Late 13th early 14th century Gothic Church of the grand decorated period.

The Arts & Crafts altar was made in 1904 and contains five carved panels. Four are of carved vines with leaves and grapes. The central panel is of the Communion and the Last Supper. The altar rails are dumb-bell balusters are 17th century. The 19th century pews came from All Saints Church, Emscote Lawn in Leamington Spa in 1973 before it was demolished.

The panels above of the 10 Commandments were painted by Eric Gill when the church was restored around 1904. The lettering is a bit hard to read, but I’ve brought it out a bit in post-processing.

The north chapel contains a fine tudor tomb of Sir Thomas Andrews and his two wives, Katherine and Mary. The tomb was built after the death of his first wife Katherine during the reign of ‘Bloody’ Mary. In 2001 major conservation work took place prior to its inclusion in an Exhibition of Medieval Sculpture at the Tate Gallery.

In addition to the tomb there are three magnificent brasses in the centre aisle of the church these are dedicated to three Thomas Andrewes and their wives. In the north aisle a monument of 1590 of Reigate stone which was erected by Thomas Andrewe in memory of his two wives. The monument also depicts their twelve children.

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Tags: arts and crafts, brass, eric gill, monument, tomb, tower, trinity

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.

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Tags: brass, font, mary, monument, pews, stained glass, tomb, tower