| Broughton, Hampshire - St Mary's Church 12th Century |
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| In the 12th century, the church consisted
of nave and chancel without the tower, aisles and porches. The aisles
were added around 1200, and around 1220 the nave extended to the west
slightly beyond the south aisle. The clerestory and tower were added in
the 15th century. The top part of the tower, however, dates from 1830
and was built in brick with cement plaster finish. The chancel is thought to have been practically rebuilt in the 17th century (presumably following a major fire in 1635). The windows on the south side are from that period. The east and north windows are late Victorian. The chancel runs slightly northwards; it has been suggested that this was to represent Christ's head inclining on the cross. The south porch has an 18th century brick structure over the doorway. |
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| The dog-tooth decorated west door is of about 1220 and was originally in the west end of the nave extension of that date. It was re-set in the tower when that was added in the 15th century. 15th century cinque-foiled niches on either side of the doorway. The west window of the south aisle is of the 15th century. The south porch doorway is of uncertain date. | ||||
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| The three eastern-most clerestory windows on the north side are old, whilst the corresponding windows on the south side are Victorian copies. The western-most window on both sides are of the uncusped, round-headed character of the18th century, see third picture. The 13th century lancet below is from the nave extension beyond the aisle at that time, c.1220. The windows of the south aisle are all Victorian except for the 15th century west window. | ||||
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| The interior shows clearly the Late Norman origin of the present structure. The north arcade is of c.1200 and consists of three pointed arches made of chalk with two chamfers, round piers, multi-scallop capitals, round abaci. The capitals were badly splintered by a fire in 1635, which also damaged the chalk arches. Many houses near the church were destroyed. | ||||
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| The south arcade is ten years later, c.1210. This is the time when the style was changing from Norman to Early English Gothic. The capitals are now moulded. About ten years later still the nave was extended west beyond the present line shown by the wooden gallery. | ||||
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| Looking east, the nave and chancel. The chancel arch is Victorian, in the Early English style of the 13th century. The east window in the Early English style of three lancets is also Victorian, whilst the stained glass representing the Nativity is from 1904 by Kempe. | ||||
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| Above the side altar in the south aisle is a triptych in which the central painting is Dutch of the 15th or early 16th century. It represents The Descent from the Cross. | ||||
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| In the churchyard a circular brick dovecote or Columbarium with a conical roof and a lantern. It is a rebuild in 1684 of a dovecote originally built in 1340. In the second picture a view across the park to Broughton House. | ||||
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References: Victoria County History on Broughton Broughton Village Website - pages on the church Broughton in Hampshire by Robert Parr and Baron Sewter Published by the Broughton Local History Group, 1990. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight by Nikolaus Pevsner and David Lloyd (1967) Yale University Press, New Haven and London. |
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| Houses in Broughton | ||||
| Map | ||||
