The manor church
St Michael & All Angels
An ancient parish church understood through its fabric, monuments and enduring community life.
St Michael & All Angels
The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Thornton, stands in a green parkland setting. A short distance away is the river Ouse, where Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire meet.Thornton is “the village where the thorn-bushes grew”. Its parish was roughly in the shape of an equilateral triangle with its apex to the north, the church and the manor house situated at one end, near the northwest boundary. Although no longer used as a parish church, this building has been used for 700 years. It was vested in The Churches Conservation Trust (previously known as the Redundant Churches Fund) in July 1993 after four years of neglect. The Wolverton and District Archaeological Society volunteers cleared the church and monuments of excessive bird droppings etc. (26 bags were disposed of!) The first church on the site was in 1219.
The present building dates from the first half of the 1300s – probably rebuilt by John de Chastillon (Lord of the Manor from 1332-1343) who founded a chantry here in 1344, providing a chantry chapel to the north of the chancel.
This chapel was rebuilt by Robert Ingylton (Lord of the Manor from 1464-1472) in the fulfilment of the will of his predecessor, John Barton, who died in 1434 and requested a chantry where Mass could be said for him and his parents. He also left provision for the parish priest to give ‘6d weekly to six poor people, to clothe 6 poore children annually and also for the said priest to teach the children of the said town’. The Mediaeval church consisted of a western tower, a nave with north and south aisles, and a chancel with a north chapel. After the Reformation however (and again through the initiatives of the Lords of the Manor) this building was to alter greatly, both in its structure and its furnishings.
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The Mediaeval church consisted of a western tower, nave with north and south aisles, and a chancel with north chapel. After the Reformation however (and again through the initiatives of the of the Lords of the Manor) this building was to alter greatly, both in its structure and its furnishings.
Sketch by T. Ford, folio no. 56 manuscript Browne Willis XXII, showing the church before alterations the clearstorey windows and the south doorway before they were filled in. Also the chancel with 2 windows and door facing south, before demolition.
It was Thomas Sheppard (son-in-law of the Revd Dr William Cotton and Lord of the Manor from 1779-1821) who drastically altered the character of the church in a building campaign which took place some time between 1780 and 1800. This was a time when convenience rather than conservation was popular in church reordering and, in line with current fashion, Sheppard succeeded in turning St Michael’s into a rectangular preaching-box. The work was completed in 1801, when a correspondent wrote in praise of it to the Gentleman’s Magazine; the letter (together with an engraving by J. Richards) appeared in the December 1801 issue. More info… Sheppard’s work opened out once more the north arcade and rebuilt the north aisle, but walled up the church arch and dismantled the mediaeval chancel and north chapel. A new ceiling was constructed beneath the level of the clerestory windows, which were blocked up. Plan of Church as it is today.
A west gallery was erected and the church was re-floored and re-seated. Subsequent discoveries have revealed how sweeping this transformation was. A carved stone corbel, sections of moulded timber from the roof and the 14th-century effigy of a priest were discovered during the 1994 restoration, buried beneath the floorboards in the north aisle.
Fragments of a painted Royal Arms over the chancel arch and carved woodwork in the roof still remain in place above the plaster ceiling.Stained Glass Windows Stained glass windows in the east and south walls. All the other windows are clear-glazed. All aisle windows are the same design of tracery of c.1850. They are made with zinc frames, individual quarries puttied into place. These framed windows are bowed but adequate. Repairs were made to damaged quarries and two ventilators were bird-proofed within stainless steel mesh fitted inside and out to allow the central pivoted ventilators to operate.
The Alabaster Effigies of John and Isabella Barton
The upper part of the effigy of John Barton. The collar of twisted cord round his neck is very unusual. Its pendant, in the form of a lion, undoubtedly represents the white Lion of March, which is normally shown attached to the Yorkist collar of Suns and Roses on monuments of the supporters of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses (Lancastrian supporters wore the Collar of SS). He died, however, long before a widespread Yorkist faction had developed. It is likely, therefore, that the Lion of March pendant which he wears on a much simpler collar indicates that he was actually in the service of Richard Duke of York (1411 – 1460), father of King Edward IV. John Barton’s Will requested the rebuilding of the north chapel as a chantry for himself and his parents.
This was duly done and the licence for it was granted on 4th July 1468, which must have been about the time when these effigies were made at one of the midlands alabaster workshops almost certainly at Chellaston, near Derby. They rank alongside high-quality work of the period, including monuments at Norbury (Derbyshire), Stanton Harcourt (Oxfordshire), Ryther and Methley (Yorkshire), Salisbury Cathedral, St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, London and at the Churches Conservation Trust’s church at South Cowton in Yorkshire.
The figures of John Barton and his wife Isabella (originally beneath the lost north chantry chapel arch) which now are by the west entrance, beneath the gallery, are those of John Barton, who died in 1437 and Isabella who died in 1457, having married Sir Robert Shotesbrook. John Barton lies on the south side clad in armour, his hands folded in prayer his sword by his side and his resting upon a helm. Some of the original colour can be seen on both figures. Extract from letter from Mark Downing of the Church Monuments Society to B. Egan, dated 18th May 2003.
“Firstly I would like to mention that the effigy might date from the early 1460’s when Edward IV seized the crown and introduced the Yorkist collar with the Lion of March pendant. In almost all cases from the Yorkist period the collar is decorated with alternate Suns and Roses with the Lion of March pendant, but at Thornton it has a plain chain.” It seems that Mr. Downing missed something, because looking closely at the upper body, just above the hands (pic. left), you can see a Lion of March pendant, still with some colour. Isabella Barton ‘s head rest on a cushion, held by two small figures, the one which you can see was remodelled in the Victorian period. Her cloak is held with a cord attached to two clasps. She wears a necklace of five cords and a cross and a headdress of the period. Notice the number of rings on her hands. There are two little dogs at the feet of her skirt. The detail of her clothing is beautiful and there are traces of the original red colouring.
