St Mary's Church, Mudford
| Church of St Mary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Mudford, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates | 50°58′37″N 2°36′27″W / 50.97694°N 2.60750°W |
| Built | 14th century |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 19 April 1961[1] |
| Reference no. | 262693 |
  Location of Church of St Mary in Somerset | |
The Church of St Mary in Mudford, Somerset, England, dates from the 14th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.[1]
The church was granted by Montacute Priory to the Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1339.[2] The interior includes a Jacobean pulpit and a stone font from the 15th century.[3]
It has a 66 feet (20 m) high three-stage tower, which dates from around 1498,[4] divided by string courses with clasping corner buttresses, a battlemented parapet with small corner and intermediate pinnacles, and corner gargoyles. There is a stair turret on the north-east corner with a weathervane finial, and a clock face on the east side. It contains five bells dated 1582, 1621, 1623, 1664 and 1666, all by the Purdue family of nearby Closworth.[5] The tower was rebuilt in 1309 and again in the early 20th century following a lightning strike.[3]
The parish is part of the benefice of Chilton Cantelo, Ashington, Marston Magna, Mudford and Rimpton within the Yeovil deanery.[6]
Due to the condition of the high level stonework the church has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register; however repairs were undertaken in 2013 to correct this.[7]
The church graveyard is the resting place of Bishop Bill Flagg, the first Bishop of Northern Argentina and Paraguay, who was born and raised in Mudford.
See also[edit]
- Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset
- List of Somerset towers
- List of ecclesiastical parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Church of Saint Mary". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press Ltd. pp. 152. ISBN 1-874336-26-1.
- ^ a b "History". St Mary The Virgin, Mudford. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ Poyntz Wright, Peter (1981). The Parish Church Towers of Somerset, Their construction, craftsmanship and chronology 1350 - 1550. Avebury Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86127-502-0.
- ^ "Church of St Mary". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
- ^ "The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mudford". Church of England. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Church of St Mary, Mudford - South Somerset". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Retrieved 19 October 2013.