The Sanctuary contains some fine modern oak panelling and a Piscina of the fourteenth century. Behind the modem Altar, installed in 1950, the wall is covered with Victorian tiles. The glass of the East Window shows our Lords caring and healing ministry. The Piscina in the south wall has a shelf to hold,the Cruet (vessels for the Water and Wine for the Holy Communion) and two Drains or Sacraria connected with the earth, one reserved for the washing of the Priest's hands and the other for the cleansing of the sacred vessels. The Piscina is now 'calf-heighf, but originally it would have been 'waist height'. In other words, the floor of the sanctuary and the church is 2'6" higher than when the church was originally built by the Master Mason six hundred years ago. The Window on the South side of the sanctuary was dedicated in 1979 in memory of the Revd John Thomas, Vicar of this parish from 1940-72. It is by Rupert Moore. designer of the St Cecila and Christ the Carpenter windows in the Nave. The window represents the Revelation of God through Word and Sacrament. The fine fourteenth century Arch over the Organ possibly led into a "Lady Chapel", long since destroyed. The Organ was rebuilt by Cedric Arnold of Thaxted in 1959. There was a 'Pair of Organs" (i.e., bellows and pipes) in Kirby Church in 1297, but for many years the music would be provided by the 'village band'. In 1839 the Church purchased a Seraphine, an instrument like a harmonium, and paid a professional player for the church services and then the present instrument (prior to rebuilding) was built by Cartwright and Co of London and dedicated in 1911. The South Aisle. The altar placed against the organ was the original main altar but the frontals have been renewed. The windows depict the Nativity (nearest to the Organ), then St Michael defeating the Dragon (Revelation 12:7,8), this figure being surrounded by the Arms of the Dioceses in which this parish has been placed from time to time. Then comes a window in praise of "outdoor labours and simple home domesticity' with the centre figure showing our Lord as a Carpenter. There is a memorial on the west wall to those who lost their lives in the first and second world wars, there is also memorial to a past incumbent and a benefactors board. The West window of this South Aisle shows a figure of St Francis,'the Patron Saint of Animals but in fact a man of "simple and unaffected faith with a passionate devotion to God and man, a love of nature and a deep humility" who in 1209 founded the Franciscan Order. The Franciscan Order is still a tremendous force for our Lord in the world. The hot dry summers of latter years have contributed to some subsidence on this side of the church and many cracks can be seen. The oak doors and the plate glass screen separating the Nave from the Tower Vestry were installed in 1967. The Tower contains the West Window which has the theme of our Lord's Resurrection. The Tower itself is of the fifteenth century and is in three stages with an embattled parapet of chequer work. Note the thickness of the walls at ground level they are approx. 6 feet thick tapering to 18 inches at the top. The Tower was built with two skins with an infill of rubble. Over the years the tower has been much repaired. You will see that the timber beams have now been replaced by steel joists. Gargoyles on the tower and around the church not only ,decorate' the church but serve their purpose of carrying rain water from the roof to the ground below. The Bells. According to the returns of 1297 there were two bells in a belfry and in 1458, three toned bells, by 1863 "five bells, three sound, all well hung". The present bells, eight in number, vary from one by Miles Graye of 1641 to the Treble and Second by Alfred Bowell in 1926. Back through the tower doors will be found the Octagonal Font which together with the Pillars and Arches of the Nave were renewed or repaired in 1833, they faithfully retain the style and decoration of the fourteenth century, including the typical Ball Flower decoration. Click for yet more church history