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 .