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St Michael, Church Broughton, Derbyshire

Location
(52°53′54″N, 1°41′48″W)
Church Broughton
SK 205 335
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Derbyshire
now Derbyshire
medieval Lichfield
now Derby
  • Celia Holden
  • Jennifer Alexander
  • Louisa Catt
  • Olivia Threlkeld
1 Sep 2014

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Description

An entirely Norman church would have stood here but what stands today is a mostly early 14thc structure. The only Norman architectural feature is the semicircular respond of the NE arcade. The font in the W end of the nave is also Norman.

History

The manor of Broughton was given by Henry de Ferrers to the Priory of Tutbury on its first foundation in the reign of William the Conqueror, and 'the gift was confirmed in the next century by Robert de Ferrers the younger.' We have not been able to find any specific mention of the original gift of the church of Broughton to the priory, either in the Tutbury Chartulary or elsewhere, but we think it most probable that there was no church here when the town was given to the priory, and that the monks erected one on their estate soon after it came into their possession. The advowson, or presentation to the rectory, would thus naturally fall into their hands.

Features

Interior Features

Arcades

Nave

Furnishings

Fonts

Comments/Opinions

Cox speculates that the piers are Norman despite the pointed arches in the nave but it is not possible to tell due to the concealed bases.

The church was rebuilt throughout in its present proportions about the commencement of the fourteenth century, probably in the reign of Edward II, when the Decorated style prevailed.

The triangles and circles on the font may symbolise the Trinity and Eternity.

Bibliography

F. Arnold-Forster, Studies in Church Dedications or England’s Patron Saints, London 1899, III, 87.

J. Charles Cox. Notes on the Churches of Derbyshire: The Hundred of Appletree and Repton and Gresley. Vol. 3. 1877, 81 - 88.

Historic England Listed Building (Legacy ID) 82664

N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England. Derbyshire. Harmondsworth 1978, 152.