Holy Trinity Church, Halstead

Holy Trinity is constructed in brick with flint facing. It has gault brick and limestone dressings. The roofs are slated with tiles on the ridges. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a chancel, a northeast vestry, an organ chamber, and a southwest tower with a spire. The tower incorporates a porch. It is a Gothic Revival church in 13th-century Early English style. The tower is tall with four stages. On its south side is a doorway. The second and third stages contain single-lancet windows flanked by arcading. In the third stage is a quatrefoil opening on each side. The bell openings consist of a pair of narrow lancets, with blind arches on each side. On the tower is a broach spire with two tiers of lucarnes. In the gable at the east end of the church is a wheel window, with spokes radiating from a hub. Below this are three lancet windows of equal height. At all corners of the church are clasping buttresses. The sides of the aisles are divided into bays by buttresses, and each bay contains a lancet window. Along the clerestory is arcading with alternate blind arches and lancet windows. At the west end is a doorway, above which is a triple lancet window, with a single lancet above that.[1]

The walls are plastered and whitewashed. Between the nave and the aisles on each side is a six-bay arcade supported by alternating circular and octagonal piers. The seating in the nave and aisles, and probably the font, with its square bowl on an octagonal base, date from the time of the building of the church. The lectern dates from 1906, and the choir stalls were added in 1913. The panelling in the chancel, and the pulpit date from the early 20th century. At the east end of the south aisle is a memorial screen added in 1922. The stained glass in the west window dates from 1851 and is by Clutterbuck, the east window of 1887 is by Burlison and Grylls, the east window in the south aisle dated 1922 is by J. C. N. Bewsey, and three windows in the south aisle of 1931–32 are by A. K. Nicholson.[1] The three-manual organ was made in 1858. In 1878 E. W. Norman of Norwich and Diss either rebuilt it or supplied a new organ. This was subsequently restored in 1909 by Binns of Leeds, again in about 1970 by Cedric Arnold of Thaxted, and at a later date by Bishop and Son.[7]