| Church of St Mary Magdalene | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Somerset | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Chewton Mendip |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°16′34″N2°34′48″W / 51.2761°N 2.5799°W |
| Completed | 1440s |
The Church of St Mary Magdalene in Chewton Mendip, Somerset, England, was built in the 1540s and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. [1] It is dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene.
The church has Saxon origins, with the register commencing in 560. Building work being undertaken in the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th centuries with restoration in 1865. [1] The current church, which was started in 1441 by Carthusian monks, [2] incorporates several Norman features including the north doorway. The tower was added in 1541. [3]
The church was a Saxon minster with subordinate chapels at Ston Easton, Emborough, Farrington Gurney and Paulton. The church was granted by William the Conqueror to the French Jumièges Abbey. [4] After the confiscation of alien churches Henry V gave it to the Priory of Sheen in Surrey which held it until the dissolution of the monasteries. [5]
Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" described the church as a "singularly interesting church, which possesses one of the most stately towers in the county". [6]
Their description continued
"The arrangement of double belfry windows in the two upper stages is unusual, and the conventional lines of the elaborately pierced parapet above are relieved by the projecting stair turret and spirelet. The general effect is rich and impressive. The figure of our Lord, surrounded by four pairs of adoring angels, over the W. doorway should also be observed (cp. Batcombe). In the body of the church note should be taken of the good Norm. doorway forming the N. entrance. The interior is remarkable for an ugly bit of mediaeval vandalism. To render the altar observable from all parts of the church, a Norm. triplet, which once formed the chancel arch, has been mutilated; a pointed arch has been inserted, and the corner of the S. wall pared away. The chancel contains the only extant specimen in Somerset of a frid stool, a rough seat let into the sill of the N. window of the sacrarium for the accommodation of anyone claiming sanctuary. Note (1) piscinas of different dates in chancel; (2) change of design in arcading of nave, showing subsequent lengthening of church — the earlier columns stand on Norm. bases; (3) rood-loft doorway and ancient pulpit stairs near modern pulpit; (4) Jacobean lectern and Bible of 1611. The "Bonville" chantry, S. of chancel, contains a 15th-cent. altar-tomb with recumbent effigies of Sir H. Fitzroger and wife, and a modern mural tablet with medallion to Viscountess Waldegrave. In the churchyard is a weather-worn but fine cross, with a canopied crucifix. The Communion plate is pre-Reformation, dating from 1511." [6]
The parish is part of the benefice of East Harptree with West Harptree and Hinton Blewett, Litton with Chewton Mendip within the archdeaconry of Wells. [7]
The church is made of Lias Stone, with a 126-foot (38 m) [2] tower of Doulting Stone which was "unfinished" in 1541. The tower, which dates from around 1540, [8] contains a bell dating from 1753 and made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family. [9] In addition, there is a peal of eight bells by Taylor's of Loughborough.
Near the altar, there is a stone seat for criminals taking sanctuary in the church.
Near the altar is a stone seat, known as a 'frid' for those, especially criminals, who took sanctuary in the church. [2] The church includes monuments to Sir Henry Fitzroger and his wife who died in 1388, and to Frances, Lady Waldegrave (1879). [10] The Waldegrave family have owned Chewton from 1553, but did not live in the village until the 1860s. [11]
The stained glass is largely from the 19th century, but some 15th-century and earlier fragments remain in the chancel window. [1] The glass in the north window of the chancel comes from various sources. The design of the virgin weeping was found in pieces in a ditch near Glastonbury. They were bought by the Rev. Paul Bush who used them to make a window in his summerhouse which was eventually pulled down. When the old vicarage was sold in 1956 the glass was found in the garden and shown to Christopher Woodforde the Dean of Wells. He identified some fragments as being 19th century but others as being much older possibly 13th or 14th century. Jasper Kettlewell combined them with existing glass in the window into new designs. [12]
There are three piscinae, two medieval chests and 16th-century carved bench ends. The circular Early English font stands under the tower. [1]
A 15th-century stone cross in the churchyard also has Grade I listed building status. [13]
Chewton Mendip is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is situated 4 miles (6 km) north of Wells, 16 miles (26 km) south of Bath and Bristol on the A39 very close to the A37. The village is in a valley on the Mendip Hills and is the source of the River Chew. The parish includes the hamlets of Bathway and Green Ore.
