St Mary's Church, Dover

St Mary's Church, Dover
St Mary's Church, Dover
	51°7.5539′N1°18.7730′E / 51.1258983°N 1.3128833°E Coordinates: 51°7.5539′N1°18.7730′E / 51.1258983°N 1.3128833°E
OS grid reference	TR 319 415
Location	Dover
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Website	http://stmarysdover.org.uk/
History
Dedication	Saint Mary the Virgin
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	30 June 1949 [1]
Specifications
Bells	8
Administration
Deanery	Dover Deanery [2]
Diocese	Diocese of Canterbury

Last updated October 21, 2019

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade II* listed Anglican church, a parish church in Dover, Kent, and is situated on Cannon Street in the town centre. There was a church on this site in Saxon times. It was largely rebuilt in the 19th century.

A listed building, or listed structure, is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

Dover is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. The town is the administrative centre of the Dover District and home of the Port of Dover. The surrounding chalk cliffs are known as the White Cliffs of Dover.

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west. The county also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town is Maidstone.

Early history

The church stands on the site of Roman baths; it is thought there was originally a Saxon church here. Three churches in Dover are mentioned in the Domesday Book, and it has been supposed that these are St Mary's, St James' and St Peter's. The oldest parts of the existing building are the tower and three bays of the arcades, which are Norman architecture of the early 12th century.^[1]^[3]^[4]

In ancient Rome, thermae and balneae were facilities for bathing. Thermae usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while balneae were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout Rome.

Domesday Book 11th-century survey of landholding in England as well as the surviving manuscripts of the survey

Domesday Book is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states:

Then, at the midwinter [1085], was the king in Gloucester with his council .... After this had the king a large meeting, and very deep consultation with his council, about this land; how it was occupied, and by what sort of men. Then sent he his men over all England into each shire; commissioning them to find out "How many hundreds of hides were in the shire, what land the king himself had, and what stock upon the land; or, what dues he ought to have by the year from the shire."

St James' Church is a ruined church in Dover, England. It was built in the 11th century and restored in the 19th century. Badly damaged in the Second World War, it is now preserved as a Grade II listed building.

From 1230 the church was controlled by Maison Dieu, which was built in Dover in 1203 to accommodate pilgrims from overseas visiting Canterbury Cathedral.^[3]

The Hospital of St Mary, Domus Dei, or Maison Dieu, is a medieval building in Dover, England which forms part of the Old Town Hall buildings.

Canterbury Cathedral Church in Kent, England

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.

The church was closed in 1537, at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but opened in 1544 as a parish church, after a petition of the townspeople. From 1581 it was the official church of the Mayor and corporation instead of St Peter's Church (which stood on the northern side of the market square and was in disrepair; it was demolished soon afterwards).^[3]^[5]^[6]

Dissolution of the Monasteries legal event which disbanded religious residences in England, Wales and Ireland

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland, appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided for their former personnel and functions. Although the policy was originally envisaged as increasing the regular income of the Crown, much former monastic property was sold off to fund Henry's military campaigns in the 1540s. He was given the authority to do this in England and Wales by the Act of Supremacy, passed by Parliament in 1534, which made him Supreme Head of the Church in England, thus separating England from Papal authority, and by the First Suppression Act (1535) and the Second Suppression Act (1539).

A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owned corporations.

Rebuilding

In 1843–1844, during the incumbency of Canon John Puckle, the church, except for the tower, was rebuilt in Early English style. The work was carried out by J. C. & C. Buckler. The church was enlarged and clerestory windows were added.^[1]^[3]^[4] The tower was restored in 1897.^[5]

John Chessell Buckler was a British architect, the eldest son of the architect John Buckler. J.C. Buckler initially worked with his father before taking over his practice. His work included restorations of country houses and at the University of Oxford.

In architecture, a clerestory is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. The purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.

The church was damaged during the Second World War, but was not directly hit. Many of the stained glass windows were destroyed. Windows have been installed since the war to commemorate important relations between the church and the town.^[3]^[4]

Bells

The church has eight bells, originally made by Samuel Knight in 1724. In 1898, at the time the tower was restored, the bells were rehung in a new frame by John Warner & Sons, who recast the treble bell. The bells have since then been rehung twice, in 1947 and 2002.^[7]

Memorial

The church houses the main memorial to the victims of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise, which capsized outside Zeebrugge in Belgium on its way to Dover on 6 March 1987.^[8]

Related Research Articles

St Mary in Castro, or St Mary de Castro, is a church in the grounds of Dover Castle, Kent, south-east England. It is a heavily restored Saxon structure, built next to a Roman lighthouse which became the church bell-tower. St Mary serves the local population and the army, and is the church of the Dover Garrison.

