St Mary the Virgin's Church, Great Brickhill is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Great Brickhill Great Brickhill is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with the City of Milton Keynes, located south-east of Central Milton Keynes, and in the sa ...

, Buckinghamshire.

History

The church was built sometime in the thirteenth century, with various additions throughout the years. During 1865–67, the church underwent restoration in which a porch was added.

Modern Restoration

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, a project began to "enable the church to fulfil its purposes in the 21st century." Phases I and II, the former to refurbish the church's towers and bells. Phase II was to expand the church's size by adding a meeting room, kitchen, toilets, etc. As of April 2024, all of Phase I and most of Phase II have been implemented into the church. In 2014–2016, the church's lead roof was stolen. Due to inadequate funding, parts of the missing roof were covered in

felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

. In October of 2023, it was reported the church faced closure if the roof was not repaired due to leakage. The

National Churches Trust The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British Charitable organization#United Kingdom, registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community ...

pledged £473,750 to the church, along 33 other churches, to repair the roof.

Exterior

The church's

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

was constructed in the mid-13th century. However, the first documentation of any actual bells was in

1637 Events January–March * January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France. * January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...

. In

1789 Events January–March * January – Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès publishes the pamphlet '' What Is the Third Estate?'' ('), influential on the French Revolution. * January 7 – The 1788-89 United States presidential election ...

, six bells were cast by Thomas and William Mears in the now-defunct

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

. In

1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janu ...

, one of the bells was recast for an unknown reason. Funding by the parish council and other local parties let the bells be taken to the Whites of Appleton in October 2009, located in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

be repaired. Two new bells were cast, and in April of 2010, the bells were returned and rehung. The

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

was closed on an unknown date, but a church-run cemetery was built nearby.

Interior

The church contains a pipe organ, dating back to 1875 and was built by William Hill and Son. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Parish Status

The church is in a joint parish with: *

All Saints Church, Bow Brickhill All Saints’ Church, Bow Brickhill is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Bow Brickhill, Buckinghamshire, to the south-east of Milton Keynes. History First mentioned in 1185, a major renovation occurred in the 15th cen ...

*St Mary Magdalene's Church, Little Brickhill *St Luke's Church, Stoke Hammond

References

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Churches in Buckinghamshire