Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary, Bletchley

This parish church has late 12th-century origins but was largely rebuilt in stages from the late 13th to the 15th centuries. It is constructed of limestone rubble with lead roofs and comprises a chancel with a north chapel, a nave with north and south aisles, a south porch, and a west tower. The church is embattled throughout and is largely Perpendicular in appearance, though it retains some Decorated windows and doorways.

The Exterior

The chancel has a fine Decorated-style east window, entirely renewed in the 19th century, along with two 19th-century Perpendicular-style windows in the south wall and a 19th-century doorway. The north chapel has an early 14th-century east window with renewed Decorated tracery, with traces of another 14th-century window in the north wall; otherwise the chapel and north aisle windows are late 15th-century. The north aisle has a late 14th-century north door. The 15th-century nave clerestory has four windows on each side, each with three lights.

The south aisle's east window dates to around 1330 and has good Decorated tracery; its west window is 15th-century, with two late Perpendicular-style windows in the south wall. The south door is unusual: its inner opening has continuous mouldings and is probably late 13th-century, while the outer orders have rich Romanesque mouldings including beakhead, suggesting it may be a former chancel arch or doorway that was reset and remodelled in the late 13th century. The south porch was apparently rebuilt in the 19th century but has a 14th-century outer opening. The 15th-century west tower is of three stages, with a northwest diagonal buttress, a southwest stair turret rising above the parapet, and a large Perpendicular west window.

The Interior

The interior contains very complete medieval fabric from the late 13th to 15th centuries and features good medieval roofs.

A late 13th-century chancel arch has the inner order on moulded capitals, and a contemporary south arcade of four bays with chamfered arches and moulded capitals and bases. A blocked late 13th-century clerestory with foiled circle openings above the arcade survives, along with a former rood loft door on the south side.

The two-bay chancel north arcade has ballflower decoration on the central capital. The arcade does not extend the full length of the chancel, and a small 14th-century door at the east end of the arcade into the chapel indicates that both arches were always intended to be blocked by tombs. A blocked, trefoil-headed squint next to the door remains. A 14th-century arch between the chapel and north aisle has recut head corbels. Both the chancel arcade and the arch to the aisle are now blocked by late 20th-century timber and glazed screens for the service area.

The north arcade is 14th-century and has four bays of increasing length towards the west. The east respond has a 14th-century head corbel, and the west respond capital, possibly reset, has stylised flowers. The third pier has a 15th-century capital. A 15th-century tower arch with polygonal responds and a 15th-century clerestory are present. A small, probably 19th-century timber gallery with a glazed, traceried screen below occupies the tower arch.

The roofs are excellent throughout. The 15th-century north chapel roof has moulded purlins and ridge, with some 19th-century decoration in the east bay. The 15th-century nave roof has moulded purlins and principals with arch-braced tie-beams on short posts on timber corbels. The 15th-century south aisle roof also has moulded purlins and principals with arched tie-beams. The north aisle roof has an unusual design featuring large open arch braces on 14th- or 15th-century stone corbels just above the arcade capitals. The posts have unusual terminations with stop-chamfers and crenellations, and are probably 17th-century. The south porch roof has been renewed but retains some 15th-century moulded beams. The chancel roof is dated 1953 and is similar to that in the north chapel.

Principal Fixtures

A late 13th- or early 14th-century piscina and sedilia in the chancel feature four arches carried on attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases. A trefoil-headed piscina of the 14th century stands in the north chapel. The font is very plain, possibly 17th-century, with a circular bowl; its octagonal cover is early 17th-century and has a spire with arabesques. An interesting and rare poor box of 1637 is present. A possibly 17th-century wooden lock survives on the inside of the south door. The church contains good 19th- and early 20th-century glass, including an east window of 1868 designed by Henry Holiday for Powell and Sons.

The church contains several interesting monuments. Richard, Lord Grey de Wilton (died 1442), is commemorated by an excellent armoured alabaster effigy on a chest panelled with quatrefoils, next to which hangs a 17th-century helm. A table tomb in the chancel commemorates Katherine, wife of Browne Willis (died 1724). Thomas Sparke, rector (died 1616), is commemorated by a small and highly unusual brass by Richard Haydocke showing a bust on a tomb chest surrounded by allegorical and other figures, texts and arabesque ornament, set within an alabaster strapwork frame. A small, fragmentary late 16th-century monument with coloured alabaster effigies of a man and eight children is said to have been brought by Browne Willis from Deptford church. Other monuments commemorate members of the Willis family. Unfortunately, these monuments are partially hidden by an inserted floor in the sanctuary and by the screens for the service area. The church was refurnished in the late 20th century with modern furnishings and chairs for seating.

History and Development

A church probably existed here in the 12th century; the earliest surviving fabric consists of 12th-century voussoirs over the south door, probably coming from a former door or perhaps the chancel arch. The church was otherwise wholly rebuilt in stages from the late 13th to the 15th centuries. The reset late 12th-century south door probably belonged to an aisleless nave of that date. The chancel was rebuilt in the late 13th century, and the south aisle was added at that time. The north chapel dates to the early 14th century, and the north aisle is mostly mid-14th-century. The south porch is 14th-century in origin. Part of the north arcade was added or rebuilt in the 15th century, when the west tower and clerestory were also added. Much of the 14th-century work, and probably also the 15th-century work, is associated with the Grey family, who held the manor of Over, West or Old Bletchley from the early 13th century to the mid-17th century. The north chapel was clearly intended to be a chantry chapel and family mausoleum, although only the tomb of Richard, Lord Grey de Wilton (circa 1442) now survives.

Browne Willis (1682–1760), the noted early antiquary, owned the Bletchley estate from 1699 to 1760 and was responsible for refurnishing the church in the early 18th century. In 1704–07, he had the church "repaired and beautified," and the chancel was ceiled and painted with figures of the twelve Apostles "in the Verrio manner," indicating an exuberance of clouds, draperies and rich decoration after the manner of Antonio Verrio (1639–1707). This decoration was removed during the 1868 restoration, when a number of other Browne Willis period features, such as the chancel south door, were also altered, and the church was refurnished. The architect for this restoration was William White (1825–1900), a leading architect of the Victorian Gothic Revival. The church was wholly reordered in the late 20th century to remove the White period furnishings, and a two-storey service and meeting room area was installed in the north chapel.