Church Heritage Record 627683

North-west tower, 3-bay chancel, north chapel. West churchyard wall may mark western extent of lost aisles nave.

[Approximate] Nave and chancel 18m (60ft) long x 7m wide (23ft), south chapel / manorial pew 5m square.

A number of Bronze Age finds have been recorded in the locality and the Buckinghamshire Historic Environment Record should be consulted prior to any development of the site. In terms of recorded history, Chetwode (Saxon, Chet’s Wood) is a historic settlement which may have developed from scattered farmsteads by the 7th century as the woodland was cleared. The settlement is recorded in the Domesday book, but the first description is contained in the Chetwode-Hillesden Charter of 949 which comments on the development of the local area prior to this date, suggesting varying stages of development. The VCH states “At the date of the Charter the land appears to have been held by Eadred, King of Northumbria”.

Chetwode Manor may date to the 12th century, a symbol of the domination of the new Norman lords. A manorial chapel with a hermitage was built nearby dedicated to St Stephen and St Lawrence, and a parish church dedicated to St Martin also existed by the 1230s. The next major development was the founding of the Augustinian Priory of St Mary in 1254 by Sir Ralph de Norwich. The first grant of land was small, though augmented by Henry III who took a personal interest, see his royal arms in the stained glass. The canons served the parish church, but not the manorial chapel.  The Priory was ruinous by 1460 due to poverty – there were probably never more than four canons and as noted above it had little land and income – but was rebuilt as a dependent cell of Notley Priory. In 1480 (part of?) the priory church was granted to the parishioners for their use, as their parish church of St Martin was decayed. There is now no trace of this building, which may have been near the Hermitage.

Following the Reformation and dissolution of the priory in 1535 the nave of the church was demolished, and the chancel kept as the parish church, with a new small north-west tower added on. Painted wooden panels dated 1696 in nave with pediments, side scrolls and inscriptions commemorate church repairs by W Lawley. The north chapel was rebuilt around this time as the manorial family chapel, but the south chapel shown in a plan dated to “Queen Elizabeth’s reign” was demolished at some point, along with the priory conventual buildings; a house was built on the south side in the late 16th century which became Priory House, this was completely rebuilt in 1833 with some earlier features retained. The church was partly rebuilt and re-roofed c1820-22.

The archaeological potential of the site is high. There are no known designations relating to the ecology of the plot, though it contains many mature trees and flora and is situated within a Conservation area, so this affords a high level of protection. The ecological and geological value of the area has been characterised by the local authority.

This is an exceptional Grade I listed church, basically an elegant 13th-century priory church chancel with later additions of interest and quality.

 The superb Early English east end serves as the chancel today, with its graceful window of five tall stepped lancets in the east wall, with external mouldings. The south wall has a 3-light stepped lancet in the east bay with very rare 13th-century glass in the central light, 14th-century glass in the flanking lights. West of this are two 2-lights with bar tracery typical of the 14th century. The north wall has a single 2-light in the west bay with late 13th-century tracery.

The square north chapel has a 17th-century rectangular entrance to the churchyard in the east wall, with fine (contemporary?) boarded and studded door. Square window in the north wall, also 17th-century. The chapel is rendered.

The slim north-west tower was added in the late 16th century after the west end of the chancel had been walled up following the demolition of the nave. An original 2-light window with Y-tracery was placed in this “new” west wall of the church adjacent to the tower. The tower itself has a pyramid roof, a plain string course delineates the belfry stage with its 2-light square openings. In the taller lower stage is a rectangular window above another square 2-light, in turn above a door with 4-centred arch within a square frame.  The tall north boundary wall of Priory house runs west from the south-west corner of the church.

Moving inside through the narrow tower space and internal pointed arch, a peaceful interior is encountered, suffused with delicately coloured light. The apparent simplicity suggested by the exterior does not prepare one for the architectural and artistic treasures within, which are of the highest quality. The walls are whitewashed and the architectural details are left as bare, creamy yellow Cotswold stone.

The windows are all richly moulded and shafted with rere-arches, and important Medieval stained glass in the south wall windows, as well as glass by William Holland of 1843 matching the style of the older glass in the east window. A particularly fine 4-bay arcaded sedilia in the south wall shows possible Continental influence in the handling of the mouldings, and stiff leaf and dogtooth mouldings. The westernmost arch has had a plain square door punched through it after the Reformation.

The open rather naive king-post roof with tie-beams is probably of the 1822 restoration. The floor is of stone flags with central iron heating grille, and with a number of ledgers including a 14th-century memorial to Sir John Gifford, with rare French inscription. The “nave” is still fully pewed with plain light-stained pine benches with shaped ends, perhaps of 1822, as are the simple choir stalls. They match well the pulpit, and the delicate organ case with its gilded pipes set against the south wall. Attractive iron lamps.

On the walls there are a large number of very fine monuments from the 17th to the 20th century. Elegant 13th-century floral and vine decoration can be seen under the east window and in a niche in the north wall, just east of the plain pointed arch to the north chapel.

The chapel is raised above the family vault, and is reached up a short wooden staircase. It contains a family pew with late 17th-century box pews with fielded panelling, carved leaves, bosses and doors, and an integral cast iron fire-grate in the corner, a rare survival. Brick floor probably of the same period, and family monuments on the walls also of this date or later. The plaster and timber vaulted ceiling probably dates to the 1822 restoration.