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.

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