Wormley

148. WORMLEY.

(O.S. 6 in. xxxvi. S.E.)

Ecclesiastical

(1). Parish Church of St. Lawrence, stands about ½ mile W. of the village. It is built of flint rubble with stone dressings, and is repaired with brick; the chancel and nave are coated with cement, and roofed with tiles. The Nave was built at the beginning of the 12th century; the Chancel has no ancient detail, and, as the walls are covered with cement, no date can be assigned to it. In 1826 the W. wall of the nave was re-built and a bell-cot added, and at the end of the 19th century the chancel was restored, the chancel arch re-built, and a South Aisle and Vestry were added. In the South Porch there is some old timber-work.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (35 ft. by 19 ft.) has a triplet of lancet windows in the E. wall, two lancets in the N. wall and two in the S. wall; they may replace 13th-century work. The chancel arch is modern. The Nave 48 ft. by 21 ft.) has a 12th-century N. wall, 3 ft. thick, in which is an original round-headed window with splayed jambs and a deeply splayed sill which has been lowered at a later date; the other two windows, one a single light, the second of two lights, are of the 15th century, repaired. The N. doorway is of two orders with a semi-circular head and edge-roll mouldings; it is of the 12th century, but the shafts and abaci have been restored. At the N.E. angle is a rood-loft stair-turret, of which the lower door is partly blocked. The S. arcade is modern. The South Aisle is modern, but has a 13th-century doorway with a 12th-century arch above it, and the inner jambs of one window are of the 12th century; all evidently were in the original S. wall. The Roof of the nave has many 15th-century moulded timbers.

Fittings—Brasses: in the chancel, of John Cok, lower part of figure missing, his wife, and nine sons; above them, representation of the Trinity; at their feet a narrow strip of brass showing trees, dogs, a hare and two birds; two pieces of marginal inscription; c. 1470: of a man, his wife, eight sons and four daughters, a shield with arms of Tooke impaling Woodliffe, and inscription, c. 1590: of Edmond Howton, 1479, Anne his wife, five sons, and part of an inscription: to John Cleve, rector of the parish, 1404, inscription only. Font: circular bowl with eight rectangular panels decorated with leaf ornament and surrounded by cable borders, 12th-century; base modern. Monuments and Floor Slabs: in the chancel, large monument of coloured marbles, with recumbent effigies of William Purveye, 1617, and Dorothy his wife, with arms and inscription: floor-slab, to Mary, widow of Arthur Sheere, 1660, with arms of Sheere impaling Gardiner: to Anne, wife of George Tooke, 1642. Plate: includes a flagon of 1625, and a pewter alms dish dated 1699 Pulpit: hexagonal, panelled, early 17th-century.

Condition—Good; much modern work.

Secular

(2). The Manor House, now two cottages, in the village, on the E. side of the Hoddesdon road, is a 17th-century rectangular building of two storeys and attics; the walls are timber-framed and covered with rough-cast; the roof is tiled. The plain square central chimney stack is built of original narrow bricks.

Condition—Fairly good.