Description

BRANCEPETH NORTH DRIVE NZ 2237 (South side, off) Brancepeth Park 15/20 Inset Church of 10/5/67 St Brandon I

Parish church. Late C12 tower; early C13 aisled nave with late C13-early C14 east bay and transepts; aisles widened and extended to engage tower in C14; chancel rebuilt, south transept extended to east and north chapel and nave clerestory added in C15; c.1630 north porch; C19 south porch and restorations. Chancel roof 1638 by Robert Barker for Rector John Cosin. Dressed sandstone chancel, north chapel and east bay of south transept; squared and rubble stone elsewhere. Lead roofs. West tower engaged by aisles; aisled nave with north and south porches and transepts; aisleless chancel with north and south chapels, the latter on east return of transept. Unbuttressed 4-stage tower with round-headed loops on second stage, paired lancets above and embattled parapet on corbel table. 3-bay nave has 3-light clerestory windows between thin buttresses. Buttressed aisles have pointed windows with mainly restored curvilinear tracery. Buttressed 3-bay chancel has chamfered plinth and pointed windows with Perpendicular tracery. Defaced stone panel with Christ in mandorla on south-east buttress of chancel. Diagonally-buttressed transepts have pointed windows with curvilinear tracery. North and south chapel windows similar to chancel. Low-pitched roofs behind parapets. North porch, added by Cosin, has pointed doorways, blocked on west return, framed by pilasters with strapwork, friezes with Cosin Arms and cherub heads; semicircular pediment on front and battlements on returns. Gabled south porch. Interior: Pointed double-chamfered arches to tower, 3-bay nave arcades and chancel, the latter arch moved one bay to east in late C13. Arcades under hoodmoulds and on octagonal piers with moulded capitals. Elaborate C15 wood nave roof with carved bosses. C15 ribbed wood tunnel vault, between south transept and chancel, has bosses with shields, crocketed extrados and crowning angel bust. Woodwork: Reredos re-uses C15 Perpendicular panelling. Altar in south transept by Thompson of Kilburn made from C14 Flemish chest with Flamboyant tracery. Superb fittings with elaborate carving installed by Cosin c.1630-40 in two distinct styles: 1) contemporary Jacobean with strapwork and Classical motifs (nave pews, box/family pews and pulpit); 2) conscious Gothic Revival with poppyheads, tracery, some Classical motifs and strapwork (font cover, rood screen, choir stalls and chancel panelling). 1628 6-leg Communion table and contemporary rail. 1638 chancel roof has flat rib vault and ceilure above altar with lierne ribs and bosses with winged angels. 2 carved wood fragments above chancel arch: 1) with Gothic ribs, cresting and Instruments of the Passion (possibly contemporary with the Cosin fittings); 2) with square panels containing Flamboyant tracery. Font cover raised on 4 iron posts in 1972 by G.G. Pace. Monuments. Large cross-legged stone effigy of Robert Neville died 1319. Recumbent wood effigies of Ralph Neville died 1484 and his wife. Stone tomb chest of Ralph Neville died 1523. Brasses to Thomas Claxton died 1403 and Richard Drax died 1456. Several C17 and C18 floor slabs and wall monuments. Glass: 3 possible Flemish roundels in north aisle window; Boyne testimonial window 1864 by Blackmore of London. Note: John Cosin (1595-1672), Rector of Brancepeth 1620-46 and Bishop of Durham 1660-72, was responsible for sumptuous fittings in several churches in the County including the Cathedral. Brancepeth Church is the most complete. (G. Foley, Brancepeth Church Guide, 1980). (N. Pevsner revised E. Williamson, The Buildings of England - County Durham, 2nd. edition, 1983).

Listing NGR: NZ2248337697

External Links

• Wikidata Q17529777

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Recommended Books

• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)