A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



from the toft which Alwin Pruin held, a gift which was 

 confirmed by his son Robert about 20 years later.' 



Other lands in Billing were held by the priory of 

 Bradwell, Bucks., and were of the yearly value of 16/. 

 in 1291.^ In I 526 Cardinal Wolsey received a grant of 

 the priory and its possessions^ and in 1528 he bestowed 

 them upon his college at Oxford,* but the gift probably 

 never took effect, as after Wolsey's disgrace in 1 531 

 they were given by the king to the priory of Sheen, 

 Surrey. 5 The priory of Sheen surrendered in 1539,* 

 and its possessions, including the lands in Billing, were 

 given to Arthur Longueville in i 543,' whose ancestors 

 held land in Great Billing* and had been patrons of 

 Bradwell Priory.' A survey of the priory's possessions, 

 taken in this reign, mentions the estate in Billing as con- 

 sisting of a messuage and an orchard with a yardland, 

 held at will by Edward More, a husbandman, at the 

 yearly rent of l6s. The dwelling-house itself was in 

 decay for want of walling and large timber, and the 

 outbuildings were all ruinous. The only trees on the 

 ground were apple-trees.'" 



The church of ST. JNDREfF stands 

 CHURCH in a somewhat isolated position on the west 

 side of the village, commanding a pleasant 

 view to the south and south-west across the Nene 

 Valley. Originally it was within the village, but a former 

 lord of the manor diverted a road and got rid of the 

 cottages adjoining the church so as to increase the quiet 

 and amenity of his abode," leavingthe building standing 

 alone in a field just outside the park wall. 



The fabric consists of chancel, 29 ft. by 14 ft.; clere- 

 storied nave of four bays, 44 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. loin.; 

 north and south aisles, 9 ft. 6 in. wide; south porch; and 

 west tower, 10 ft. square: all these measurements being 

 internal. There is also a chapel, now used as an organ- 

 chamber and vestry, on the north side of the chancel, 

 24 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 6 in., built in the i8th century as 

 the burial-place of the lords of the manor. 



The earliest part of the building is the middle pier of 

 the north arcade which is of late-i 2th-century date, the 

 only remaining fragment i^ situ of a Norman church 

 whose dimensions can only be conjectured, but which 

 at least must have had a north aisle. The pier is circular, 

 with square abacus, early leaf ornament in the capital 

 and moulded base with foot ornaments. The rest of the 

 building is mainly off. 1 290-1 300, to which period the 

 chancel, nave arcades, and tower belong. The south 

 aisle appears to have been largely rebuilt in the I 5th 

 century, the doorway being of that date. The tower 

 was formerly surmounted by a spire, which, being 

 struck by lightning in April 1759, fell on the church, 

 doing great damage. It was never rebuilt and the tower 

 now terminates in a plain parapet into which semi- 

 classic panels from the old house of the Thomonds, re- 

 built in 1776, have been introduced. About this time 

 the exterior of the building seems to have assumed the 

 appearance it has since to a large extent preserved, the 

 rubble walls being covered with stucco'- and 18th- 

 century urn ornaments and other classic features added. 

 The parapets of the nave and aisles are plain, but the 

 former are ornamented in the same way as that of the 

 tower. The roofs are low pitched and leaded. 



The chancel has an east window of three trefoiled 

 lights, with internal angle shafts, but the muUions and 

 tracery have been renewed, and in the north wall are 

 two original square-headed windows now opening to 

 the vestry. The two windows on the south side are 

 modern, and between them is a priest's doorway. The 

 two modern pointed arches to the vestry take the place 

 of a former round-headed one of 18th-century date.'^ 

 The chancel arch is of two chamfered orders, the inner 

 springing from half-octagonal responds with moulded 

 capitals and bases, like those of the nave arcades. The 

 chancel walls are plastered and there is a plaster ceiling. 

 No ancient ritual arrangements are visible. In the east 

 gable outside is a panel with the initials of Lionel 

 Moody, rector, dated 1687, probably recording some 

 repairs to the chancel at that time. 



The arches of the nave arcades are of unequal span, 

 the two westernmost on either side being of less width 

 than the others, and all slightly vary from one another. 

 The north arcade seems to have been set out from the 

 middle column, which was perhaps the easternmost one 

 of the Norman church, the western limit of which 

 would be retained, and the south aisle would follow. 

 The pillars on the north are circular, but the moulded 

 capitals and bases of the two outer ones are similar to 

 those of the Early Decorated piers of the south arcade. 

 The arches are all pointed and of two chamfered orders, 

 with a plain hood-mould terminating in heads. On the 

 south the pillars have a triple shaft on each face, and the 

 hood-mould over the second arch from the east consists 

 of nail-head ornament, no doubt from the remains of 

 the late-i 2th-century church. There are also two mask 

 terminations used on this side. 



The windows of the aisles and clerestory are all 

 modern, but at the east end of the south aisle is a 14th- 

 century reredos consisting of three crocketed ogee 

 niches: the middle recess, which is higher than the 

 others, is said to have contained an inscription in dis- 

 temper,'* but this is no longer visible. The north aisle 

 is open at its east end to the vestry by a modern arch, 

 and the walls being all plastered internally no ritual 

 arrangements in connexion with the aisle altars can now 

 be traced. 



The tower is of three stages with short diagonal 

 buttresses and a tall lancet window on the west side in 

 the lower stage. The middle stage has small trefoil- 

 headed windows north and west, and the bell-chamber 

 openings are of two trefoiled lights with hood-moulds. 

 The tower arch is of three orders, the inner resting on 

 responds with moulded capitals and bases. The porch 

 is of 18th-century date, but has since been rebuilt. 

 It has a semicircular arch with gable and urn ornaments. 

 The inner pointed doorway has a crocketed hood- 

 mould terminating in blank shields. 



The octagonal pillar font is of late- 1 Jth-century date, 

 with panelled sides and moulded top. The pulpit, 

 chancel screen, and other fittings are modern. 



In the chapel, or vestry, against the north wall is an 

 elaborate marble monument to Henry, 7th Earl of 

 Thomond, who died at Great Billing in 1691, with 

 figures of the Earl and Countess kneeling, an infant in 

 swaddling clothes between them, and five daughters 



■ Add. Ch. 11536. 



^ Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 55. 



' Dugdalc, Alon. iv, 508. 



* L. and P. Hen. Vlll, iv (2), 1779. 



5 Ibid. V, 200, 286. 



<■ V.C.H. Surrey, ii, 93. 



' L. and P. Hen. Vlll, xviii (i), 346 



(38)- 



* Chan. Inq. p.m. 17 Hen. VI, no. 38. 



' Dugdale, Mon. iv, 508. 

 "= Ibid. 512. 

 '^ Baldwin Brown, Artt in Early Eng' 



land, i, 297. This would presumably be in 

 1776 when the hall was rebuilt. 



'^ The stucco is falling away in places. 



'3 Baker, Hiil. of Northanis. i, 24. 



'* Ch. Archd. N'ton, 252. 



72 



