Church tour – Badby Parish Council

Features to look for in the church

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St Mary's Church, Badby

Page updated 7 March 2025

Click on an area below to learn more about a particular area of the church and the features to look for

The organ chamber and vestry

• A relatively modern construction, built in 1880-1
• A small organ made by Atterton was housed here from 1894 until 1996
• Before the vestry was built the north aisle would have ended with a wall rather than the arch that now leads through to the vestry

The Chancel

• The wide chancel arch
• The unusual step down to the chancel
• The first world war memorial window at the west of the south side
• The double sedilia (stone seats) and piscina (wash basin) south of the altar
• The 17th century altar rails
• Metal text panels each side of the east window
• The 1995 aumbry and perpetual light

The North Aisle

• Small piscina in the half pillar indicating there was an altar against this wall, probably dedicated to a saint whose figure would have stood in nearby niche
• A square recess near to the piscina which used to be an aumbry, a safe for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated bread and wine
• A tall scooped recess or niche for a statue, probably destroyed 1547-53
• Ball flower decoration around the top of the eastern and western half pillars
• East end side window glass, reformed in 1982, with coats of arms of Evesham Abbey and C15 King in stained glass. Initials at the top of Thomas Newbold, Abbot of Evesham, 1491-1514
• North door blocked up in 1880 when an early C19 vestry removed; reopened in 1991

The Nave

• The west arch, constructed in 1880 to replace a low semi-circular one
• The glazed screen, installed in 1933
• The magnificent clerestory windows, added above the arches in the 15th century
• The line of the earlier roof on east wall
• The octagonal pulpit of 17th century

South Aisle

• The east end window with ‘stem and leaf’ tracery; glass is dated 1881
• The eastern side window replacing a smaller one in the mid 19th century
• The 15th century font pedestal. The top stone bowl was fitted in 1881. The font was moved about 60 ft to the east in 2018
• Charity trust boards hanging on the wall
• The only memorial floor slab, a re-used headstone, in the north west corner, now hidden under the 2018 rear platform

The Tower & Clock

• The tower was rebuilt in 1707-9 after the original fell down in 1705
• The height from its base to the top of the pinnacles is 72 feet
• Its solid floor is over 6 feet above the nave floor
• The west window, with its tracery in two planes, replaced a smaller window in 1888. It is a memorial to Major John Francis Green
• The clock was made in around 1780, and installed second-hand in 1822. It drives one clock face
• The clock is now electrically wound. Since July 2007, the “Westminster” quarter chimes are radio-controlled and independent of the clock

The graveyard and exterior of the Church

• The replacement nave gable cross was fitted in 2001 to mark the Millennium
• The churchyard was closed for burials in 1886. The present cemetery is located on the hill facing the east of the church
• A large tomb for the Watkins family, who funded much of the Victorian reconstruction, is just south east of the chancel
• A row of 3 chest tombs approximately 3m east of the chancel and a chest tomb approximately 7m east of the chancel are both Grade II listed monuments