiastical

(1). Parish Church of St. Mary, stands on the N. side of the village, 3¼ miles N.W. of Tring. The wall of the aisles are of stone with flints set in the wide joints, the chancel is faced with flint and the tower with alternate squares of flint and stone. The chancel has a tiled roof, and the other roofs are of lead. There is no detail of earlier date than the 14th century, but the proportions of the Nave suggest an earlier aisleless building; the North and South Aisles were added c. 1330, and a clearstorey and West Tower in the 15th century. The Chancel has been too much restored for a definite date to be assigned to it. The South Porch is modern.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (23½ ft. by 13½ ft.) has a modern E. window of three lights and a small modern S. doorway. The 14th-century chancel arch is of two chamfered orders with half-octagonal responds, which have moulded capitals and bases. The Nave (29 ft. by 14½ ft.) has 14th-century N. and S. arcades of three bays; the octagonal shafts have moulded capitals and bases, and the arches are of two orders, with wave mouldings in the N. arcade, and plain chamfers in the S. arcade. The clearstorey has, on each side, two late 15th-century windows of two uncusped lights. The Aisles have E. windows which resemble those of the clearstorey; in the N. wall are two late 15th-century windows, the easternmost of three cinque-foiled lights under a segmental head, and the other of two lights under a four-centred head. In the S. wall the easternmost window resembles the opposite window; the second is of two uncusped lights under a square head. The plain S. doorway is of the same date, and has a four-centred arch under a square head. The West Tower (12 ft. by 11 ft.) is of two stages, with a modern embattled parapet and a stair-turret on the S.E. The W. window is of late 15th-century date, and has three cinque-foiled lights, the doorway below it is of the same date, but restored with cement. The four bell-chamber windows are of two trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil in the head. The Roof of the nave is a fine example of 15th-century date, with heavy moulded timbers, and carved bosses, one bearing the arms, three rings on a bend engrailed, quartered with a cheveron between three hunting horns, impaling a bend. On another boss is a shield with two cheverons between three roses, and a third boss has a rebus of a ton on which is the word "HUT" for Hutton. Below the tie-beams are large figures of saints, standing on birds, projecting from the wall with heads outstretched. The S. aisle has a plain late 15th-century roof, with a piece of carved ornament, apparently from a rood screen, fixed to the wall-plate.

Fittings—Bells: three; 1st, 1714; 2nd, unmarked, with cannons broken; 3rd, by Chandler, 1656. Brass-Indents: in the chancel, of figures and shields on two slabs. Communion Table: 17th-century. Door: in S. aisle, 15th-century or earlier, with 17th-century moulded beads nailed on the outer side. Font: plain circular bowl, no detail; cover 17th-century. Glass: in window of N. aisle, a few fragments, heraldic, 17th-century; one piece earlier date. Piscina: in S. wall of chancel, 15th-century: in N. wall, recess with trefoiled head, probably 15th-century. Plate: includes cup of 1569. Pulpit: hexagonal, with carved panels, early 17th-century, cornice and base modern. Seating: in the nave, several oak benches, with moulded rails; another in the chancel, probably 17th-century, or older. Tiles: in the chancel floor, a few, 15th-century.

Condition—Good.