38. FINGEST.

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

Ecclesiastical

^a(1). Parish Church of St. Bartholomew, stands at the S.W. corner of the parish. The walls of the chancel and nave are covered with modern rough-cast; the dressings are of stone or chalk; the tower is of flint roughly plastered; the roofs are tiled. The long narrow Nave and the West Tower are of early 12th-century date; part at least, of the nave originally served as the chancel, the tower being used as the nave; the Chancel was added in the 13th century, the upper part of the S. wall being re-built in the 14th century, and windows inserted in the 15th century. The gabled roofs of the tower are of the 18th or 19th century; the Porch is modern, and the whole building has been restored.

Fingest, Parish Church of Saint Bartholomew

The church is exceptionally interesting on account of the early date and unusual plan, and the fine proportions of the tower.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (21½ ft. by 14 ft.) has an E. window of early 15th-century date, of three trefoiled lights and tracery in a two-centred head. In the N. wall are two 13th-century lancets. In the S. wall are two late 15th-century windows, each of two trefoiled ogee lights under a square head with pierced spandrels; between the windows is a modern doorway; at the W. end, in the outer face of the wall, low down, is the sill and part of one jamb of a 13th-century lancet. There is no chancel arch, but a beam in the upper part of the modern screen supports the gable above it. The Nave (40 ft. by 13½ ft. at the E. end and 12½ ft. at the W. end) has, at the E. end of the N. wall, a small deeply splayed 12th-century window with a semi-circular head, the external stonework covered with cement; at the W. end of the wall is a blocked 13th-century doorway, which has chamfered jambs and two-centred arch, with a plain moulding at the springing, and the remains of a chamfered label. In the S. wall are two windows, the eastern is of c. 1400, of two trefoiled lights with a sexfoil over them and sunk spandrels; the western window is a modern copy of the other; the S. doorway, at the W. end of the wall, is modern, but the rear arch, now coated with cement, is probably old. The West Tower (19½ ft. square) is of two stages, the external division being near the top, where the wall sets back from the lower part; the twin gables on the E. and W. sides are built of brick and timber. The tower arch is semi-circular, slightly flattened, of one square order, with plain square jambs and chamfered abaci, that on the N. being modern. The N. and S. walls have each a small deeply splayed original window with a semi-circular head, the external stonework being covered with cement. The W. window was inserted c. 1230, and is of three trefoiled lights, with a quatrefoil over each side-light, the central light rises to the apex of the arch; the moulded internal jambs have attached shafts with moulded bases, and capitals carved with stiff-leaf foliage; the rear arch is moulded and the moulded label has foliated stops. High up in the S. and W. walls of the lower stage is a small round-headed window. The upper stage has in each wall two original wide windows filled with louvres; the jambs are of two recessed orders with attached shafts, which have plain bases and scalloped or cushion capitals, with chamfered abaci carried across between the windows, and on the S. side continued as a string-course to the outer corners of the tower; the semi-circular arches are of two orders with slightly varying roll mouldings; those on the S. have a billet moulding round the outer order. The Roof of the nave is old, and has collar-beams supported by curved brackets and wind-braces.

Fittings—Chest: in the tower, of deal, iron-bound, late 17th-century. Font: octagonal bowl, with moulded rim, and a trefoiled sunk panel in each side, 15th-century, base and stem, modern. Plate: includes cup with baluster stem, apparently of 1639, date-letter worn.

The Churchyard has S. and E. gateways of the 17th century, with curved railings, and square posts which have moulded tops; on the N. side of the churchyard is a wall of old thin bricks.

Condition—Good, but the S. wall of the nave leans outwards considerably, and the modern buttress is becoming detached.

Secular

^a(2). Cottage, 200 ft. N.E. of the church, is of two storeys, built of timber and brick in the 17th century, now restored. The roof is tiled. At one end is an original projecting chimney stack with a square shaft, of thin bricks. One room has a wide, open fireplace, and the timbers are exposed in the ceiling.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b(3). Fining Farm, on the N. side of the road, between Lane End and Bolter End, is a house of two storeys and an attic, built early in the 17th century, of flint with brick dressings; the S. part of the house is of brick and timber. The roofs are tiled. The plan is rectangular, but the present house may have been part of a larger building; at the S. end of the E. side is a small modern wing. At the N. end of the E. elevation, on the first floor, is an original window, with a moulded wood frame and mullion, and an iron casement with a plain original fastening. The chimney stack on the W. side of the house has square shafts of old thin bricks, restored at the top. The ceilings of the rooms on the ground floor have stop-chamfered beams. In one room is a wide fireplace, partly filled in, a little 17th-century panelling, and a cupboard door with ornamental hinges.

Condition—Good.