Church exterior

Gargoyles

This one is on the apex of the nave roof

These gargoyles below are where the water from the roof comes out -now mainly into hopper heads which take the water through the downpipes into soakaways. Some still have long spouts which poured the water away from the building. The backgrounds give an indication of the ornamentation of the outside.

**Masons are supposed to have copied real people sometimes. These could be your ancestors!**

**I’m not very comfortable squeezed in here**

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The buttress on the tower with very distinct markings. At the top is IHS the Greek for Jesus. Then there is M for Mary. The third one down is not known at present. The fourth one is the Fincham coat of arms. The bottom one is not known.

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Beautiful flintwork

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The massive roof of the church showing the considerable amount of lead used. There are pinnacles on the southern front but not to the rear. The tiled vestry roof can be seen.

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A view showing both crosses on the roof

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**The beautiful south side showing the crocketed pinnacles and decorative flintwork**

Another view of the south front showing the chancel which has been rendered. It was repaired in the late 20th century with what was considered an unsympathetic colouring. When the render dates from exactly is not known but it is not there in early 19th century prints.

**The north side -perhaps not as impressive as the south face but still an imposing looking edifice. The vestry is on the far left.**

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The tower

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The west door no longer in use but very old

This also shows the ‘random’ nature of the masonry on the side not seen from the road. The north door may have been used for Palm Sunday processions when the exit would have been through the north door and entry back into the church through the south door. North doors have been called ‘devil’s doors’ because the devil escaped through them during baptisms when it was driven out of the child. This superstitious explanation has largely been derided now. A more rational explanation is that they were blocked up to keep out the north wind after no longer being needed for processions.

**The rainwater spout draining the tower roof.**

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The clock

The clock seems to have been installed when the bells were increased to six in number. The cost of the bells and the south clock was borne by the subscribers and the west clock by William Corston’s family.

There was a major appeal in 1984 to repair the tower. As can be seen the total bill was going to be £25,000. The article explains that the clock has stopped for two years at half past midnight! In 1985 when presumably the scaffolding was in place Henry Hodgson repaired the clock. The clock was refurbished in 1997. For many years he maintained the clock. In 1989 he also repaired the weather vane. The clock refurbishment in 1997 cost £1350 plus £485 for the scaffolding. The faces were repainted and numerals and minute dots re-gilded in 23ct. gold leaf. Unfortunately the gold leaf started to peel off and the re-gilding had to be done again -at the expense of the clockmaker firm who had ‘never experienced this problem on any other dial’!

Finally we have reached the very top with views of the Weather Vane -old metal and modern jets!