St Mary Magdalen is a Church of England parish church in Magdalen Street, Oxford, England. It is one of the city's ancient parish churches and is a Grade I listed building.

Stoke Minster is the Minster Church of St Peter ad Vincula, the town centre and civic church in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

St Helen Witton Church, Northwich Church in Cheshire, England

St Helen Witton Church, Northwich, is in the centre of the town of Northwich, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The church is now known as "St Helen's, Witton" or "Northwich Parish Church". It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Middlewich. Alec Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is in Leek Road, Bosley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the deanery of Macclesfield. Its benefice is combined with those of St Michael, North Rode, St Michael, Wincle, and St Saviour, Wildboarclough.

St Bartholomew's Church is in the village of Church Minshull, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield, and the deanery of Nantwich. Its benefice is combined with those of St Mary, Acton, St David, Wettenhall, and St Oswald, Worleston.

St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Chadkirk. It is on a hill overlooking the village of Disley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. Its benefice is combined with that of St John, Furness Vale.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is on Church Lane, Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Radcliffe and Prestwich, the archdeaconry of Bolton and the diocese of Manchester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. Pevsner refers to it as "a major church".

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Church of England parish church in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. It is a member of the Leigh deanery in the archdeaconry of Salford, diocese of Manchester. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

The Parish Church of Saint Mary, North Leigh is the Church of England parish church of North Leigh, a village about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire.

St Peters Church, Barton-upon-Humber Church in Barton-upon-Humber, England

St Peter's Church is the former parish church of Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire, England. It is one of the best known Anglo-Saxon buildings, in part due to its role in Thomas Rickman's identification of the style. It has been subject to major excavations. The former Church of England church is now run by English Heritage and houses an exhibition exploring its history.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a redundant Anglican church in the small town of Fordwich, Kent, 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 church stands near to the centre of Fordwich, some 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Canterbury.

St Mary Magdalene's Church is located in Church Street, Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. It is the Anglican parish church of the town, and is in the deanery of Whalley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

St Mary's Church is on Church Street, Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ludlow, the archdeaconry of Ludlow, and the diocese of Hereford. Its benefice is united with those of six local parishes to form the Cleobury Benefice. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is notable for its shingled twisted spire.

St Mary's Church stands on a hill in the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ellesmere, the archdeaconry of Salop, and the diocese of Lichfield. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church of Bampton, West Oxfordshire. It is in the Archdeaconry of Dorchester in the Diocese of Oxford.

The Church of St Michael and All Angels is a Church of England parish church in Great Torrington, Devon. It is a Grade II* listed building. As a traditional catholic parish, it is a member of Forward in Faith and receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet.

Saint Nicholas Church is a grade I listed building located in Hardwicke, Gloucestershire. It practices Christianity through the Church of England denomination.

St Mary and St Eanswythe’s Church is a Grade II* listed Anglican church in Folkestone, Kent, situated not far from cliffs overlooking the English Channel. Parts of the building date from the 13th century, but it was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. It is unusual in having a central tower.

St Mary's Church is the Church of England parish church in the town of Marlborough, Wiltshire, England.

References

1 2 3 Historic England. "The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin (Grade II*) (1069522)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
↑ Parishes Deanery of Dover, accessed 24 January 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 St "A History of St. Mary's Parish Church" Official site, accessed 28 September 2019.
1 2 3 St Mary's Church Dover Town Council, accessed 3 April 2015. Via Wayback Machine.
1 2 St Mary's Church Old Dover in words and pictures, accessed 24 January 2015.
↑ "Market Square" Dover, Lock and Key of the Kingdom, accessed 27 February 2012. Via Wayback Machine.
↑ "Dover, St Mary the Virgin" Church Bells of Kent, accessed 20 March 2016. Via Wayback Machine.
↑ "Zeebrugge disaster marked by memorial service 25 years on". BBC News. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2015.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[nhle-1] 1 2 3 Historic England. "The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin (Grade II*) (1069522)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 October 2016.

[2] Parishes Deanery of Dover, accessed 24 January 2015.

[official-3] 1 2 3 4 5 St "A History of St. Mary's Parish Church" Official site, accessed 28 September 2019.

[council-4] 1 2 3 St Mary's Church Dover Town Council, accessed 3 April 2015. Via Wayback Machine.

[old-5] 1 2 St Mary's Church Old Dover in words and pictures, accessed 24 January 2015.

[6] "Market Square" Dover, Lock and Key of the Kingdom, accessed 27 February 2012. Via Wayback Machine.

[7] "Dover, St Mary the Virgin" Church Bells of Kent, accessed 20 March 2016. Via Wayback Machine.

[8] "Zeebrugge disaster marked by memorial service 25 years on". BBC News. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2015.