St Mary's Church, Brentingby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Brentingby |
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The former St Mary's Church, Brentingby, now a house,
with the tower at the far end |
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| OS grid reference | SK 784 187 |
| Location | Brentingby, Leicestershire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 1 January 1968 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 14th century |
| Completed | 1660 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone |
St Mary's Church is an old Anglican church in Brentingby, a village in Leicestershire, England. This church is no longer used for regular services. Its main building was changed into a private house, but the church tower was kept as it was. The tower is a special historic building, known as a Grade II listed building, and is looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust.
Church History
The church was first built in the 1300s (14th century). It was updated and changed in 1660. During this update, the church was made shorter at the east end, and a new wall was built there. The windows in the main part of the church (called the nave) were replaced, and the roof was made steeper. Also, the door on the north side was closed up.
In the 1950s, the church stopped being used for services. After this, it started to fall apart. In 1972 and 1973, some digging was done to learn more about the church's past. Then, in 1977, the main part of the church was fixed up and turned into a house. The tower, however, was left just as it was. The church is now part of the bigger church area of Melton Mowbray.
Church Design
The Tower Today
The church tower is made from limestone. It has four main sections, separated by stone lines called string courses.
- In the bottom section, there are tall, narrow windows with pointed tops (called ogee-headed lancet windows) on the north, south, and west sides.
- The second section also has similar windows on the north and south sides. All these windows are now blocked up.
- In the third section, there's an opening on the east side that used to have wooden slats (a louvred opening), and parts of a lancet window on the west.
- The top section has bell openings, which are also tall, narrow windows with pointed tops, on the north and south sides.
The tower has a special roof shape called a saddleback roof, which looks like a regular house roof. On top of this roof is a small, eight-sided spire. On the east and west ends of the roof, there are two more narrow openings. Above each of these, there's a small, pointed alcove (a niche) with a decorative stone shape called a ballflower.
What the Church Looked Like Before
Before it was changed, the church had a main hall (the nave) but no side sections (no aisles). The window at the east end was square-shaped with four vertical stone bars (called mullions). The four windows on the north and south walls of the nave were similar but had three vertical bars.
Above one of the windows, there was an old message carved into the stone that mentioned the repairs done in 1660. When the church was dug up, workers found many old, decorated stones that had been reused in the walls of the nave.
There were also some old wall paintings inside the church:
- On the east wall, there were Royal arms (like a royal family symbol), probably from the time of George I.
- On the north wall, there were parts of old writings, including the Ten Commandments.
- Partly hidden by plaster, there was a painting showing two figures. One was a skeleton holding a spear and a spade. The other was a man, possibly holding a musical instrument. This painting was a "memento mori", which is a reminder that everyone will die. This painting has been taken out and is now in a museum.
The church also used to have two bells. One was from the 1300s (14th century), and the other was probably from the 1500s (16th century).
See also
