History

Extract from ‘Historical Notes on Brinkley’ By R Cory.

It is believed that an earlier Church was replaced by the present one partly based on the fact that the names of the Parish Priests date back to 1260.

The present Church of St Mary was built during the Perpendicular period, probably in 16th or 17th Century and still retains the original tower with its fine perpendicular arch, and a very beautiful East window which poses quite a mystery. Commenting on the stained glass at the top of this window which is medieval, Nikolaus Pevsner in his Cambridgeshire volume of Buildings of England refers to it as ‘so typical of c1300 and so unlikely for a High Victorian architect that it must be accurate’.(Indicating that the Victorian architect who restored the Church in 1875, and replaced all the other windows, did not design this East window.) The window appears, too, in the drawing of Brinkley Church by William Cole who carried out a very complete survey of Churches in Cambridgeshire in 1750; this proves that the window was there before the restoration of the church.

Nikolaus Pevsner draws particular attention to the brickbuilt South porch, claiming it to be the only one in the County. The North window of the Chancel contains a jumble of fragments of pieces of 14th century stained glass. The pulpit is probably 18th Century with Jacobaen panels, similar to those in the squire’s pew. At one time there was a ceiling with carved main beams but these appear to have been removed in 1874 and used to support the floor of the Nave pews.