Listed Building record MDR10171 - St Paul's Church, Scropton Lane, Foston and Scropton

St Paul's Church, Scropton Lane, Foston and Scropton, built c1855. 'A priest and a church are recorded for the manor of Scropton in 1086. The present church, which is dedicated to St Paul, consists of nave, chancel and tower, having been completely rebuilt in 1855-6. From the drawings and descriptions of the old church, it appears that it formerly consisted of a nave 50ft 10in by 12ft 11in and a chancel 33ft 9in by 15ft 7in. It had a low embattled tower of small proportions. In 1835 a description of the church recorded that "An erection of wood, composing three arches placed triangularly, projects into the church, which supports the east side of the turret in which are the bells", while the font was described as "plain and very old". The exterior of the nave and chancel were 13th century, although some 14th century and far later windows had been inserted. The roof of the chancel was flat but that of the nave had a steep pitch. The arch between the nave and chancel was said to have been "plain Saxon". Cox notes that "There was much confusion between Norman and Saxon in the archaeology of those days; but we have good reason to believe that this arch was really of Saxon work".' (1) 'St Paul's Church, 1855-6 by Ferry. The west tower has the alien motif of a pyramid roof.' (2) 'St Paul's was the parish church for both Scropton and Foston and lay within the Diocese of Lichfield until 1884. In 1704 a burial vault for the members of the family owning Foston Hall was constructed beneath the sanctuary. In the 1824 Visitations it was noted that the church was deteriorating rapidly. Repairs were required to the stone walls and roof timbers of the building, the brick walls and tiled floor of the porch, and also the brick buttresses along the tower. The current church is constructed of sandstone with ashlar dressings and consists of a tower, a nave with a south porch and a chancel with a lean-to north vestry. A watching brief was carried out in 2004 during repairs to the church. French drains excavated around the base of the church walls show that the construction of the current church has reasonably substantial foundations and it was not possible to see whether they had been constructed on top of earlier foundations. Indeed, no features were identified that related to the earlier church. (3, 4) From the National Heritage List for England: 'This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 22 July 2022 to correct a typo in the description and reformat to current standards SK 13 SE 2/20 PARISH OF FOSTON & SCROPTON SCROPTON LANE (South Side) Church of St Paul GV II Parish church. 1855-6 by Benjamin Ferrey. Rock faced sandstone with ashlar dressings. Plain tile roofs. West tower, nave with south porch and chancel with lean-to north vestry. Dec Style. The west tower has a west doorway with three lancets above, a single lancet to south and two-light bell openings. Tiled pyramid roof. The north elevation of the nave has two single light windows with a cusped trefoil over a cusped lancet, and two Two-light windows with trefoils. Two-light chancel north window of cusped lancets with elongated quatrefoil over. East window of three trefoiled lancets with trefoils and quatrefoils above. The south side of the chancel has a two-light and a three-light window with trefoils and quatrefoils. The south side of the nave has a single light and two two-light windows similar to those on the north side. Impressive south porch with long steep roof. The interior has ashlar walls and arched and scissor braced roofs, with cusped braces in the nave. Moulded tower and chancel arches. Font, mid C19 with circular bowl with tracery motifs on a base of clustered shafts. Mid C19 pews and organ case. Gothic Style stone and marble plinth. Classical Style altar and reredos with painted panels of saints. Wrought iron and brass communion rails. Oak choir stalls. In the south east corner of the nave, incised slab to William Schower, died 1495. Tombchest under the tower to Nicholas Agard and his two wives c1510. On the front of the alabaster tombchest, angels holding shields under ogee canopies and plain panels with shields. Wall tablet c1704 with Tuscan columns and segmental pediment. Illegible inscription. Painted decoration around the chancel arch, and on either side metal panels painted with the commandments. Stained glass, nave north, c1930 by Westlake. Chancel south east, c1929 by Kempe & Tower. East window. has non-pictorial glass, 1856 by Powells. Listing NGR: SK1928830190.' (5)