St Mary Magdalene, Brampton 
Cambridgeshire 

 www.stmarym.co.uk  

The Nave  

History

The word nave comes from the Latin word navus - a boat - and reflects not only the structure but also the traditional idea of the church as the Ark in which God saved those who trusted in Him. The eight sides of the font remind us of the eight people who were saved in the Ark from the flood. The nave, of the Perpendicular period, was built in the first half of the fifteenth century. There are very fine carvings of foliage and heads, with human and animal faces in the old oak roof.

The north door is fifteenth century. The original south door dates from the same period; what remains of it after the fire of 1994 can be seen above the new south door. The remains of the original carving can still be made out The large opening on the north side of the chancel arch was discovered some years ago. There are stone steps leading up to it, which once gave access to a rood loft over the screen.

The fine brass lectern, in memory of a former director of the railway, is a reminder of the impact of the railway on the local community. The cantor seats, formerly in the sanctuary and now standing against the screen, are over 400 years old. The apparent non-alignment of the chancel, nave and tower is not an error on the part of successive generations of builders but is a reminder, such as may be found in other churches, of the figure of Christ on the cross. In this latter connection it is worth noting the crucifix, which is a modern Swedish design, hanging above the rood screen. 

The font is late fourteenth or early fifteenth century, but the stem and moulded base are modem.  Its wooden cover is Victorian, carved in the Jacobean style. It was partially destroyed in the fire of 1994 and has been restored, the new part slightly lighter than the original. Nearby in the wall is the stone, which formerly covered the grave of Paulina Jackson, sister of Samuel Pepys. In the North Aisle, the organ now occupies what was once a side chapel. The three-manual organ was made by Stringer of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, and is one of the finest in the district.

The village War Memorial is the centrepiece of the three windows. Flanking it are the standard of the local branch of the British Legion and the silk Union Flag awarded to Brampton in 1940 for being the most efficient branch in the United Kingdom.

The Porches  Both north and south porches are fifteenth century but have been extensively restored. The north door is of unique design being formed between two of the aisle buttresses.  The south porch, practically rebuilt in 1878 and refurbished in 1995, has been the principal entrance to the church for centuries, although the Tower replaced it temporarily in the last century.

The Lady Chapel  The long association with the church of the Earls of Sandwich and Hinchingbrooke House is especially remembered in this chapel. It was given, together with many of its ornaments by the ninth Earl (who was churchwarden for many years) in memory of his mother Agneta Harriet Montagu, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, on 23 January 1920. The painted panel, which forms the front of the altar, is Italian Renaissance work and dates from the seventeenth century. About the same age is the memorial in the south east corner, an exceptionally fine example of the seventeenth century sculpture by Kidner, whose signature may be found under the base scroll.The east window commemorates sailors and contains a crucifix in the shape of an anchor and panels of St Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, together with St Christopher bearing the Christ-child across the stream. The naval motif is strong within the Montagu family. The first Earl died at sea in 1672 when his ship 'Royal James' was burned by the Dutch. The fourth Earl was First Lord of the Admiralty, having the Sandwich Islands named after him by Captain Cook, whose voyages he sponsored. Hinchingbrooke and Brampton Islands, similarly named by Cook, lie off the coast of Queensland. The adjoining window is of the school of William Morris. In some windows, as in the chancel, can be seen the Wheat-sheaf and Castle 'signature' denoting the work of Kemp and Tower. The communion rail is in memory of Drogo Montagu who died in an aeroplane crash in Scotland one winter during World War II. It bears the extract from the Benedicte '0 ye ice and snow, bless the Lord'. He was a flamboyant character long remembered in the village for riding his motorbike and befriending many. The screen, made by local craftsmen, was the work of Ninian Comper (who is believed to have designed the pews in the nave) and is reckoned to be one of his finest pieces of work. The large piscina, the stone basin for holding holy water, came from Hinchingbrooke, a Benedictine nunnery in pre-Reformation days.