From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Type of short spire or flèche
The tower and spire of St Mary's parish church, Ashwell
A Hertfordshire Spike at
Braughing , Hertfordshire
A Hertfordshire spike is a type of short
spire or
flèche found on church-towers surrounded by a
parapet .
[1] It is defined in the
Buildings of England as a "flèche or short spire rising from a church-tower, its base concealed by a parapet".
[2] As the name suggests, it is common in
Hertfordshire , but the same type of structure can be found in other English
counties . The
Church of St Mary the Virgin ,
Wendens Ambo , is a good example in
Essex ,
[3]
and in Buckinghamshire is
St Mary the Virgin, Ivinghoe .
[4]
Hertfordshire lacks good building stone, and its spires contrast with, for example, those of
Northamptonshire which has a wealth of stone.
[5]
An example of a
broach spire in Northamptonshire
Even so, some Hertfordshire spikes are more elaborate than others. That of the
Church of St Mary the Virgin ,
Ashwell , is part of an unusually tall and ornate tower.
References
^ Curl, James Stevens; Wilson, Susan, eds. (2015),
"Hertfordshire spike" , A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press,
doi :
10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001/acref-9780199674985-e-2249 ,
ISBN
978-0-19-967498-5 , retrieved 27 May 2020
^ Pevsner, N.,
Cherry, B. BoE, Hertfordshire . (1977)
^
"Church of St Mary the Virgin" . British Listed Buildings . Retrieved 17 June 2018 .
^
"St Mary the Virgin Church, Ivinghoe | Website of Ivinghoe, Ivinghoe Aston & Pitstone" .
^ Aslet, C. (2007).
"The stone that built a country" . Retrieved 17 June 2018 .