WILLYBROOK HUNDRED 



TANSOR 



and chapter they were united by Bishop Bucl<ingham of 

 Lincoln, because from ' pestilence and other causes the 

 revenues were so shrunk as to be barely able to main- 

 tain one chaplain.' ' The dean and chapter of Lincoln 

 are now the patrons of the rectory. 



The church of our Lady' stands at the 

 CHURCH west end of the village, on the bank of a 

 branch of the River Nene, which at this 

 point is divided into two streams. The area of 

 the churchyard is small, as the ground falls quickly to 

 the water on the west and south. The road from 

 Fotheringhay to Oundle forms the north boundary. 

 The building, which has a chancel, nave with north 

 and south aisles and porches, and west tower, shows 

 traces of a series of developments, which would seem 

 to be as follows : At the beginning of the I 2th cen- 

 tury the church consisted of an aisleless nave about 

 34 ft. long by I 3 ft 6 in. wide internal measurement, and 

 a chancel perhaps 1 1 ft. by I oft. This was probably 

 a pre-Conquest building. About 1 1 IO-20 it was en- 

 larged by the addition of a chancel some 29 ft. long, 

 and of the full width of the nave, involving the re- 

 moval of the older chancel. The proportions thus 

 obtained are unusual, and, as it is clear that the area of 



building is influenced by the steps taken to remedy 

 this. The third enlargement began early in the 13th 

 century, and involved the rebuilding of both aisles of 

 the nave, the building of a new chancel at the east, 

 and the addition of the area of the former chancel to 

 that of the nave. The north aisle was rebuilt on the 

 lines of the former north aisle, but lengthened east- 

 ward as far as the east end of the old chancel. A 

 length of 8 ft. was cut off at the east to serve as a 

 vestry, and the intervening sp.ace between the east 

 respond of the existing north arcade of the nave and 

 the west wall of the new vestry filled by two arches of 

 equal span, continuing the old arcade eastward, the 

 site of its east respond being occupied by a column, so 

 that the eastern arch of the old arcade was not altered, 

 but rested on a 13th-century pillar instead of its 

 original respond. The half capital of this respond 

 was re-used in the respond at the west of the new 

 vestr)', two bays to the east of its former position. In 

 the south arcade the conditions were somewhat differ- 

 ent, as there was no vestry on this side, and the 

 distance to be spanned by the new arcade was con- 

 sequently longer. An arch equal to those on the 

 north was first set out at the east, but the space 



T'AiNSOR Church 



IH 1=] 



CIIJO IWW 



, 5ca.lc of fctt 



the nave was not at this time prolonged eastwards, it 

 is probable that the western part of the new chancel 

 was treated as a crossing, with arches on the north and 

 south to transepts. The church thus became a cruci- 

 form aisleless building, but without a tower over the 

 crossing. Of the depth of the north transept no 

 evidence remains, but if the south transept was of 

 about the same depth as the chancel, a very likely pro- 

 portion, its influence on the later development of the 

 church can be clearly shown. The next step was the 

 rebuilding of the nave, with north and south aisles 

 and a west tower,' about 1150-70. Of this work 

 the north arcade of three bays remains intact, except 

 for its east respond, and of the south arcade two bays 

 remain. The tower survives with little alteration, 

 but the aisles have been rebuilt, except perhaps the 

 west end of the south aisle. The tower has a vice at 

 the south-east, and probably for this reason the tower 

 arch showed signs of failure from insufficient abut- 

 ment soon after it was built, and the next state of the 



between its west springing and the east respond of the 

 old south arcade being too small for two more bays, 

 and yet inconveniently large for one, the east arch of 

 the old arcade was taken down, and the distance thus 

 obtained spanned by two arches, wider indeed than 

 those on the north, but not so much so as to throw 

 the arcade out of scale. 



At the west end of the nave the tower arch was 

 supported by the insertion of a second arch within it, 

 and further abutment w.as given by a large buttress on 

 the north and the building-up of the end of the 1 2th- 

 century aisle on the south with solid masonr)', the 

 vice being retained unaltered. The south aisle was 

 widened, its south wall being probably built in a line 

 with the south wall of the 12th-century transept, the 

 west wall of which must have been removed at the 

 time, and the area of the transept thrown into the 

 aisle. The aisle was continued as far east as the 

 north aisle, but whether the part east of the transept 

 was as wide as the transept, or corresponded in width 



^ Epis. Reg. Line. Buckingham Mem. 

 pt. ii, 450. 



» See will of William Dickson (dated 

 1527) in Northampton Probate Office, 

 Bk. D, fol. 77. 



597 



^ It is possible that a west tower may 

 have been added ! 110-20, but no definite 

 evidence can now be seen. 



