St Michael and All Angels' Church, Thornton

St Michael and All Angels' Church, Thornton
St Michael and All Angels' Church, Thornton Location in Buckinghamshire
Coordinates: 52°01′10″N 0°54′19″W / 52.0194°N 0.9054°W / 52.0194; -0.9054
OS grid reference	SP 752 363
Location	Thornton, Buckinghamshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
History
Dedication	Saint Michael
Architecture
Status	Former parish church
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	13 June 1966
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Specifications
Materials	Stone rubble

St Michael and All Angels' Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Thornton, Buckinghamshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands to the north of the village, in the grounds of Thornton Hall (now a girls' boarding school), to the east of the River Ouse, some 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Buckingham.

The first church on the site was built in 1219, but the present building dates from the first half of the 14th century. This originally consisted of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a chancel with a chapel to its north, and a west tower. Under the north chapel was the burial vault of the Tyrell baronets of Thornton. The north aisle was demolished in 1620, and the north arcade was walled up. Between 1780 and 1800 the church was re-ordered, turning it into a "rectangular preaching box". The north aisle was rebuilt and the arcade re-opened, the chancel arch was walled up and the chancel and north chapel were demolished. A new ceiling was made below the level of the clerestory windows, which were blocked up. A gallery was erected at the west end, and the church was re-floored and re-seated. In 1850 a communion rail was erected at the east end, making the eastern bay into a sanctuary. During the 20th century the church ceased to be a parish church and by the 1990s it was in a neglected condition. The church was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust on 1 April 1993. Volunteers from the Wolverton and District Archaeological Society cleaned the church and its monuments.