"Otherwise known as the "Cathedral of the Canals", it has existed since the early 13th century. However, the land on which is stands has been sacred for longer still, as it was used as an ancient tumulus for the local farmsteads as early as the 10th century, although little evidence to this time is available.
Although the original Norman structure was nearly demolished when the site was polluted by several murders in 1290, the church was later rebuilt in the 14th century. The second incarnation of the church served the area for over 400 years, until the site was demolished, with authority from Rev. Alfred Butler Clough in 1848, due to dilapidation of the structure.
The third incarnation of the church cost £6,800, money raised primarily through donations and aided by grants from the Church Building Society and the Peterborough Diocesan Society. Notable contributors to the funds also include Her Majesty the Queen Dowager and the Oxford Canal Company.
In outline the new church was similar to its mediaeval predecessor in having no north chancel. The body of the church was made wider to provide accommodation for the enlarged population which had followed the coming of the canals. The new church had the number of seats increased from 363 to 732. Despite the overwhelming impression of space and light the interior design of the church was rather austere. The biggest change made was in the appearance of the chancel itself which was transformed by redecoration. This was the work of the leading High Church designer, William Butterfield, architect of Rugby School.
Today the church still provides regular services to the area, and often allows visitors to tour the ancient grounds, on non-service days. Several relics have been kept by the church since its original incarnation, such as:
A sculpture, almost certainly in memory of William, Fourth Baron Ros, who died on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1352. The De Ros family held the Braunston Manor from 1200 to 1508.
The Church Chest, which once housed the Parish Records dating from 1538 and now deposited in the County Records Office in Northampton.
The Norman Font, the only remaining part of the first church on the site.
The Piscina, a stone basin used for draining water used in the Mass pre-Reformation.
The Head of the Churchyard Cross, possibly fourteenth century which has on the four sides the remains of carvings of the Crucifixion, the Madonna and Child, a robed ecclesiastic and a warrior."
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