All
Saints, Brixworth
Englands largest and finest surviving
Anglo Saxon church stands in our county in the village of
Brixworth, 4 miles north of Northampton. Dating back to
680 AD, it has the unusual feature of an ambulatory
running around the original apse below ground level.
Steps lead down to the ambulatory, and originally it was
covered by a barrel vault. The use of this ambulatory was
probably to house or provide access to preserved relics.
One such relic is believed to
be St Boniface' larynx bone. It was considered important
in those early times to have some connection with a known
holy person. The bone was displayed for many years above
the pulpit, but increased vandalism and theft of the
building in recent years has forced its removal to a
safer place. The feast of St Boniface is commemorated
today with the annual church fete, always on the first
weekend in June.
The church had a new bell hung in 1993. It was installed to commemorate the end of a restoration compaign spearheaded by the Friends of All Saints' Brixworth to reinforce the spire and tower. For many years the bells were silent because of the weak structure of the tower.