St Mary's Church, Higham Ferrers is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated popula ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History and description

The present church was founded by a charter of King Henry III in about 1220, with the tower being the last part of the first phase to be completed in about 1250. A large proportion of the original church survives to the present. The next phase of building, in about 1320, was the widening of the north aisle and the replacement of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

arcade, to allow for the insertion of the Lady Chapel. Additional windows were added to the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and the south aisle. The clerestory and the low pitched roof, with parapets is from the early 15th century, possibly under the auspices of Bishop Henry Chichele, later Archbishop of Canterbury. Chichele also had the rood screen and

choir stalls A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

with their

misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a par ...

s installed in about 1425. It is worth noting that Archbishop Chichele also had All Souls College, Oxford built, and there is a definite family resemblance between both sets of misericords, it is possible that the same carver, possibly Richard Tyllock, created both. In 1631, the spire and part of the tower collapsed, and was then repaired shortly afterwards. This was the last work performed on the fabric of the church. Simon Jenkins, in his ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', describes the spire as "one of the finest in a county famous for spires" Jenkins, S. (2000), ''England's Thousand Best Churches'',

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

s took place during the 19th century, but both seem to have been sympathetically performed. The spire is high. The tower contains a ring of ten bells, the previous eight having been restored and rehung in a new frame, together with two new bells, in 2014 by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

, the project marking the 600th anniversary of Henry Chichele's consecration as Archbishop of Canterbury. 167 full peals were rung on the eight bells and thirty three have now been rung on the ten, one being in a new "method", Regnum Diutissime ("the longest reign") Delight Royal in honour of the Queen having become the longest-reigning British monarch. One of the chief glories of the church is the west porch. Built between 1270 and 1280, it is almost certainly the work of one of the foreign masons employed in the rebuilding of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, the style and quality of the work here closely resembling the porch of the North transept of the Abbey. Simon Jenkins, awarding St Mary's three stars, says:

The west front of the tower is little short of sensational, a gallery of medieval decoration attributed to French masons from Westminster. The twin doors are framed with carvings and a
Tree of Jesse The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a g ...
rising from a central shaft. The unusual roundels in the tympanum, based on illuminated manuscripts, are of New Testament scenes. Sculpture dots each front, including on the north a charming man making music while locked in the stocks. Some of the niches have excellent modern statues in them.

Memorials

One of the earliest examples in England, the elaborate

memorial brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

to Laurence St. Maur, (died 1337) is considered by

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

to be one of the finest brass monuments in England. Originally on the chancel floor, it was placed on an altar tomb, between the two chancels, in 1633. St. Maur wears a heavily embroidered liturgical vestment and around his neck is a rectangle of cloth embroidered with cinquefoils. Above the main figure in the canopy is a group of figures.

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

is seated in the middle and holds a globe in his left hand, with his right hand raised in benediction.

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

and St. Peter are to the left of him and the

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and St. Thomas are to the right. Angels, on either side of Abraham, hold St. Maur's soul. In his 1912 book ''Brasses'',

John Sebastian Marlowe Ward John Sebastian Marlow Ward (22 December 1885 – 1949) was an English author who published widely on the subject of Freemasonry and esotericism. He was also the leader of a Christian sect, and the founder of the Abbey Folk Park, the earliest exa ...

says: "Canopies over Mass priests are very rare and this is by far the finest."

Bede House and Chantry Chapel

Adjacent to the church, at the west, is the Chantry Chapel, also a Grade I listed building. Built in the early 15th century for Archbishop Chichele, it was restored in the 20th century by

Temple Moore Temple Lushington Moore (7 June 1856 – 30 June 1920) was an English architect who practised in London. He is famed for a series of fine Gothic Revival churches built between about 1890 and 1917 and also restored many churches and designed ch ...

