The pronunciation is crow to rhyme with throw, not cruff to rhyme with tough! This four-square church is of Norman origin, although there is very little remaining evidence for it. The original building would have comprised nave, chancel and apse. A north aisle was added in about 1180. The arcade has pointed arches on round columns but the capitals are square with simple carved designs. The west tower is probably contemporary with it. The south aisle is somewhat later. its capitals simple and rounded.
The chancel was rebuilt in the Decorated style, probably in the early fourteenth century. This is probably when the wall paintings for which this church is famous were added. The clerestory was added later in the fourteenth century,
There is little else to be said about the building itself. It has an austere exterior, is somewhat dark within but with the rustic charm of some many Northamptonshire churches. It is those wall paintings that sets it apart.
Of them Simon Jenkins said perceptively “I wonder how celebrated these works would be if were they set in an Italian church rather than an English one”. Before himself awarding it a paltry one star!
It is not the quality of the artistry we celebrate here so much as the range of subject .
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