St Mary's, Lowdham

Sir George Gilbert Scott restored this church in 1859-61. It was described at the time as:

in a dilapidated state owing to insufficient reparation & the gradual decay of the fabric … the gallery which is, of course, to be removed … the greater part of the open seats and pews is in a wretched state of decay, that the gallery though furnishing additional accommodation is yet a source of great annoyance to those who have sitting under it and that the whole church needs the most thorough renovation … roofs and interior long dilapidated, internal walls badly plastered, disfigured by high backed pews and a gallery. Pews and gallery now swept away, open benches give more floor space, archways opened in tower below belfry door, decorated tracery added to new clerestory windows, chancel arches reopened forming vestry and organ recess on the site of former mortuary chapel that probably belonged to the Lowdham and Broughton families, plastering removed from walls and face of stone has been dressed and pointed, new roof added of proper pitch, nave and aisle roofs have been restored, large tomb within altar rails removed with consent of family, floor inlaid with encaustic tile at the expense of the vicar, restoration cost about £1,000 of which £700 was provided by Earl Manvers as lay impropriator.

For the provision of forty-two seats for the poor, a grant of £50 was made from the ICBS.

http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/lowdham/hhistory.php
http://www.churchplansonline.org/show_full_image.asp?resource_id=05497.tif