Church of St Mary, Great Baddow

Church of St Mary the Virgin
Church of St Mary the Virgin Location in Essex
51°42′57″N0°30′08″E / 51.7157°N 0.5022°E / 51.7157; 0.5022
Denomination	Church of England
Website	St Mary's Great Baddow
History
Dedication	St Mary
Architecture
Functional status	Church of England parish church
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	10 April 1967
Style	Gothic
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Chelmsford
Parish	Great Baddow
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Rev Canon Tim Ball

St Mary's Church is an active parish church in the village of Great Baddow, Essex, England. The church stands on the High Street in the centre of the village and dates from the 12th century. Much extended in the 16th century, and heavily restored in the 19th and 20th centuries, the church is a Grade I listed building.

History

The urban village of Great Baddow stands within the boundaries of the City of Chelmsford. ^{[lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2]} In his Essex Directory of 1848, William White described it as "one of the handsomest villages in Essex". ^[4] The Church of St Mary dates from the 12th century. ^[5] In the 14th century, the churchyard at St Mary's was the gathering place of a contingent of men from Essex, who then marched south to London to join Wat Tyler in the Peasants' Revolt. ^[6] The building was enhanced and extended in the 16th century, with brickwork of high quality. A major restoration in the 19th century, was followed in the 20th by further renovations and reordering of the interior. ^[5]

St Mary's contains a notable monument to the Gwyn sisters and their friend Ann Antrim by Henry Cheere. ^[7] Another monument honours Major-general Sir Nicholas Trant, who served under the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War. A soldier of considerable daring, Wellington described him as, "a very good officer, but as drunk a dog as ever lived." ^{[8] [9]} St Mary's has memorial plaques to the men of Great Baddow who died in the First and the Second World Wars. ^{[10] [11]} In September 2022 the church was the starting point for a commemorative walk, ending at Chelmsford Cathedral, for families, mainly from Essex, who had lost children to violent crime. ^[12]

The church remains an active parish church ^{[lower-alpha 3] [14]} in the Diocese of Chelmsford. ^[15]

Architecture

Historic England gives a foundation date for the church as the 12th century. The chancel dates from the 13th century and the tower from the 14th. ^[5] Major expansion of the building occurred in the early 16th century. James Bettley, in the Essex volume of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, considered the church exterior "splendid", due largely to its Tudor brickwork dating from this time. ^[7] The remainder of the construction material is flint rubble. ^[5]

A Victorian renovation was undertaken by C. and W. H. Pertwee between 1892 and 1903. Further modifications were made in the 20th century. ^[7] Internally, the pulpit is early 16th century. Nikolaus Pevsner thought it, "the best of its date in the county". ^[7] The church is a Grade I listed building. ^[5]

The churchyard contains the Duffield Memorial. Designed by Herbert Maryon in 1912, it commemorates a prominent local solicitor, William Ward Duffield, his wife, Marianne and their son. ^[16] The lychgate to the churchyard is by Ninian Comper and dates from 1930. ^[7]

Gallery

• 
  The west tower - dating from the 14th century
• 
  The 20th century porch
• 
  The interior looking to the east end
• 
  The pulpit - much admired by Pevsner

See also

• Media related to St Mary the Virgin's Church, Great Baddow at Wikimedia Commons
• Essex Churches - St Mary's Great Baddow

Notes

1. Richard de Badewe, from whose family name the title of the village may derive, was born in Great Baddow in the later 1200s. Rising to the post of Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, he founded University Hall, Cambridge, now Clare College. ^[1] Other sources suggest that the settlement derives its name from the Celtic for the River Chelmer. ^[2]
2. The lordship of the manor of Great Baddow is now held by Tony Appleton, unofficial town crier to the British royal family. ^[3]
3. The team rector, the Rev. Canon Timothy Ball, was converted to Christianity after attending services at St Mary's in the 1980s. ^[13]

References

1. "St Mary's Great Baddow - Our history". Great Baddow Team Ministry. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
2. "Great Baddow, Essex". Key to English Place-names. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
3. Walker, Tim (28 November 2017). "Tony Appleton: unofficial town crier to the royal family (and star of US TV)". The Guardian . Retrieved 11 March 2023.
4. White 1848, p. ?.
5. Historic England. "Church of St Mary (Grade I) (1122149)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 March 2023.
6. Reeve 2021, p. ?.
7. Bettley & Pevsner 2007, p. 386.
8. Glover 2001, p. 356.
9. Bromley & Bromley 2016, p. 1187.
10. "St Mary's Church, Great Baddow WWI". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
11. "St Mary's Church, Great Baddow WWII". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
12. "Families to gather in Essex to remember victims of violent crime". BBC News. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
13. Wilkinson, Paul (29 January 2021). "From Damascene conversion to incumbent in 32 years for Essex Team Rector". Church Times . Retrieved 11 March 2023.
14. "St Mary's Great Baddow". Great Baddow Team Ministry. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
15. "A church near you - St Mary's Great Baddow". Church of England. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
16. Historic England. "Duffield Memorial (Grade II) (1481229)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 March 2023.

Sources

• Bromley, Janet; Bromley, David (2016). Wellington's Men Remembered: A Register of Memorials to Soldiers Who Fought in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo. Vol. 2 (M-Z). Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword. ISBN   978-1-473-85768-1.
• Glover, Michael (2001). The Peninsular War 1807-1814. London: Penguin Books. ISBN   0-14-139041-7.
• Bettley, James; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). Essex. The Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-11614-4. OCLC   1042848015.
• Reeve (2021). Chelmsford in 50 Buildings. Stroud, UK: Amberley Press. ISBN   978-1-398-10686-4.
• White, William (1848). Great Baddow. London: White's Directories. OCLC   35158908.