Parish Church of St Helen at Waddington

An early 16th Century church with nave and chancel rebuilt 1894 in the village of Waddington.

Squared sandstone construction with stone slate roof, comprises a west tower, nave with clerestory, lower chancel, north and south aisles with short transepts, and a south porch.

The three-stage tower of the Parish Church at Waddington has angle buttresses, an embattled parapet with string course, gargoyles and corner pinnacles, and bell openings with pointed heads and hoods and two cusped lights with panel tracery above.

The west wall has a window of three cusped lights with panel tracery. The west door is deeply chamfered with pointed head and hood. The north-west buttress has a worn carved crucifux and arms of the Tempest family. The aisle and clerestory windows have flat heads and cusped lights. The east window is of five cusped lights under a Tudor-arched head and hood. The east and west windows of the south aisle are probably 16th Century and are of three lights, the inner light have a segmental head and the outer lights being pointed. The aisles have battlements. The inner porch door is reconstructed, with a cavetto moulding and two-centred head.

The interior of the Parish Church of St Helen with five-bay arcade has pointed arches of two chamfered orders on octagonal piers.

Above the tall pointed tower arch can be seen the roof line of an earlier church. Above the inner arch of the west door are re-set nine carved heads, some worn. The north wall of the chancel has a chamfered doorway with segmental head. On the south side is a 17th Century wall monument to Christopher Wilkinson.

Parish Church of St Helen at Waddington is in Forest Of Bowland AONB, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Created: 27  May  2021  Edited: 29  November  2023