Thornton is "the village where the thorn-bushes grew". Its parish was roughly in the shape of an equilateral triangle with its apex to the north, the church and the manor house being situated at one end, near the north-west boundary.

The historian Browne Willis, writing in 1735 for his 'History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanery of Buckingham' (published in 1755) gives some idea of what the church looked like in its day. The chancel was still standing, as was its north chapel, beneath which were the vaults of the Tyrells, containing the coffins of this family from 1570 onwards and including 'no less than 6 Baronets'. The north aisle however, had been demolished about 1620 (when the scholarly William Breedon was rector and Sir Edward Tyrell held the Manor) and the north arcade had been crudely walled up. The positions of the monuments in 1735 may be seen on the plan, and also those of the stained glass windows, which Browne Willis noted. These included windows with SS Michael, Catherine, Margaret, Mary Magdalene, a bishop, an apostle and Our Lady in glory (now lost).

A west gallery was erected and the church was re-floored and re-seated. Subsequent discoveries have revealed how sweeping this transformation was. A carved stone corbel, sections of moulded timber from the roof and the 14th-century effigy of a priest were discovered during the 1994 restoration, buried beneath the floorboards in the north aisle. Fragments of a painted Royal Arms over the chancel arch and carved woodwork in the roof still remain in place above the plaster ceiling.

The eastern bay of the nave now forms the santuary divided off by communion rails of 1850 and contains a simple panelled altar of oak which was installed in 1952, together with riddell and dossall curtains and frame (now gone) which hid the 1850 text beneath the east window, 'THIS DO IN REMEMBERANCE OF ME', with a Biblical reference.

Box Pews Plan of Church as it is today
The seating, which fills the north and south aisles, consists of deal box pews which (in the fashion of the late 1700s when they were made) have been painted and grained to make their woodwork resemble oak. It appears that a few minor adjustments have been made to their arrangement since they were installed but in them we have an interesting survival of the furnishing of a church before the influence of the Oxford Movement revolutionised church interiors. The pew doors still retain their original brass handles and hinges and the commodious pew at the east end of the south aisle was occupied by the Lord of the Manor and his family. These pews towards the east have seats facing inwards, whilst the seats in the other compartments face east and west. The pulpit, which is also part of this late 18th-century scheme, occupies the eastern end of the north aisle to the north of the sanctuary. It is a simple rectangular box elevated four steps above the floor. Unusual as its position may seem for a pulpit, the preacher can in fact see almost every seat in the church from it. The readers desk was beside it to the west.

A west gallery was erected during the changes made by Thomas Sheppard and the church was re-floored and re-seated. Subsequent discoveries have revealed how sweeping this transformation was. A carved stone corbel, sections of moulded timber from the roof and the 14th-century effigy of a priest was discovered during the 1994 restoration, buried beneath the floorboards in the north aisle. Fragments of a painted Royal Arms over the chancel arch and carved woodwork in the roof still remain in place above the plaster ceiling.

Gallery Plan of Church as it is today

Royal Coat of Arms Plan of Church as it is today

Wall paintings
Three royal coats of arms painted on top of each other were discovered in 1992 on the east wall in between the ceiling and roof more...

Bells Plan of Church as it is today
The second bell was cast in 1635, almost certainly by Richard Chandler I at his village bell foundary at Drayton Parslow.

The tenor bell (inscribed 'sum rosa pulsata mundi maria vocata') has a diameter of 43 1/8 inches and is a 15th century bell by Richard Hille of London.

Ceiling
The roof was rebuilt using old timbers from the Chancel and other parts of the roof during the late 1700s. In Georgian times it was the fashion to have plaster ceilings rather than show the timbers.

Green Man
Carved out of the oak beams which form the apex of the arch c.13th century. Click here for further information on the carving and the history of the Green Man ...

Roof
All the roofs on the church had to be conserved. This meant releading all the roof areas except the north arcade. The restoration of the tower took place in 1993/4. There was a hold up because of masonry bees attacking the workers as they were repointing the walls.

The weather vane was restored at the same time because the letter 'N' blew off in the big storm of 1986.

"In 1991 I climbed through the small window hole between the ceiling and the roof with a high powered lamp and found the Green Man and Oak Leaves on two beams, also the enclosed clerestory windows and then thought if this was so there might be wall paintings or a doom on the east wall of the church. On examining the wall I found rather worn wall paintings. At this stage I had no idea what the paintings were, so I called some wall painting experts in who examined them and contacted the Churches Conservation Trust to stablise them. It was found that there were three Royal Coats of Arms painted one on top of the other."
Click on pictures below for larger versions

Silverware
When the church was made redundant all silver and brass was removed and sent to Thornborough and Oxford.

All aisle windows are the same design of tracery of c.1850. They are made with zinc frames, individual quarries puttied into place. These framed windows are bowed but adequate. Repairs were made to damaged quarries and two ventilators were bird-proofed within stainless steel mesh fitted inside and out to allow the central pivoted ventilators to operate.

Zinc was in use for some years for quarries and simple geometrical patterns for church windows, but has entirely dropped out of use now. It made a very strong, rigid framework but was very expensive, owing to the time it took in working. The whole framework was built up, first, of T section calms, and soldered together. The glass was then dropped in and puttied as in wood or iron frames. It was wider than the average lead, and so stopped more light. It was more susceptible to the action of the weather. Thousands of feet of such work have been pulled out and replaced with leaded lights.

Monumental Brasses... see Church Plan

MSI: ROBERT INGLETON 1472
MSII: JANE INGLETON (JANE ST. JOHN)
MSIII: WILLIAM CAVENDISH
MSIV: LIEUTENANT P.A.D. JACKSON 1917
MSV: BRIGADIER GENERAL SIR WILLIAM KAY 1918
MSVI: DONOR'S PLATE ON HARMONIUM SIR FREDERICK YOUNG

In 1946, after 150 years of relegation in fragments to the garden grotto, Robert Ingylton's tomb-chest was reassembled and placed in the nave, to be joined in 1994 by the effigy of the 14th century priest discovered beneath the floorboards in the north aisle.

During the building campaign completed in 1801, the materials from the demolished chancel were recycled to create this curious folly in the grounds of the manor, overlooking the river (now hidden by undergrowth and trees).

The Grotto

Correspondence to do with the discovery of the the grotto
and the Robert Ingleton chest tomb sides (MS1) by Major Owen-Evans in 1945

MS1 - Robert Ingleton (brass)	MS4 - William Clodd and wife Agnes (brass lost)
MS2 - Jane Ingleton (brass)	MS7 - George Ingleton and wife Sibyl (brass lost)

Vault

The rebuilding work was probably in progress in 1784, when Thomas Sheppard had a vault sunk beneath the new north aisle. On September 25th 1965, this vault was opened. Spadework by Rev. H. R. Meed and Dr O. F. Brown revealed a stone slab with an iron ring just outside the east end of the north aisle, which was lifted by four workmen. Opening to the east - below the site of the old chantry - there appears a flat arched vault running west beneath the north aisle. more...

Plan of church as it was in the 18th Century

Churchyard