All Saints' Church, Brixworth | |
---|---|
![]() All Saints' parish church seen from the south | |
52°20′02″N0°54′17″W / 52.33389°N 0.90472°W | |
OS grid reference | SP 74750 71217 |
Country | England |
Denomination | Church of England |
History | |
Dedication | All Saints |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
Designated | 2 November 1954 |
Architectural type | basilica |
Style | Anglo-Saxon Romanesque |
Specifications | |
Nave width | 30 feet (9 m) |
Other dimensions | nave length 60 feet (18 m) presbytery 30 feet (9 m) × 30 feet (9 m) |
Number of spires | 1 |
Materials | stone |
Administration | |
Province | Canterbury |
Diocese | Peterborough |
Archdeaconry | Northampton |
Deanery | Brixworth |
Parish | Brixworth |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | John Holbrook |
Rector | David Reith |
All Saints' Church, Brixworth, now the parish church of Brixworth, Northamptonshire, England, is a leading example of early Anglo-Saxon architecture. It is the largest English church that remains substantially as it was in the Anglo-Saxon era. It was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1954.
The Peterborough Chronicle records Brixworth as having a monastery, Brixworth Abbey, founded when Seaxwulf became bishop of Mercia, before the death of King Wulfhere of Mercia in AD 675. The present church was begun in the late eighth or early ninth century, either by King Offa of Mercia or his successor, Coenwulf. [1] Many elements from this building remain visible, along with later additions from further phases of building in the 10th, 14th and 19th centuries. The older building contains features typically found in architecture of a later period, including an ambulatory. Now it is a parish church and a Grade I listed building. [2]
Roman architecture can be considered the precedent for early Christian church building; hence the term 'Romanesque'. The church was built in the form of an Early Christian basilica, but with piers instead of columns.
What remains of the original building is a clerestoried nave, north and south arcades blocked and infilled with windows, a presbytery separated from the nave by a great arch, and the foundations of a semicircular apse. The west tower was begun as a two-storey porch, heightened in the 10th century to form a tower.
In the 13th century a south aisle was added to the nave, a south chapel was added beside the presbytery and the apsidal chancel was replaced with a rectangular one. In the 14th century the west tower was heightened again and the present broach spire was added. Archaeological excavations have shown that the original church had side chambers, called porticus , that would have extended either side of the present nave. At the position of the present tower was a narthex, and original pillars now covered by flooring show that there was a three-arched opening between the nave and the presbytery. The original entrance was at the west end. In the Norman era the present south door was inserted in the westernmost arch of the south arcade.
Reclaimed Roman stone and brick tiles were used in the construction of the building. [3] Petrological analysis suggests the sources were the Roman towns of Lactodurum (Towcester) and Ratae Corieltauvorum (Leicester). [4] Roman-sized brick tiles are used in the arcading and other arches.
An ambulatory ran around the outside of the original apse below ground level. Originally steps led down to the ambulatory, which was covered by a barrel vault. The purpose of this ambulatory was probably to house or provide access to preserved relics.
It has been suggested that Brixworth may have been the site of synods that took place at Clofesho in the 8th and 9th centuries. This might account for the unusually large size of the building by the standards of the time. However, there are other possible candidates for their location and Clofesho's true identity has not been proved. [5]
In the 10th century the tower and stair turret replaced the narthex. This is one of four remaining Anglo-Saxon stair turrets in England, and is similar to the one at St Andrew's parish church, Brigstock, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Brixworth. The other two are at Broughton, Lincolnshire and Hough-on-the-Hill. At Brixworth, a triple arch was inserted into the existing masonry of the west nave wall at high level, replacing an existing arch. The arches are supported by baluster shafts, which are typical of Anglo-Saxon architecture, and can also be seen at the tower of All Saints' Church, Earls Barton, about 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Brixworth. In the 14th century the upper stages of the tower and the spire were added.
