General Description
The church consists of a nave of seven bays 150 feet long and 44 feet broad, north and south aisles each 28 feet broad, a chancel of five bays 87 feet long, a western tower (making the total length 293 feet), a south porch with chamber over it, and a chapel 18 feet by 40 feet immediately to the west of the porch. All the nave and aisles windows, except the four at the ends of the aisles, have decorated tracery, two designs (one of them a very poor one) being alternated throughout; the three western bays of the chancel have also decorated tracery. The four end windows of the aisles, the west window of the chapel, and the four windows in the eastern bays of the chancel are Perpendicular. The great east window has modern tracery, copied from the east window of Carlisle Cathedral. The three south windows of the chapel have reticulated tracery. The tower is vaulted at a height of 157 feet. Below the vaulting are the door, three great windows (west, north, and south), and above them four pairs of windows with ogee heads; between the two sets of windows the walls are pierced by an interior passage. Above the vaulting is a ringing chamber, and over that the belfry surrounded by an exterior passage. Access to this is gained by two staircases, the lower portions of which are no part of the tower, but are contained in turrets, which were the principal decoration of the west front before the tower was built. The belfry contains the clock and a peal of twelve bells, on which tunes are played by machinery every three hours. The bells are dated as follows: 1 and 2, 1785; 3, 1772; 4, 1710; 5, 1617; 6, 1758; 8, 1867; and the remaining four, 1897. The roof of the tower rests on the transoms of the four great belfry windows, the upper part being hollow. On the top of the square tower stands the octagonal lantern, which appears never to have been finished. The total height is 280 feet. The furniture is not very noticeable, except the series of sixty-four misericorde stalls in the chancel. The altar is a modern one, 12 feet long. There are a modern brass eagle lectern, a very poor litany desk, and the base of a poor modern screen; the renaissance pulpit, with its sounding board recently restored, is one of the best pieces of furniture. The font was designed by Pugin, and is as satisfactory as could be expected; the benches are clumsy and raised on platforms, and the alleys except the central one have been filled with unnecessary benches, and so appear unduly cramped, but there is a good open space at the west end. At present the base of the tower is used as a vestry, but the erection of a new vestry opening from the chancel is in contemplation. An organ is mentioned as having been in existence in 1480, but it was destroyed in 1590; a new organ was begun in 1713 by Schmidt, and it has since been continually repaired and added to; there are now 2378 pipes. It is rather buried in an organ chamber built out on the north side of the chancel, and has a poor monotonous case dating from the last restoration.