Church Of St Mary The Virgin

Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Broughton

This is a Grade I listed church dating from around 1300, with significant later additions and alterations. The building is constructed in regular coursed ironstone rubble with lead roofs and comprises a chancel, nave, west tower, south aisle, south porch, and north vestry. It represents a fine example of the transitional Early English to Decorated architectural stage.

The church underwent small-scale general restoration in 1825, followed by more substantial work. The sedilia and piscina were restored by Gilbert Scott in 1858, and a complete restoration was undertaken between 1877 and 1880 by Gilbert Scott and G.G. Scott. The south aisle clerestory dates from the late 14th century, and the nave clerestory from the 15th century.

The chancel features a large 6-light curvilinear east window, a south window with a square head containing two lights with quatrefoils and mouchettes, and three 2-light north windows with trefoils, mouchettes and quatrefoils. Some limestone tracery is present in the windows.

The nave has a pointed arched doorway to the right flanked by two 2-light windows with Y-tracery, and a 3-light similar window to the left. Four 2-light Perpendicular windows light the clerestory.

The west tower is in three stages with a broach spire featuring lucarnes and crocketed gables. The west door has wave and hollow mouldings with ballflower and an ogee hood with finial. The bell openings are 2-light with Y-tracery.

The south aisle contains a west window of 3 lights with intersecting tracery, hood mould and head stops, and 4-light geometrical east windows. The gabled south porch to the left has a south doorway with a pointed arch and three orders of hollow moulding, the outer two carried on shafts with bell capitals, and a plank door. To the right of the porch is a 3-light window with intersecting tracery, a doorway with chamfered head, and a 5-light window. The clerestory has three 2-light Decorated windows with square heads. The south aisle parapet features Decorated canopied niches above the east and west windows, with finials, ballflower, heads and floral decoration.

The chancel has stone coping to its steep roof and angle buttresses. The nave has a flat band and a continuous band below windows with a moulded parapet. The tower has angle buttresses.

The interior contains a Decorated chancel arch with wave mouldings. A 4-bay arcade of the south aisle, in the transitional Early English to Decorated style, has round piers with moulded capitals, double chamfered arches and half quatrefoil responds. The stone chancel screen is noted as a rare example of Decorated style work, with three crocketed ogee arches on either side of the central arch and a cornice with head corbels. A blocked squint exists in the east wall of the chancel. The 12th-century font has a cable moulded rim. A 19th-century stone pulpit is present, along with communion rails dated 1637. A nave beam is dated 1684. Some plain and slip-decorated late medieval floor tiles remain. The sedilia and piscina are 19th-century work.

The church contains 14th-century wall painting fragments in the north and east walls of the chancel and the north wall of the nave.

The monuments include three notable medieval examples. In the south aisle, an effigy of a cross-legged knight, probably John de Broughton, died 1315, lies in an elaborately canopied recess with a lion at his feet and angels supporting his pillow; the effigy and canopy were violently coloured in 1846. In the chancel are alabaster effigies of a knight and lady in an elaborately decorated tomb recess; the knight is probably Sir Thomas Wykeham, died 1470. Also in the south aisle is an effigy of a knight in plate armour, dating from around 1350, on a 15th-century tomb chest. A further tomb in the south aisle with canopy features a panelled vault with pendants and probably bears the arms of Edward Fiennes, 1528. A double chest tomb in the chancel commemorates William, first Lord Saye and Sele, died 1662, and his wife Elizabeth, died 1648; the chest is carved with shields and strapwork cartouches beneath a plain black marble slab. A 13th-century stone coffin lid is in the south aisle. A brass in the south aisle commemorates Lady Philippa Bishopsden, died 1414.

The church contains ten hatchments in the south aisle, dated between 1666 and 1847, all commemorating members of the Fiennes and Twisleton families who lived at nearby Broughton Castle. 19th-century monuments include those to Richard Haydon, died 1837 (chancel), Maria Marow, died 1834 (south aisle), William, twelfth Lord Saye and Sele, died 1847 (south aisle), and Ellen Twisleton, died 1862 (south aisle).

The stained glass includes three circular 16th-century heraldic panels in the south window, with other 19th-century glass by Lavers and Westlake, Kempe, Clayton and Bell, Burlinson and Grylls, and Munich glass.