St Swithun's Church is a historic Anglican church in the village of Brookthorpe,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England under the care of

The Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated 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 ...

History

The church was built in the 13th century. A north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

was added in 1892 during a

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 ...

Architecture

Exterior

St Swithun's is constructed in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

with stone slate roofs. Its plan consists of a

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 ...

with a north aisle, a south porch, a

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 ...

with a roof at a lower level than the nave, a north

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

, and a west tower. The tower is in two stages with a

saddleback roof A saddleback roof is usually on a tower, with a ridge and two sloping sides, producing a gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed ...

. In the lower stage on the west side is a lancet window. The upper stage contains louvred bell openings. On the south of the church, the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d porch has diagonal

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es and two-light window on its sides. On the north side there is a gabled buttress at the east end and a lancet window. To the right of this is the aisle with a

lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing lean-to structures are generally used as shelters. One traditional type of lean-to is known by its Finn ...

roof. This has two triple windows in the north wall, a lancet window on the east, and a chimney at its junction with the nave. At its west end the aisle is continuous with the vestry. The east window in the chancel is a lancet in Early English style. On the south wall of the chancel is a priest's door with a lancet window on its left, and a two-light window on the right. The north wall has a two-light window in Early English style.

Interior

Between the nave and the north aisle is a two- bay

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

with a central circular

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. In the chancel is a 19th-century reredos, and a restored 19th-century

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...

in the north wall. The octagonal font is in stone and dates from the 17th century, and the timber hexagonal pulpit is from the 18th century. Some of the windows contain 19th-century stained glass. In the tower is a wall memorial to George Venn who died in 1694. Around the north nave window is carving by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

as a memorial to the architect

Detmar Blow Detmar Jellings Blow (24 November 1867 – 7 February 1939) was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocracy, and later he became es ...

who died in 1939. The porch contains a wall plate with a

chronogram A chronogram is a sentence or inscription in which specific letters, interpreted as numerals (such as Roman numerals), stand for a particular date when rearranged. The word, meaning "time writing", derives from the Greek words ''chronos'' (χ ...

hiding the date of the execution of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. The single- manual organ was originally built in 1768 by

John Snetzler John Snetzler (or Schnetzler) was an organ builder of Swiss origin, who worked mostly in England. Born in Schaffhausen in 1710, he trained with the firm of Egedacher in Passau and came to London about 1741. When he retired in 1781, his business ...

, probably for the Wilder family of Sulham Manor. It remained with the family until 1932 when it was given to Tilehurst Mission Church. In 1939 it was bought from the mission church for St Swithun's and restored by Percy Daniel and Company of

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 ...

. In 1981 it was further restored by John Coulson of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, when the pedalboard was removed.

External features

In the churchyard are five limestone chest tombs that have been designated as Grade II listed buildings. One dated 1666 is that of John Weyman. Nearby is the tomb of Susanna Smith, who died in 1697, and of other members of her family. The tomb of Thomas Browning is dated 1654. Nearby is the tomb of Iohane Browneing (sic), who died in 1643, and who was presumably the wife of Thomas. The fifth chest tomb, this one dating from the 18th century, is that of a person who has not been identified. The churchyard also contains the

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

References

External links

Photographs from rootsweb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookthorpe, Saint Swithun 13th-century church buildings in England Churches completed in 1892 Grade II* listed churches in Gloucestershire Church of England church buildings in Gloucestershire English Gothic architecture in Gloucestershire 19th-century Church of England church buildings Gothic Revival architecture in Gloucestershire Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust