| St Mary's Church, Broughton Astley | |
| Dedication: | St Mary |
| Denomination: | Church of England |
| Parish: | Broughton Astley, Leicestershire |
| Archdeaconry: | Loughborough[1] |
| Diocese: | Leicester |
St Mary's Church is a church in Broughton Astley, Leicestershire. It is a Grade II* listed building.[2]
The church dates to 1220 but the nave walls contain evidence that there was an earlier building dating from c1100.[3] It consists of a tower with spire, nave, chancel and north aisle.[4] [2]
The church was restored in 1881-82[5] by W. Bassett-Smith[2] and the north porch was built in 1897.[5] The tower used to have coats of arms for the Beauchamp, Astley and Willoughby families but these have now gone. The north aisle has a stained glass window depicting the Blessed Mary holding keys by the font.[4] In 1900, it was reported that the Quorn hounds had pursued a fox into the church on 4 February where the congregation was in worship. The huntsman oversaw the kill in the churchyard.[6]
By the entrance to the church is a holy water stoup. There are 8 bells in the tower, the earliest dating from 1637 and the newest from 1972.[4]
Sir John Grey, the second cousin of Lady Jane Grey, and his mother, Lady Anne Grey, were buried in the chancel but were moved to the cemetery on Frolesworth Road.[4]