Holy Trinity Church, Blatherwycke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Holy Trinity Church, Blatherwycke |
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| OS grid reference | SP 974 957 |
| Location | Blatherwycke, Northamptonshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 23 May 1967 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone, Collyweston stone slate roofs |
Holy Trinity Church is an old Anglican church in the village of Blatherwycke, Northamptonshire, England. It's no longer used for regular church services, which is why it's called a "redundant" church. This special building is protected as a Grade II* listed building, meaning it's very important historically. The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it. You can find it on the land where Blatherwycke Hall used to stand.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
This church is very old, first built in the 11th century (that's the 1000s!). Over the next 300 years, people added new parts and changed some things.
The church tower was rebuilt in the early 1600s. Later, in 1819, the chancel (the part of the church near the altar) was rebuilt. In the same century, the north aisle (a side section) and a north chapel were also rebuilt.
Holy Trinity Church stopped being used for regular services on November 1, 1976. It was then officially handed over to the Churches Conservation Trust on April 25, 1978, so they could protect and care for it.
What the Church Looks Like
Holy Trinity Church is built from limestone and has roofs made of Collyweston stone slate. The church has a main area called the nave, with a side section (aisle) on the north and a porch on the south. It also has a chancel (the area around the altar) with a chapel on its north side, and a tower at the west end.
Outside the Church
You can see parts of the original Norman style, which was popular in the 11th and 12th centuries. These features include the south doorway in the nave, the west doorway in the tower, and some of the arches.
The tower has three levels. The bottom level has a blocked-up, round-topped door on the west side and small windows on the north and south. The middle level has a similar window on the west. The top level has two-light bell openings on each side, where the bells would have been. At the very top, there's a flat wall called a parapet, with a single gargoyle (a carved stone figure) on the north side.
On the south wall of the chancel, there are two windows with three sections, decorated in a style called Decorated Gothic. You can also see a row of carved heads under the roof edge. The chancel roof is pointed (gabled) with a decorative top piece and small towers at the corners.
The large east window, built in the 1800s, has four sections and is next to strong supports called buttresses. The east window in the chapel also dates from the 1800s and has three sections. There's a similar window and a priest's door in the north wall of the chapel. The chapel roof is also gabled with a decorative top.
On the south wall of the nave, starting from the east, you'll find a three-section arched window, a two-section square window from the 1600s, and a semicircular-arched doorway from the 1100s. The west window of the north aisle has a three-section window from the 1800s.
Inside the Church
Inside, between the nave and the north aisle, there's an arcade (a row of arches) with two semicircular arches. The arcade between the chancel and the chapel has three arches and was built around the year 1300.
On the east wall of the chancel, next to the window, are niches (small alcoves) with trefoil (three-leaf shape) tops and pointed decorations above them. There are also smaller niches between these and the window. To the left of the altar, there's a blocked-up doorway.
In the north aisle, you can find a piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels) with a trefoil top. The font, where baptisms take place, is square and sits on a round base. The church has two pulpits, which are raised platforms for speaking.
The beautiful stained glass in the east window was made in the 1800s by a company called Clayton and Bell. The stained glass in the south wall of the chancel, from 1921, was created by Kempe and Co..
You'll also see memorials inside the church. Some are for the Stafford and O'Brien families, who used to live at Blatherwycke Hall. There's also a memorial on the wall for the poet Thomas Randolph, who died while visiting Blatherwycke Hall. This memorial was made around 1640 by the sculptor Nicholas Stone and was ordered by Sir Christopher Hatton.
The church also has a single-manual organ (an organ with one keyboard) that was built in 1908 by P. Conacher and Company from Huddersfield.
See also
