St Mary with St John, Great Brington, Northamptonshire

I Location

Site Location: Great Brington
National Grid Reference: SP 667 652
County: traditional: Northamptonshire
now: Northamptonshire
Diocese: medieval: Lincoln
now: Peterborough from 1539
Dedication: medieval: not confirmed
now (or name of monument): St Mary with St John
Type of building/monument: Parish church

II General Description

: Plan of St Mary's Church, Great Brington, 1986. © Crown copyright. NMR.

: Exterior from NE

: Interior to E

St Mary's is famous above all for the Spencer Chapel, 'one of the great storehouses of costly and self-confident monuments of the 16thc., 17thc. and 18thc.' (Pevsner). This is the N chancel chapel, and was added by Sir John Spencer (d.1522) whose tomb is the earliest contained there, and who also rebuilt the chancel. The outer wall of the chapel, with a polygonal apse facing N, was rebuilt by Blore in 1846. The nave is six bays long with N and S aisles and clerestoreys. Both arcades are 14thc., but the N, lower and with plain chamfered arches, is apparently earlier than the S which has hollow chamfers. The west tower is 13thc. with a later battlement. The body of the church is of roughly course stone, and the eastern arm and Spencer Chapel of ashlar. The only feature described here is the Purbeck font, and that is probably 13thc. but included since it relates to a standard 12thc. type.

V Furnishings

1. Fonts

(i)

: Font from E.

: Font bowl from S.

: Font bowl from W.

: Font bowl from N.

At the west end of the nave, a Purbeck marble tub on a quatrefoil shaft with vertical rows of dogtooth between the lobes, and an upper rim of nailhead. The shaft stands on a modern base. The tub is divided into eight bays, all except the west with a pair of pointed arches in low relief. The west bay has a trefoil head surmounted by a gable with a cross on the apex. In the spandrels between the arches of each bay are motifs in low relief, described anticlockwise (left to right) starting at the west as follows:

Bay 1 (W): see above.

Bay 2: cross in recessed medallion.

Bay 3: inscribed shield bearing three inscribed crosses.

Bay 4: cross in recessed medallion.

Bay 5: sexfoil daisy in recessed medallion.

Bay 6: cross in recessed medallion.

Bay 7: cross in recessed medallion.

Bay 8: sexfoil daisy in recessed medallion.

The bowl is unlined and there is lock damage on the rim.

Dimensions

overall h.	1.06 m
h. of bowl and shaft	0.925 m
h. of bowl	0.45 m
ext. diam. at rim	0.75 m
int. diam. at rim	0.59 m

VII History

The Domesday Survey does not distinguish between Great and Little Brington, but describes the two holdings. William Peverel held 1½ hides, and William (the same or another) held half a hide from the Count of Mortain. No church was recorded in either parcel.

Benefice of Brington with Whilton and Norton and Church Brampton with Chapel Brampton and Harlestone and East Haddon and Holdenby.

VIII Comments/Opinions

IX Bibliography

N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, Harmondsworth, 1961, rev. by B. Cherry, 1973, 229-32.