. It is of limestone ashlar with lead roof. It was used as a

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

from 1542 to 1906 and was re-dedicated as a

chantry chapel A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...

in 1942. To the south of the church, across the churchyard, is the bede house, also a Grade I listed building. Built in about 1428 it was restored in the 19th century. It is of squared coursed and banded limestone and ironstone, with a plain tile 20th-century roof. It is now used as the church hall. The chantry chapel and Bede House, both Perpendicular Gothic in style, are open to the public. The stone cross in the churchyard, another Grade I listed building, was known in 1463 as the Wardeyn or Warden Cross. It lies west of the church tower and is believed to be medieval in origin, with later additions. It was restored in 1919 as a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

Rectors and vicars

* 1238–1239: Master Hubert de Cotmanmeston * 1268–1275: Roger de St Philibert * 1275–1289: Master Robert de Hanneya * 1289–1335: Lawrence de Sancto Mauro * 1335–1337: Prebendary of Hinton * 1337–1346: Master Henry de la Dale * 1346: John Paynell * Richard de Melburn * 1350–1357: John de Stafford * 1357–1358: William Mildrithe of Knyghton * 1361–1363: Robert Hardegray * 1363–1366: Henry Wakeries * 1369–1374: John Godinche * 1374–1387: Henry Knot * 1387–1388: John Benethon de Wolaston * 1404–1414: John Halleswayne * 1414–1415: Henry de Bilburgh * 1415–1416: John Bradbourne * 1422–1429: William Moyes * 1429–1430: Elias Holcote * 1437–1438: William More * 1438–1444: Warden of Merton * 1444–1461: Richard Whyte * 1461–1465: Thomas Rudde * 1465–1469: William Blankeney * 1469–1482: John Ward * 1482–1487: William Bryan * 1487–1488: John Frende * 1492–1504: Richard Chauncellor * 1504–1523: Richard Wylleys * 1523–1534: William Fawntleroy * 1534–1542: Robert Goldson * 1542–1597: (no rector: church served by a series of curates) * 1597–1599: Clement Gregory * 1605–1631: Nichols Leonard * 1631–1635: John Hill * 1635–1645: John Digby * 1647–1658: Henry Pheasant * 1662-1662: ? Harrison * 1662–1676: John Knighton * 1676–1691: Samuel Lee * 1691–1726: Richard Willis * 1726–1730: John Glassbrook * 1730–1735: William Doyly * 1735–1740: George Tymms * 1740–1745: Thomas Bright * 1745–1752: William Withers * 1752–1761: Francis Greenwood * 1762–1802: George Pasley Malim * 1803–1830: George Warcup Malim * 1830–1837: Thomas Wentworth Gage * 1837–1868: George Malim * 1868–1885: Edward Templeman * 1885–1889: George Hamslip Hopkins * 1889–1906: James Dunn * 1906–1911: Gerard Marby Davidson * 1911–1923: Herbert Kearsley Fry * 1923–1933: Basil Eversley Owen * 1933–1945: Philip Kirk * 1945–1952: Harold Stanley Hoar * 1952–1964: Cecil Stafford Ford * 1965–1988: Roger William Davison * 1988–1997: Eric Buchanan * 1998–2013: Grant Lindley Brockhouse * 2014–2019: Richard Stainer

Gallery

File:St Mary the Virgin Church, Higham Ferrers.jpg, The east end File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - graveyard cross and tower.JPG, Graveyard cross and tower File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - tower.JPG, The tower File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - lower niche statue.JPG, Lower niche statue, tower File:St Mary, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire - Tympanum - geograph.org.uk - 826485.jpg, Typanum, east porch File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - clock.JPG, The clock File:Higham Ferrers misericord.jpg, Misericord File:St Mary, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire - Tabernacle - geograph.org.uk - 826467.jpg, Tabernacle, Lady Chapel Altar File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - south chapel from nave.JPG, Screen from north aisle File:St Mary, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire - Stoup - geograph.org.uk - 826478.jpg, Stoup File:St Mary, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire - High Altar - geograph.org.uk - 826461.jpg, High Altar File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - south chapel ceiling.JPG, South chapel ceiling File:Higham Ferrers north aisle sanctuary.jpg, North aisle sanctuary File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - belfry.JPG, The belfry File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - Bede House.JPG, The Bede House File:St Mary the Virgin, Higham Ferrers - Chantry Chapel.JPG, The Chantry Chapel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higham Ferrers, Saint Mary Church of England church buildings in Northamptonshire Rushden 13th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Northamptonshire Anglo-Catholic church buildings in Northamptonshire