Building record 1668/1/5 - Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Grafton Regis

Church built in the early 13th century, with 14th and 15th century additions, repaired and re-pewed in 1840, and restored in 1889. Built of coursed squared limestone, with slate a roof to the nave and lead roofs to chancel, tower and porch. The church consists of a chancel, north chancel chapel, nave, north aisle, south porch and west tower.

{1} Church. Early C13, C14 and C15; repaired and re-pewed 1840, restored 1889. Coursed squared limestone, slate roof to nave. Lead roofs to chancel, tower and porch. Chancel, north chancel chapel, nave, north aisle, south porch, west tower. 3-bay chancel has 5-light east window with renewed Perpendicular tracery and hood mould, a 2-light window to north-east with straight head and pair of 2-light Perpendicular windows to south with ogee-arched heads to lights and hood moulds. Windows flank blocked window above double wave-moulded priest's door with ogee-arched head; sill of window to south-west was formerly lower than that to south-east and has been partly blocked. Chancel chapel continues north aisle and has 3-light window with reticulated tracery, aisle has 2-light windows to north with Decorated tracery and 3-light west window with intersecting tracery; all have hood moulds. Nave has square clerestory window to north-east and south-east, the former with double-chamfered stone surround, the latter with hollow-chamfered surround and quatrefoil. 2-light windows to south with Decorated tracery and hood moulds. Double wave-moulded south door with hood mould and label stops in porch with double-chamfered doorway and hood mould. Blocked windows to either side of porch, stone benches within and roof with innermost tie-beam dated 1835. 3-stage tower has polygonal stair turret to south-east angle with ogee-arched door, small cusped 1-light window at intermediate level and ridged stone roof. Tower has similar windows to middle stage, 2-light west window to 1st stage with Decorated tracery and hood mould and similar bell-chamber openings. Diagonal off-set buttresses and battlemented parapet. Diagonal off-set buttresses to porch and south-east angle of nave. Chamfered stone eaves to nave and chancel and stone-coped gables with kneelers. Interior: chancel has stone reredos with ogee-arched blank arcading and cusped ogee-arched piscina. Priest's door is flanked by sedilia fording tripartite composition, all with ogee-arched heads. Double-chamfered arch to chancel chapel on corbels. Nave has 4-bay arcade with circular pier, polygonal responds and double-chamfered arches. Triple-chamfered tower arch with polygonal responds. Large medieval panel painting of the Betrayal of Christ above priest's door. C19 stain-glass windows in north aisle. Monuments: chest-tomb with trefoil-headed arched panels and three semi-octagonal colonnettes to middle of long side and either end, shields to panels either end and slab incised with two foliated crosses. Chest tomb with seven ogee-headed arched panels, shields to panels either end and incised slab to Sir John Wydevyl c.1415. Wall monument in Grecian style signed by Flaxman to Charlotte Countess of Euston d.1808 with sarcophagus flanked by Faith and Hope. Wall monument to Lord James Henry Fitzroy d.1834 signed by William Behnes with draped urn in niche of sarcophagus; white marble on slate ground. Other Fitzroy wall monuments early/mid C19, white marble on slate grounds. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, pp226-7; Kelly's Directory to Northamptonshire, 1936)

{13} Undated photo, also photo dated 29.10.1993.

{15} The church at Grafton Regis is C11th and later. Considerable overall restoration was carried out in the C19th.

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 13/37 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F11 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<4> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, (unchecked) (Series). SNN77383.

<5> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.301-302 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<6> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, p.21 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN42095.

<7> Glynne S., 1859, Church Notes of Sir Stephen Glynne, 40 p.11-12 (unchecked) (Manuscript). SNN39492.

<8> FOARD G.R., 1980, PARTIAL SURVEY, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN48043.

<9> Baker G., 1822-36, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Book). SNN10400.

<10> The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Series). SNN10247.

<11> Historic England, 2017, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2017, p. 63 (Report). SNN111090.

<11> Historic England, 2018, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2018, p. 63 (Report). SNN111434.

<12> Soden, I, 2019, Archaeological monitoring of new drainage at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN112009.

<13> Photographs of buildings in Grafton Regis (Photographs). SNN112573.

<14> Jones, M, 2021, Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Observation, investigation, recording, analysis and publication (OIRAP) (Report). SNN112625.

<15> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Ministry of Housing and Local Government list, Towcester Rural District, 1949, p. 17 (Report). SNN112993.

<16> Historic England, Undated, St Mary the Virgin's Church, Grafton Regis, BF107321 (Archive). SNN115780.

<17> Richmond H., 1988, Survey of Northamptonshire Parish Churches (Unpublished Report). SNN1195.

<18> Marks R., 1998, Stained Glass Of Northamptonshire, p. 78 (Book). SNN101533.

Record last edited

Dec 17 2024 4:26PM