Work began on the tower in the late 1400's, built in two stages in ashler-grey sandstone, a type of rock which can be found to the south of Coventry.
The tower
is well buttressed and has an embattled parapet with pinnacles and
four gargoyles, which not only keep the parapet free from water
but are also meant to keep the building free from evil. The gargoyles
have, sadly lost their looks as erosion has taken its toll. |
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The tower
west door, which was mainly used for processions, has long since
been filed in. Apart from this, the exterior of the tower carries
no remarkable features. |
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| The most interesting section of the tower is now situated with the church centre, well away from external forces. At the base of the tower, on the right hand side, can be seen many deep grooves worn into the stonework. These grooves were caused by men sharpening their arrows on the stonework. |  |
| During medieval times it was compulsory for every person capable of drawing a longbow to practice their archery skill every Sunday on the nearby butts (Hall Lane was known as Butt Lane). Usually, the nearest convenient piece of stone-work, which was required for sharpening arrows, was the church, as the medieval village consisted of timbered and mud buildings. | |
| Churches have always, in the past, been associated with the practice of archery. Probably the most outstanding example is the growing of yew trees in the churchyards to supply the wood for making the longbows. The churchyard was the ideal place to grow these trees as often it was the only enclosed area in the medieval open-field village and,it being enclosed, prevented wandering stock from eating the potentially lethal yew. |  |
| St. Mary's yew tree has been estimated, by some, to be 500 hundred years old and would have supplied the bows for the men who left their marks cut deeply into the church tower all those centuries ago. |
Halfway up the tower wall can be seen round hollows, which at some time have been filled in. These hollows, in their original state, are known as cup hollows or healing holes, and can be seen on may Warwickshire churches.
The original function of these hollows is uncertain, one theory being that they were, in early times, partially filled with a herbal concoction which was rubbed onto parts of the body which were affected by disease or deformity. It is also possible that objects which represented affected parts of the body were placed in these hollows for a fixed period of time in the hope that their insertion into what was a holy place, would cure the person who had placed it there.
A more recent addition to the tower can be seen on the left buttress. It consists of an arrow pointing upwards and a round lead plug. This is in fact a bench mark, which was added in at least 1888, and denotes this point as being 265.7 feet above sea level.
