Pitchcott

182. PITCHCOTT.

(O.S. 6 in. xxiii. S.W.)

Ecclesiastical

(1). Parish Church of St. Giles, stands about ²/3 mile S.W. of Oving. The walls of the nave and chancel are of stone rubble, with stone dressings; the walls of the tower are of ashlar, with some tiles inserted in the joints, and were formerly covered with cement. The roofs are tiled. The Nave is possibly of the 12th century, but the Chancel was re-built in the 13th century; doorways and windows were inserted in the 14th and 15th centuries. The lower stage of the West Tower was built in the 15th century, and the upper stage in the 16th century. The South Porch was re-built in 1662, the date inscribed on a stone over the doorway. In the 19th century the North Vestry was added, the E. wall of the chancel and the chancel arch were re-built, and the whole building was restored.

The 13th-century book-rest in the splay of the S.W. window of the chancel is an unusual survival of such a fitting.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (20 ft. by 14 ft.) has a modern E. window; above it is a quatrefoil light, also modern. In the N. wall, opening into the vestry, is a modern doorway, and further W. is a modern recess. In the S. wall are two 13th-century lancet windows: the eastern window has been much restored; part of the ledge is carried down to the floor-level, originally for a sedile: the western window has modern external stonework; fixed to the E. splay, inside, is a stone book-rest, of the 13th century (see Fittings): between the windows is a 14th-century doorway with moulded jambs and two-centred head. The chancel arch is modern. The Nave (42 ft. by 15 ft.) has, in the N. wall, two modern windows, copies of the 15th-century windows in the S. wall: between them is the N. doorway, probably of late 14th-century date, now blocked; the jambs and two-centred head are chamfered and the external label is moulded. In the S. wall are two 15th-century windows, each of two cinque-foiled lights under a square head with sunk spandrels and a moulded external label; between the windows is the late 14th-century S. doorway, with chamfered jambs and two-centred head, and a moulded external label; above the doorway is a niche (see Fittings). The West Tower (8 ft. by 8½ ft.) is of two stages, the lower stage being of two storeys, and has diagonal W. buttresses, a plain parapet restored with cement, and a staircase in the S.W. corner. The 15th-century tower arch is two-centred, and of two chamfered orders, dying into the wall on each side. The W. doorway and window are of the 15th century; the doorway has moulded jambs and four-centred head, with a moulded square external label, somewhat decayed; the window is of two trefoiled lights and tracery in a two-centred head, which has a moulded external label with shield-stops. In the S.W. corner, opening into the staircase, is a late 15th or early 16th-century doorway. The bell-chamber has, in each wall, a small window with a trefoiled head in a square frame, all probably of the 16th century, but the E. and W. windows have been covered with cement. The South Porch has an outer doorway with chamfered jambs and a four-centred head of two chamfered orders; over the doorway is a stone inscribed with the date 1662. In each side wall is a modern single light; against the walls, inside, are stone benches, formerly with tiled tops. The Roof and ceiling of the tower have old timbers.

Fittings—Bells: three and sanctus; 1st, by Chandler, 1686; 2nd, inscribed 'Sent Luke Apostel, 1590', probably by Robert Newcombe and Bartholomew Atton. Locker: In chancel—in N. wall, square, possibly 15th-century. Niche: In porch—over S. doorway of nave, with trefoiled head, chamfered sill, late 14th-century. Plate: includes cup and cover paten of 1569. Sedile see S.E. window of chancel. Miscellanea: In chancel—fixed in E. splay of S.W. window, moulded stone book-rest, the ledge broken off and angle restored with cement, 13th-century, possibly not in situ.

Condition—Fairly good.

Secular

(2). Manor Farm, 200 yards S.E. of the church, is a house of two storeys and an attic; the old walls are probably of stone, but are now covered with cement; the modern additions are of brick. The roofs are tiled. The rectangular block at the N.E. end of the house was built probably early in the 17th century, and the L-shaped addition on the S.W. side late in the 17th or early in the 18th century, but the history of the building is obscured by the cement covering the walls; other additions were made in the 19th century. In the middle of the N.E. wall of the original block is a panel with tapering pilasters and moulded capitals, bases and pediment of brick; it is covered with cement and creeper, but is said to be inscribed with the date 1797, possibly that of a restoration. At each end of the original block is a chimney stack with two square shafts set diagonally on a rectangular base, with ovolo moulding at the top of the shafts and base; the other chimney stacks have shafts built of late 17th or early 18th-century brick. Interior:— In the ceilings are old beams, some of them being encased.

Condition—Good.