central battlements also on the east and west fronts apparently have had crosses, as there are sockets on them. The south porch is embattled, and has small pinnacles. The vestry is without a parapet.
Pendentive of one of the Diagonal sides of the Octagon.
The base of the tower, above the roof, is rectangular; over this is an octagon, embattled, with a pinnacle at each angle, and surmounted by a low spire. The junction between the octagon and its base is by triangular slopes under the diagonal sides, to which the pendentives internally correspond, instead of forming arches. On each of these slopes is a small pinnacle; the lower part of the belfry, which contains a great bell presented in 1518 by Sir Henry Vernon, but recast in 1720 on account of its injuries during the civil war[1] has a window of two lights on the north and south sides. The others have plain square-headed doors, opening upon the leads. There is no weather-moulding to indicate that the roof of the church was ever of a higher pitch. The octagon, which contains a peal of smaller bells, has windows of two lights on the cardinal sides. The spire itself, at about half its height, is encircled by spire-lights ending each in a crocketed finial or pinnacle; those only on the cardinal sides being pierced. A ball, probably of modern date, finishes the steeple.
The chancel is divided on the south side by bold buttresses into three compartments, each of which has a beautiful three-light window, the base of the central one being slightly raised, to admit a door beneath. On the north side the arrangement is different, and proves the vestry to be part of the original design. For this side is nearly equally divided in two by the western wall of the vestry, to which a buttress corresponds; and between this and the tower are two windows, similar in size and composition to the southern ones, but not separated by any buttress. The vestry windows are of two lights, which are foliated; there are neither labels nor tracery in the heads
- ↑ On the upper part of the bell is a band inscribed—"Henricus Vernon istam Campanam fieri fecit 1518, ad laudem Dei omnipotentis beatæ Mariæ et Bartholomæi Sti." And on the lower part—"Quam perduellionum rabie fractam sumtibus Parochiæ refudit Ab. Rudhall, Glocester, Anno 1720." The weight is estimated at 48 cwts.; it measures six yards in circumference.
