A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



whom it had passed before 1598 to Sir Thomas Cecil 

 and his wife Dorothy, who were then holding it with 

 the manor of Bozeat Latimers (q.v.), with which it 

 continued to be held. 



View of frankpledge was claimed in the vill of 

 Bozeat by the Prior of the Hospital of St. John of 

 Jerusalem in 1330.' 



The church of ST. MART THE 

 CHURCH VIRGIN consists of chancel, 29 ft. by 

 16 ft. 3 in.; clerestoried nave, 48 ft. by 

 22 ft.; north and south aisles, south porch, and west 

 tower, 10 ft. 6 in. square, surmounted by a broach 

 spire. The width across nave and aisles is 46 ft. 6 in., 

 all measurements being internal. 



The church is faced throughout with rubble and is 

 plastered internally. The chancel has a modern eaved 

 roof covered with tiles, but the low-pitched leaded 

 roofs of the nave and aisles are behind plain parapets. 



The tower and spire were taken down in 1880^ and 

 rebuilt in 1883, but retain most of their architectural 

 features, the old stonework having been used where 

 possible. The tower was of late-l 2th-century date, with 

 later alterations, and the spire an addition in the 14th 

 century. To the latter period the chancel arch and east 

 window, the aisle windows, and the porch belong, but 

 the priest's doorway, a low side window in the chancel, 

 and the south doorway of the nave are of 13th-century 

 date. No other 13th-century work remains. The side 

 windows of the chancel, and the west window and 

 doorway of the tower are insertions of the 1 5 th century, 

 and the clerestory is an addition of the same period. 

 At the east end of the nave the north-east and south-east 

 angles of the earlier aisleless church remain, but whether 

 aisles were first added in the 14th century or were then 

 only rebuilt is uncertain. The existing south arcade is of 

 the early 14th century and the north arcade rather later, 

 but a keel shaped string runs at sill level along the south 

 aisle externally,^ which, if in its original position, would 

 indicate the existence on this side of a 1 3th-century aisle. 

 It may, however, be old work re-used in the 14th cen- 

 tury, the south doorway being then brought forward. 



The chancel was restored in 1874 and again in 

 1895; it has 14th-century diagonal angle buttresses of 

 three stages and a pointed east window of three trefoiled 

 lights with unrestored reticulated tracery and hood- 

 mould. The double piscina in the south wall, with 

 cinquefoiled openings, is of the late 1 4th century, though 

 the one remaining bowl may be earlier. The priest's 

 doorway has a pointed arch of a single continuous 

 chamfered order and hood-mould terminating in notch- 

 heads, but is now blocked. The low side window is in 

 the usual position at the west end of the south wall and 

 consists of a tall and very narrow lancet, divided just 

 above mid-height by a transom. It has an external 

 hood-mould and simple chamfer all round, and a plain 

 chamfered rear-arch, but the lower part is blocked and 

 plastered over on both sides: the upper portion is 

 glazed. Immediately below the sloping sill, and close 

 to the floor, is a small rectangular recess, or cupboard.* 

 The side windows of the chancel are square-headed 

 with Perpendicular tracery; in the north wall two of 



two cinquefoiled lights, and on the south a similar 

 window at the west end and one of three lights above 

 the piscina. The chancel arch is of two chamfered 

 orders, the inner springing from half-octagonal responds 

 with moulded capitals and the outer continued to the 

 ground. 



The nave arcades are of three bays with pointed 

 arches of two chamfered orders springing from octa- 

 gonal piers with moulded capitals and bases, but dying 

 into the walls at each end. At the east end of the north 

 arcade the circular rood-loft stair remains in a very per- 

 fect state, with lower and upper doorways, the wall 

 being thickened out and encroaching on the aisle. 

 Above the arcades, at the level of the sills of the clere- 

 story windows, are the corbels of the old nave roof, six 

 on the north and five on the south side. 



The north aisle has a pointed east window of two 

 cinquefoiled lights and cusped quatrefoil in the head, 

 and in the north wall three square-headed windows, 

 the easternmost of three and the others of two trefoiled 

 lights. The north doorway is of two continuous cham- 

 fered orders with moulded label. The aisle is divided 

 externally into three bays by buttresses, those at the 

 angles being diagonal, but is without string-course or 

 plinth. In the west wall, now covered by a modern 

 vestry, is a small oblong window, chamfered all round, 

 the sill of which is 6 ft. above the floor,' and in the 

 east wall an image-bracket and canopied niche re- 

 spectively south and north of the aisle altar. 



The pointed east window of the south aisle is of three 

 cinquefoiled lights with cusped rectilinear tracery, and 

 in the south wall, near its east end, is a square-headed 

 window of three trefoiled lights. The second bay is 

 blank, but west of the porch is a three-light pointed 

 window with reticulated tracery and high up in the 

 west wall a small single quatrefoil opening within a 

 circle. In the usual position in the south wall is an 

 ogee-headed trefoiled piscina with fluted bowl, and 

 farther west, near the doorway, an elegant 14th-century 

 stoup with trefoiled head. 



The 13th-century south doorway is of two richly 

 moulded orders with foliated capitals, but the angle- 

 shafts are gone. The porch has an outer doorway of 

 two wave-moulded orders, the inner on moulded capi- 

 tals and the outer continuous: above is a trefoiled niche, 

 and in the side walls blocked windows. 



There are three square-headed clerestory windows 

 of two trefoiled lights on each side: the nave roof is 

 partly old. 



The tower is of three unequal stages, with bell- 

 chamber windows of two recessed rounded lights with 

 dividing shaft, under a semicircular arch with indented 

 hood-mould, on shafts with early volute capitals and 

 moulded bases: the west opening is ancient, but those 

 north and south are restored. In the lofty lower stage 

 on the south side is a single-light window of similar 

 type, without hood-mould, but on the north both the 

 lower stages are blank. The diagonal angle buttresses 

 were probably added after the erection of the west 

 doorway and window, the insertion of which weakened 

 the tower.* The doorway has continuous moulded 



■ Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.) 531. 



' Aiioc. Arch. Soc. Reports^ xiv, p. xli ; 

 XV, p. Ixxxviii. Some 12 or 14. tons of 

 masonry of the tower fell on the nave roof 

 in the spring of 1877, and the fall of the 

 spire was threatened. 



3 It occurs in the east wall and south 

 wall east of the porch stopping at the 



middle buttress, but has been removed in 

 the eastern bay. 



•• Assoc. Arch. Soc. Reports, xxix, 390. 

 The height of the window is 9 ft. 8 in., 

 width 10 in., height of sill above floor 

 inside 3 ft. 5 in. The recess is 16 in. wide 

 and 1 1 in. high. 



5 The opening is 19 in. by 6 in.. 



chamfered to 26 in. by 1 1 in. 



' In 1849 the tower was described as 

 being in a very insecure state. The west 

 doorway and window had been partly 

 walled up and the tower cramped to arrest 

 its entire destruction. There were exten- 

 sive cracks and bulgings on the north side: 

 Chs. Arch. N'son. 199. 



