St Mary the Virgin, Great Brickhill

The Church of St Mary the Virgin, in the Buckinghamshire village of Great Brickhill, is an active Anglican parish church in the Archdeaconry of Buckingham, the Deaconry of Mursley, the Diocese of Oxford, and the largest of the four parish churches in the beneficeOriginally used in feudal societies to describe a grant of land as a reward for services rendered. In modern usage it refers to a collection of parishes working together under a single incumbent. of The Brickhills and Stoke Hammond.^[1][2][a]The other three churches in the benefice are: Bow Brickhill All Saints, Little Brickhill St Mary Magdalene, and Stoke Hammond St Luke.^[1]

The earliest parts of the Grade II* listed buildingStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. date from the 13th century, but it has been altered and added to throughout the years.^[3]

Architecture

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The church is built of greensand rubble with limestone dressings; the tower is rendered. The naveCentral part of a church, used by the laiety. and chancelPart of a church containing the altar, used by the officiating clergy. have slate roofs, the aisles and tower have lead roofs and battlemented parapets.^[3]

The chancel and central tower date from the 13th century. The nave was altered in the 14th and 15th centuries, one aisle was added in the mid-15th century and the other in the late 15th century. Both were later extended to continue past the tower, forming two chapelsChristian place of prayer and worship, smaller than a church.. The south porch was added in 1865–1867, during a major restoration effort.^[3]

Bells

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St Mary’s has a ring of eight bells.^[4] Six were cast in 1789 by William and Thomas Mears at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, but one became damaged and was replaced in 1840. The bells were removed in 2009 to be restored by Whites of Appleton. During their absence, work was carried out to strengthen the tower, and a new eight-bell cast-iron frame was installed to accommodate a further two bells cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry; all eight bells were rehung in 2010.^[2]

Organ

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The church contains a pipe organ dating back to 1875, built by Hill and Son, which was revoiced by N. A. Bonavia-Hunt in1925.^[5]