St Helen's Church is the Church of England parish church of the village of

Sibbertoft Sibbertoft is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population (including Sulby) was 343 people, increasing to 462 at the 2011 Census. The village's name means 'curtilage o ...

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 II*

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 ...

and stands on the west side of Church Street at the north end of the village. There was presumably a church at Sibbertoft by 1086, when the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

records the presence of a priest there. The main structure of the present building was erected in the 13th and 14th centuries. It now consists of a nave, north and south aisles, chancel and west tower. The walls are constructed of

lias Lias may refer to: Geology * Lias Formation, a geologic formation in France *Lias Group, a lithostratigraphic unit in western Europe * Early Jurassic, an epoch People * Godfrey Lias, British author * Mohd Shamsudin Lias (born 1953), Malaysian ...

and

cobble Cobble may refer to: * Cobble (geology), a designation of particle size for sediment or clastic rock * Cobblestone, partially rounded rocks used for road paving * Hammerstone, a prehistoric stone tool * Tyringham Cobble, a nature reserve in Tyr ...

and the covering of the roof is slate. One bay of the north elevation to west end of nave has a late C13 two-light window and evidence of a blocked window at the junction of the north aisle. Many other sections of the medieval building have been dated to the 14th century, such as the chancel arch, the north nave arcade, the inner arch of the porch and, probably, the tower. A fragment survives of the rood screen as a carving that is now over the south chancel door, decorated in the form of twisted branches and

crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

ing. Major

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proc ...

of the church took place about 1862-3 by Edward Browning. This work included construction of the south aisle and porch. Features from that era include the south arcade of the nave, a decorative tiled floor, a pulpit supported on 7 marble pillars, a font with marble pillars and stained glass windows. Monuments in the church include a marble tablet commemorating Ambrose Saunders (died 1765) which can be seen on the west wall of the north aisle. Two chest tombs and a pair of headstones in the churchyard are Grade II listed. The parish registers survive from 1680, the historic registers being deposited at Northamptonshire Record Office. Sibbertoft is part of a united Benefice along with Marston Trussell and Welford. Each parish retains its own church building.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibbertoft, Saint Helen 13th-century church buildings in England 14th-century church buildings in England Grade II* listed churches in Northamptonshire