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6th December 2018


This month I am visiting a place which has celebrated Christmas continuously for at least 1200 years. It’s a remarkable survival of Anglo Saxon architecture and the oldest church in Northamptonshire, it’s All Saints Church, Brixworth.

No one knows exactly how old the current church is. We know for sure that there was a church at Brixworth built by the monks from the great Abbey at Peterborough around 1330 years ago during the reign of King Offa of Mercia. The original wooden church was soon replaced with an ambitious structure of which the present building is only a part. All Saints has had many alterations and additions over the years, but architecturally it still retains its Anglo Saxon style.

The church is remarkable for its age and size, with few rivals in Northern Europe. The best way to explore is to admire the exterior first. This reveals the extraordinary evolution of its architecture, and the variety of building materials used. There are over 30 different kinds of stone to be seen.

Analysis shows much of the reused Roman materials come from Lactodorum, or Towcester. Many door and window arches are constructed from Roman brick tiles, although it seems the technique for constructing round headed arches had been largely forgotten in the years since the recall to Rome nearly 300 years earlier. However haphazard these arches look, they have remained for over 1200 years, surviving wars, partial demolition and rebuilding by subsequent generations.

The tower is topped with a much later spire (this is Northamptonshire after all, a spire is required!) But its most interesting feature is the millennium old staircase turret, where the masons solved the problem of window construction by chiselling window openings in a single stone.

One of the most remarkable elements is the south door, which shows the larger Saxon arch enclosing the later Norman stone arch. As you enter the church, on the left there is a stunning Saxon carving of the Eagle of St John carved into a reused Roman cross.
 
Inside the sparkling white interior, the pink-red Roman tiled arches reaching high create an impression of grandeur and space. The triumphal arch leading to the Apse and the altar is flanked by two other windows, and opposite at the west end, a triple arch window opens into an upper room in the tower. It is spectacular, and despite the Victorian stained glass added later, the feeling is that of an ancient space.

Other treasures to discover include the 650 year old tomb of Sir John de Verdun, resting in the Lady Chapel. A more modern object includes the beautiful embroidery of a Madonna and Child painting by 15th Century artist Lochner.

This is a well loved and well maintained church. On the day I visited there were several volunteers keen to show me the highlights. Whatever your chosen faith, a visit to this church allows you to step briefly into a community of souls who have celebrated and commemorated the highest and lowest points of their lives here for over a millennium. It is one of the most special places in the county.

For more information visit www.friendsofbrixworthchurch.org.uk

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