On either side of the nave the original walls have been pierced, and an arcade of three good Early English arches was inserted in the thirteenth century. It will be noted that the easternmost of the three arches on each side is slightly wider in span than the other two. All the capitals differ in their details. Over these arches on either side is a triangular opening about 18 feet from the floor level, similar to the opening in the west end of the nave. The edges of these openings are left quite square, i.e., there is no splaying.
The clerestory windows are, for the most part, early fifteenth century, and replaced the early windows, which may have been of circular form.
At the west end of the nave there are several very curious features. The arch of the doorway is a plain, round-headed arch with its edges left quite square, and the impost is plain with the exception of a hollow immediately below the abacus. In height the doorway is 10 feet, and in width 5½ feet, and it leans slightly to the north. Above this doorway, in the corners of the west wall, are two impost members or brackets, similar to those in the chancel, which may have been intended to support the floor joists of a chamber or gallery at this end of the nave. Not far above these brackets is a triangular opening similar to those in the north and south walls of the nave, and through which, from the room in the tower, a view is obtained of the nave generally. It is on the same level as those in the nave. To the right of this is a blocked-up round-headed doorway, which once gave access from the room in the tower on this level to a gallery at the east end of the nave. The jambs are each of two similar blocks of stone.
Photo. R.W. Dugdale.
INTERIOR, LOOKING WEST.[ToList]
Above this, in the centre of the upper part of the west wall of the nave, is perhaps the most curious architectural feature of the church. It is a two-light window, each light having a head formed of an isosceles triangle. The outer jambs, as also the broad central massive pier, are slightly fluted, and in some of these flutings is a bar in relief. On the church side the bars are inserted in the upper part of the hollow; on the tower side they are in some cases at the top, in others in the lower half.
The following dimensions show how massive is this piece of primitive work. The sill on which the window is built is of stone concealed by plaster. Each light in its widest part is 18 inches, 13 inches between the plinths on the sill. The plinths are 14 inches in thickness, and that of the central pier is 21 inches. The central pier itself is a trifle shorter than the jambs, 1 foot 8 inches, but this difference is made up by a much more massive impost, the central impost being 9 inches thick as compared with 8 inches in the case of the others. Each impost is, as it were, in square-edged layers, each layer overhanging the one below it. The head of each opening is formed of two single stones so cut that they meet at an angle of about 30 degrees. These stones are 11¼ inches in thickness, and 3 feet 6 inches long on the outside edges. In the angle between the two portions of the window they measure 3 feet 1½ inches. They are carried right through the wall, with a plain label almost square in section.
Above the window, resting on the label points is an oblong block of stone which is thought at one time to have been painted, as no inscription can be traced.