Manor Church

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The historian Browne Willis, writing in 1735 for his ‘History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanery of Buckingham’ (published in 1755) gives some idea of what the church looked like in its day. The chancel was still standing, as was its north chapel, beneath which were the vaults of the Tyrells, containing the coffins of this family from 1570 onwards and including ‘no less than 6 Baronets’. The north aisle however, had been demolished about 1620 (when the scholarly William Breedon was rector and Sir Edward Tyrell held the Manor) and the north arcade had been crudely walled up. The positions of the monuments in 1735 may be seen on the plan, and also those of the stained glass windows, which Browne Willis noted. These included windows with SS Michael, Catherine, Margaret, Mary Magdalene, a bishop, an apostle and Our Lady in glory (now lost).

Sketch (left) 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.

Church Grave Index

The Alabaster Effigies of John and Isabella Barton

(pic. left) 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.