St MARY & ALL SAINTS SWARBY

In an area where spires abound, Swarby church is distinguished by its late medieval broad tower at the west end of the church. At each of the four corners are sturdy stepped buttresses, giving the tower a strong profile which is further emphasised by the pinnacles and shaped battlements at the top. As you are looking up notice the pair of bell openings under a single shaped moulding strangely set off-centre.

The nave has to each side a small aisle. The north aisle is fairly plain, but the south has characterful carvings of human heads, beasties and leaf motifs to the buttress gables and the window mouldings. This aisle was rebuilt in the Victorian period, in 1886, but has kept the medieval flavour. Careful examination shows that the stonework at the bottom of the walling and to the base of the windows is in fact original. This shows very clearly on the south doorway where the worn carving of the door contrasts with the crisp cut mouldings to the door arch. The doorway must have been very elaborate as shown by the eroded carvings which remain like ghostly relics.

Inside the church has a pleasant simple appearance with a low north arcade of the Decorated period with octagonal columns and double chamfered arches. The south arcade is taller and has slender clustered columns with tall bases and capitals with foliage design. There you can see traces of red paint on the capitals and arches.

Having been restored in the 19th-century, the church has a Victorian flavour to it with the pews, the nave and the aisle roofs dating from that time. The chancel, which is plastered compared to the stone walls elsewhere has a decorative Minton tiled floor and double steps leading up to the sanctuary. The circular stone font which sits on octagonal legs and has good wooden cover also dates from the restoration.

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