Gayton is a substantial village towards the S of the county, 4 miles SW
of Northampton. Gayton stands on a hill with the church and manor house at the
NE edge of the village. St Mary's comprises a W tower, an aisled nave with a
clerestorey and a square chancel with N and S chapels. The tower is of three storeys;
the lowest 12thc. with plain lancets, the next with plate-traceried 13thc.
windows and the top storey with flowing bell-openings and a battlemented
parapet. The upper part, however, is 19thc. The nave has aisles with
three-bay
arcades of
c.1300. The chancel has a large 14thc. E window.
The N chapel has the tomb of Sir Philip de Gayton (d.1316) in the arch to the
chancel, and that of his daughter Lady Scholastica de
Meaux (d.1354) with effigies of her and her baby against the N wall. The S
chapel now houses the organ. The font is the only Romanesque
feature.