St. Mary’s parish church at Fawsley dates from the early 13th century, much of which remains, including the tower, south porch, chancel, and nave.
The alabaster free standing tomb to Sir Richard Knightley and his wife Jane Skenard, heiress to Old Aldington is c1540 and contains some fine details.
The font is 13th century and the worn original carving has been reworked.
The east window is a Victorian memorial depicting Sir Charles Knightley and his wife in the bottom left and right panels.
The brass in the aisle, however, is mid 16th century monument to Sir Edmund Knightley and his wife and their six daughters. The oldest brass though is that of Thomas Knightley (1516), which shows him with his heart engraved above his portrait. The largest monument in this church though is the large monument on the north wall to the Knightley family (1566-1619). It was restored in 1930.
the church also contains a number of peices of medieval stained glass. The oldest is the 13th century window depicting Adam and Eve. Restored in 1992 in memory of the Reverend Roy Dooley. Other windows contain 15th century medallions depicting biblical scenes that were originally at Sulgrave Manor.
Amongst the glass panels from Sulgrave manor, are 16th century panels depicting marital shields celebrating the marriages of members of the Washington Family. The top panel second from left celebrates the marriage of Lawrence Washington and Amy Pargiter (1538).
The bottom left panel celebrates the marriage of Robert Washington, (son of Lawrence Washington), and Elizabeth Light (1565). The top panel third from left celebrates the marriage of the second son also called Lawrence Washington to Martha Newce. Sulgrave Manor was the home of George Washington’s ancestors, and the central panel clearly shows the Washington coat of arms upon which the American flag, the ‘Stars and Stripes’, is based.
The pews in St. Mary’s are medieval box pews, and in the south aisle is the high sided medieval Knightley Pew. This was designed so that the family members could attend church and not be seen by the rest of the congregation.
However, with such high sides the family also couldn’t see what the priest was doing at the altar. As a result a ‘squint’ in the south wall of the chancel was made, so that they could see what the priest was doing.
The main part of the church dates from 1591, though parts of the tower is said to date from around 1350. Built from the local ironstone, which was quarried in the south of the parish.
Inside the church contains a number of victorian and early 20th century stained glasss windows. The above three photos show two memorial windows to those that fought in the 1914-1918 war the central photo is the East window. The church also has two other memorial windows and one set in the bell tower.
St Mary’s parish church was part of Canons Ashby Priory. The white ashlar trefoil arches of the west front are c1250 built by Augustinians. The large west window is of later construction, and the tower was built c1350.
Today the church consists of just two bays of the original medieval building, the rest was demolished to by the Copes and Drydens in the late 16th century to build their respective homes.
One of the floor tiles is embossed with the Dryden Coat of Arms which has the addition of the “Red Hand of Ulster” to normal Dryden Arms. The “Red Hand of Ulster” is a frequent ornament to much of the Canons Ashby House.
Access: Open same time as National Trust property.
