36 KENDERCHURCH (C.c.).
(O.S. 6 in. XLIV, S.E.)
Kenderchurch is a small parish 10 m. S.W. of Hereford. The church is the principal monument.
Ecclesiastical
(1). Parish Church of St. Mary stands at the
S.W. end of the parish on a small hill on the N.W.
side of the Hereford-Pontrilas Road. The walls are
of rubble with ashlar dressings of sandstone; the
roofs are covered with stone slates. There is no
definite evidence showing when the church was built,
and though the font and incised slab in the churchyard
are of 12th-century date the earliest structural detail
is of the early 16th century. The church was restored
in 1871 when the vestry and S. porch were added, the
chancel-arch re-built, and modern windows inserted in
all the walls except the S. wall of the nave.
The Church, Plan
Architectural Description—The Chancel (20 ft. by
14¾ ft.) has a modern E. window, a modern doorway
and modern arcaded window, opening into the vestry,
in the N. wall, and a modern window in the S. wall.
The chancel-arch and responds are also modern.
The Nave (32¼ ft. by 17 ft.) has in the N. wall two
modern windows. In the S. wall are two square-headed windows of 16th or 17th-century date; the
western is of a single light and the eastern of two
lights, and both have shouldered lintels as rear-arches;
the S. doorway is of early 16th-century date with
stop-moulded jambs, four-centred head and shouldered
internal lintel. In the W. wall are two modern lights
with a quatre-foiled circle above. The W. wall is
carried up in a modern bell-cote.
The Roof of the chancel is of barrel-form divided
into rectangular panels by moulded ribs with carved
rosettes at the intersections and has a moulded and
embattled wall-plate; it is of 16th-century date, but
the boarding and some of the rosettes are modern.
Fittings—Bell: in W. bell-cote—inscribed with
Lombardic capitals, mediæval. Coffin-lids: in churchyard—(1) against E. wall of chancel, short and thick
tapering slab with deeply incised cross, 12th-century
or earlier; (2) with lower part broken off and missing
and upper part carved with cross with geometrically
designed head formed by segments of circles and on
N. side two carved rings, and on S. side two segments
of rings, 13th-century. Churchyard-cross: S.W. of
church—with octagonal to square base with shaped
stops at the angles and a round-headed niche in S.
face, mediæval with modern step and shaft. Communion Table: of oak, with turned legs, moulded rails,
with top rails with fluted decoration and supported by
small shaped brackets, modern top; early 17th-century,
patched and restored. Font: of sandstone with circular tapering bowl with projecting rim having top
roughly incised with cheveron-ornament and hole for
cover fastener, plain cylindrical stem and square to
octagonal base, late 12th or early 13th-century. Piscina:
in chancel, with chamfered jambs, ogee head and
rectangular drain, 14th-century. Pulpit: (Plate 58)
of oak, with three sides only, forming part of octagon
on plan, each side in three stages, lowest forming
base, and with sunk panel ornamented with circles
with carved centres, middle stage with central panel
on each side with semi-circular arched head on pilasters,
these and angle-posts, all carved with guilloche enrichment and surmounted by dentil-cornice, upper stage
similar to lower stage and with carved scroll frieze
and modern brackets and shelf, early 17th-century on
modern base re-arranged and incorporating modern
work. Screen: (Plate 76) under chancel-arch, of oak,
mostly modern but incorporating pieces of old work
including moulded top rail, moulded cross-beam at
head of cove, below former loft, carved with running
vine-ornament, moulded side post on S. side supporting cross-beam and carved spandrel-pieces, late 15th-century. Stoup: in S. porch—E. of S. doorway,
round-headed and with broken bowl, early 16th-century.
Condition—Good, largely restored.
Unclassified
(2). Mound, N.E. of Howton Farm and 1 m. N.E.
of the church, is about 45 yards in diameter, with a
flat top about 7 ft. above the surrounding ground.
There are very faint traces of a ditch round the base.
Condition—Good.