Church of the Month

Categories: Church of the Month

The featured church for April 2018 is St Luke’s, Upper Broughton, which is in the south-east of the county, near the border with Leicestershire.

The church consists of nave with north aisle and south porch, chancel with vestry of 1960 to the north, and west tower with extension of 1964 to the north to provide a choir vestry. It is built with a distinctive brown coloured ironstone that has weathered badly.

There were originally two aisles. The south aisle was probably demolished in the late Middle Ages although one bay of the south arcade survives built into the wall. It dates from c.1200 or slightly later. The north arcade is later 13th century and has circular piers and some nailhead decoration in the capitals.

The west tower dates from the 13th century. The north aisle and chancel were rebuilt by the architect S S Teulon in 1855.

On the east wall of the porch is a carved stone thought to bear the effigy of St Oswald which appears to be uncompleted on the left-hand side. Pevsner suggested it was a tympanum but it is now thought to have been a Calvary over the chancel arch, which was removed during the remodelling of the chancel arch in 1733.

The octagonal font, located at the west end of the north aisle, is 15th century, with carving representing rectilinear window tracery filling each panel.

There are many fine early 18th century slate head stones in the churchyard, typical of the ‘Belvoir’ school of carving.