Great Brington is recorded in the Domesday book and it is likely that a wooden church originally stood on this site before it was burned down in the 13th Century. The current church dating from between 1220 and 1280 follows the pattern of the Early English Decorated and Perpendicular styles.
The Diana Burial Theory
Not all the rather odd theories surrounding Princess Diana relate to the circumstances of her death. Persistent rumours - unsubstantiated I hasten to add - relate to her burial. The official version is that Princess Di was buried on an island in Althorp park, and visitors to Althorp flock here each summer to see the island site. However, there is another version of the princess's burial which suggests that she was secretly cremated and her ashes interred in the family chapel at Great Brington church.
Conspiracy theorists point to an area of wet concrete that appeared in the chapel at the time of Diana's burial, and a siting of smoke from the chimney of a local crematorium in the middle of the night. The crematorium rejects the sighting, and one simple explanation for the concrete is that the original plans were for her to be buried with her ancestors, then the Earl changed his mind and the island plan was selected instead. Even local people are divided over which version of the story is true, but in the end St Mary's is worth visiting in its own right, irrespective of which particular Spencers are buried here.