Compton Martin is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Somerset and in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority in England. The parish has a population of 508. It lies between Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon Lake, north of the Mendip Hills, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Bristol on the A368 road Weston-super-Mare to Bath, between Blagdon and West Harptree.
East Harptree is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Wells and 15 miles (24.1 km) south of Bristol, on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills overlooking the Chew Valley. The parish has a population of 644. The parish includes the hamlet of Coley.
Litton is a small village and civil parish between Chewton Mendip and West Harptree in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Sherborne. Very close to the village are the Litton Reservoirs.
Cameley is a village in the civil parish of Temple Cloud with Cameley, within the Chew Valley in Somerset, and on the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills, in the Bath and North East Somerset Council area just off the A37 road. It is located 11 miles (18 km) from Bristol, Bath and Wells. The nearest town is Midsomer Norton, which is 6 miles (10 km) away. The parish has a population of 1,292 and includes the village of Temple Cloud.
The Anglican St Andrew's Church is on the outskirts of Chew Stoke, within the English county of Somerset. The church, parts of which date from the 15th century, is a Grade II* listed building.
St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in the village of Newbold Astbury, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and its architecture has been praised by a number of writers.
St Mary's Church is in the small settlement of Bruera, which lies between the villages of Saighton and Aldford, in Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The church contains Norman elements, but it has been subjected to alterations and modifications, particularly in 1896. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Malpas. Its benefice is combined with those of St Peter, Waverton, and St John the Baptist, Aldford.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin in Batcombe, Somerset, England, dates from the 15th and 16th centuries and was restored in the 19th. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.
The Church of St Margaret in Hinton Blewett, Somerset, England probably dates from the 13th century although parts are as late as the 16th or 17th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in St Mary's Place, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, 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 Trust designated St Mary's as its first Conservation Church in 2015. It is the largest church in Shrewsbury. Clifton-Taylor includes the church in his list of 'best' English parish churches.
The Church of St Peter in Marksbury, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century, although most of the current fabric is from the 15th century and is a Grade II* listed building.
The Anglican Church of St Mary stands on Knap Hill in Nempnett Thrubwell, Somerset, England dates from the 15th century, but was built on the site of an earlier Norman church. It is a Grade II* listed building,
The Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity in Paulton, Somerset, England, was founded in 1235 and is a Grade II* listed building. It was built on the site of an earlier church. The Church of the Trinity is located in the parish of Paulton and Diocese of Bath and Wells, having previously been a chapel attached to the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Chewton Mendip until 1841. Paulton is currently serving as part of the 10 lamps ministry group and is part of the benefice with St John's, Farrington Gurney, and Holy Trinity, High Littleton.
All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Little Wenham, Suffolk, 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. It stands in an isolated position close to Little Wenham Hall, about 0.6 miles (1 km) to the northwest of Capel St. Mary.
St Mary Magdalene's Church is in Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Furness, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of four other local parishes. The church, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene, is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
St Mary Magdalene's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Bolney in Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The parish church, which is dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene, serves a large rural parish centred on a village straddling the ancient London–Brighton road and apparently dates from about 1100, and an older origin has been suggested. Many structural additions have been made over the centuries—including a tower built solely using the labour of villagers—and at the entrance to the churchyard is a "magnificent" 20th-century lychgate made of local materials including Sussex Marble. The church is protected as a Grade I Listed building.
The Church of St Laurence in East Harptree, Somerset England was built in the late 12th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The Church of St Mary in West Harptree within the English county of Somerset was built in the 12th century, with the spire being added in the 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.