The church of All Saints at Brixworth, Northamptonshire is the largest Anglo-Saxon building still standing in England, Dating back at least 1200 years, it is a Grade I listed building.
Brixworth Saxon Church Northamptonshire - an intriguing exterior
It is difficult to gauge the importance of the building from afar with its lofty walls and steeple. From a distance, it has the look of a medieval building with eighteenth century window insertions topped by what seems to be a Victorian spire. But appearances are deceptive.
As you approach from below, you begin to notice that is no normal building; it is very special indeed. The windows with their rounded, red brick arches are old; the circular tower abutting the main tower itself is singular; the narrow nature of the building when viewed end on is intriguing; and what looks like a Norman doorway can only hint that this building will be worth the trip.
Roman source material
Brixworth Saxon Church Northamptonshire is notable for its very material. Made of rubble from quarries all over the county, it also incorporates a large number of Roman tiles to make those distinctive arches.
It is thought the architects were inspired by similar structures in Leicester’s Roman Jewry Wall, itself incorporated into a later Anglo-Saxon church. Indeed, the architects may also have derived much of their building materials from Roman buildings still standing at Leicester (See, Sutherland, p. 25)
The round tower at the western end of the church forms a stair tower built against an earlier, two storey porch to enable access to the current church tower, built in the tenth century.
We can see that the lower half of the tower is indeed much older than the upper; a door on the south side at the bottom hints at an earlier structure –linked to the porch - now lost. Some interesting early herringbone work is also present.
Basilica later converted to church
The survival of the fossilised porch below the tower betrays the fact that the original church was much different in appearance to that which survives today; it began in the form of a basilica. This is further shown by a distinctive ‘join’ in the architecture of the nave below the clerestory window frieze.
The church plan preserves that of the original basilica within its footprint. The walls carrying the clerestory windows in fact mark the inner boundaries of the basilica. The outer walls of the basilica have disappeared and the curious arched windows of the main nave constitute the original interior arches which would have led to side chambers.
The ground plan (above), shows what currently remains, clarifying how what stands today (dark hatching) once had a much broader footprint. The outer chambers (pale grey hatching) have now largely long gone, as have the chambers to each side of the portico; what now constitutes the tower
Unusual ring-crypt
Of particular interest is the eastern end.
Here, where the apse now stands, a sub-ground-level ring-crypt allowed priests to walk and pray to relics.
Today, this can still be seen on the outside of the apse (see photograph). Although this passageway is now open to the elements, it would have been protected by a barrel-vaulted roof.
It cannot be certain when the outer sections of the basilica were removed but their loss, in rendering the building so narrow, further emphasises the height and importance of what remains.
Later additions
In the thirteenth century, a chapel was added to the south side; in the fourteenth century, the main tower was heightened and the spire added. The building was restored in the nineteenth century under the guidance of Rev. C. F. Watkins.
The restorers were largely sympathetic in their work and even the reconstruction of the apse is appropriate. It was during this period that the medieval windows in the nave were replaced and the current windows we see today were inserted. Although the medieval material is lost, what survives today re-emphasises the Romanesque nature of their recesses.
Dramatic interior
A tour of the inside of the church helps the visitor understand immediately the age and form of the original structure.
Once within, the nave appears vast, in no small part due to its extensive use of white limewash which contrasts with the Romanesque red brick-lined arches.
This treatment is also helpful in enabling us to gain a sense of the original basilica – the lower arches in particular highlight the original entrances to the various porticos on either side of the nave.
The tower is also intriguing; above our heads we can see a three light window which looks on to the nave from a chamber.
At the time of my visit I was not able to climb into this chamber to understand its precise purpose in relation to viewing the nave. Below this window a large doorway leads into the base of the tower; this presumably was once the main entrance into the church.
Fragments of early crosses
Of interest to the visitor today is the remnant of an early cross which is contained in a glass chamber to the left of the door as you enter. Press the button to light up the chamber and you are rewarded with a beautiful representation of an eagle cut into the stone.
This contrasts with the remnants of another early cross, now in the nave. Found in 1897 in the garden of the vicarage, its form is suggestive of Scandinavian work, redolent of that at Gosforth in Cumberland.
It has been interpreted as showing the lower body and legs of a greyhound; its curves also put me in mind of the Ringerike artwork found on a stone preserved at Great Canfield in Essex.
As we move towards the eastern end of the nave, we see the restored apse ahead of us and, to its left, the filled in entrance to what would have been the ambulatory ring-crypt. This is more evident from the outside.
Before we leave the church, the southeast chapel (ca. 1300) repays a visit. Here we can see the much damaged effigy of a knight, possibly the person to whom the chapel was dedicated.
Image gallery for Brixworth Church, Northamptonshire
About the Author, Michael Smith
Michael Smith is a translator and illustrator of medieval literature. His books, including a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, are available through all the usual outlets.
Signed copies
Signed and personally dedicated hardbound copies of the book, as well as limited copies of the book's original illustrations and other linocut prints are available directly from Mythical Britain.
More information about All Saints' Church, Brixworth, Northamptonshire
Read Simon Jenkins' account of All Saints' Church - here
For the Historic England official list entry for All Saints' Church, please click here.
For information about the construction of the church, the reader is recommended to purchase D. S. Sutherland's The Building of Brixworth Church (2014). Mr Sutherland is a former Assistant Curator at the Department of Geology at the University of Leicester.
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