The churchyard contains the war graves of three British Army soldiers of World War I and a Royal Pioneer Corps officer of World War II. [6]
In 1865–66 major works were carried out to the church to the requirements of Charles Frederic Watkins, who was vicar at that time. These involved the removal of a large part of the medieval chancel and exposure of the ambulatory below ground level that surrounded the apse at the east end of the building. The south-east chapel was shortened by one bay and the south porch demolished, in each case to expose earlier stonework. [7] The work included the provision of 247 additional free seats. [8]
The west tower has a ring of six bells. Hugh Watts of Leicester cast the second, third, fourth and fifth bells in 1622. Henry Bagley of Chacombe cast the tenor bell in 1683. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the treble bell in 1993. [9] [10]
The parish registers start in 1546 and, apart from those currently in use, are kept at Northamptonshire Record Office (NRO). Details of its location and opening times can be found on NRO's website. [11] Rev James Jackson, who was vicar of Brixworth from 1735 to 1770, compiled an analytical index to Brixworth families since the 16th century which incorporated information from his personal knowledge as well as entries from the parish register. It therefore includes considerable information about the origins and destinations of people who arrived in or migrated from the village during the 18th century. This manuscript is also kept at NRO, where its reference is "ML 380". [12]
Brixworth is part of a united Benefice along with Holcot. Each parish retains its own church building. [13]
Beverley Minster, otherwise known as the Parish Church of Saint John and Saint Martin, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, is a parish church in the Church of England. It is one of the largest parish churches in the UK, larger than one-third of all English cathedrals and is regarded as a Gothic masterpiece.
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. No universally accepted example survives above ground. Generally preferring not to settle within the old Roman cities, the Anglo-Saxons built small towns near their centres of agriculture, at fords in rivers or sited to serve as ports. In each town, a main hall was in the centre, provided with a central hearth.
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary, at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Wittering is a village and civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The village is about 3 miles (5 km) south of the market town of Stamford in neighbouring Lincolnshire and about 9 miles (14 km) west of Peterborough's urban sprawl.
Brixworth is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162, increasing to 5,228 at the 2011 census. The village's All Saints' Church is of Anglo-Saxon origin.
Guilsborough is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 882 people, reducing to 692 at the 2011 Census.
All Saints' Church is a noted Anglo-Saxon Church of England parish church in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire. It is estimated that the building dates from the later tenth century, shortly after Danish raids on England.
The Councils of Clovesho or Clofesho were a series of synods attended by Anglo-Saxon kings, bishops, abbots and nobles in the 8th and 9th centuries. They took place at an unknown location in the Kingdom of Mercia.
Woodeaton or Wood Eaton is a village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Oxford, England. It also has a special needs school called Woodeaton Manor School.
St Mary's Priory Church, Deerhurst, is the Church of England parish church of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, England. Much of the church is Anglo-Saxon. It was built in the 8th century, when Deerhurst was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. It is contemporary with the Carolingian Renaissance on mainland Europe, which may have influenced it.
The Basilica di San Zeno is a minor basilica of Verona, northern Italy constructed between 967 and 1398 AD. Its fame rests partly on its Romanesque architecture and partly upon the tradition that its crypt was the place of the marriage of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It stands adjacent to a Benedictine abbey, both dedicated to St Zeno of Verona.
All Saints' Church in Wing, Buckinghamshire, is a Grade I listed parish church. Its masonry was largely built in the 8th to 11th centuries during the Anglo-Saxon period, making it one of the oldest surviving churches in England.
The Parish Church of Saint Mary, North Leigh is the Church of England parish church of North Leigh, a village about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire.
St Peter's Church is the former parish church of Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire, England. It is one of the best known Anglo-Saxon buildings, in part due to its role in Thomas Rickman's identification of the style. It has been subject to major excavations. The former Church of England church is now run by English Heritage and houses an exhibition exploring its history.
The Parish Church of Saint Matthew, Langford is the Church of England parish church of Langford, a village in West Oxfordshire about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire.
The Churches of the Vall de Boí are a set of nine Early Romanesque churches declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO and located in the Vall de Boí, in the Catalan comarca of Alta Ribagorça.
St Wystan's Church is a Church of England parish church in Repton, Derbyshire, that is famous for its Anglo-Saxon crypt which is the burial place of two Mercian kings. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade I listed building, and is dedicated to the Anglo-Saxon Saint Wystan, who was formerly buried within the church's crypt.
Charles Frederic Watkins (1794–1873) was an Anglican clergyman, best known for his work in restoring the parish church of Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and promoting the study of its origins.
The Church of All Saints is the Church of England parish church for the village of Netheravon, Wiltshire, England. A church has stood on this site near the River Avon since Saxon times. It has been designated a Grade I listed building.