Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge
Great St Mary's | |
---|---|
Church of St Mary the Great | |
Cambridge | |
Deanery | Cambridge North |
Parish | St. Mary The Great with St. Michael, Cambridge |
Clergy | |
Priest in charge | The Revd Jutta Brueck |
St Mary the Great is a
In addition to being a parish church in the
History
The first mention of the church is a record of King
The orders for the consecration of the new church were sent out on 17 May 1346, but were not enacted until 15 March 1351.[6]
During the Peasants' Revolt and associated sacking of the university by townspeople in 1381, the church was entered and bulls, charters and title deeds of the university were destroyed.[7]
In the Middle Ages it became an official gathering place for meetings and debates for Cambridge University, but this ceased in 1730 when the University's
The present building was constructed between 1478 and 1519, with the tower finished later, in 1608. The cost of construction was covered largely by Richard III and Henry VII.[8]
The church was restored by James Essex in 1766. In 1850–51 a restoration was carried out by George Gilbert Scott, followed by further work by Anthony Salvin in 1857. The south porch was rebuilt in 1888. There has been some more restoration work during the 20th century.[1]
Various leading philosophers of the English Reformation preached there, notably Erasmus. Martin Bucer, who influenced Thomas Cranmer's writing of the Book of Common Prayer, was buried there. Under Queen Mary I, Bucer's corpse was burnt in the marketplace, but under Elizabeth I, the dust from the place of burning was replaced in the church and now lie under a brass floor plate in the south chancel.[8]
Present day
Great St Mary's stands in the Liberal Catholic tradition of the Church of England. It is a member of Inclusive Church.[9]
Bells
Originally, bells were hung in a wooden structure in the churchyard. In 1515 the bells were moved to the tower and the structure was dismantled. The bells were replaced in 1722 and in 1724, the Society of Cambridge Youths was formed to formalise the responsibility for ringing them. This society lays claim to being the oldest bellringing society in Britain and the second oldest at any church in the world with a continuous ringing history.[10][11]
In 2009 the old ring of bells was replaced with a new ring cast by
Organs
St Mary the Great is unusual in housing two self-contained pipe organs, a 'Parish Organ' in the Chancel for the regular congregation, and another in the West Gallery, called the 'University Organ', owned and maintained by the University, and played for University services. The University Organ was originally purchased in 1698, constructed by the renowned organ builder
Architecture and features
The church is designed in the Late
To accommodate the large audiences that were present for special occasions, and in particular the University Sermon, attendance of which was compulsory, the galleries were added in 1735. The church contains one of the few moveable pulpits in England. The font dates from 1632 and the sculpture behind the high altar is of Christ in Majesty. This sculpture was completed in 1960.[8] The sculpture is by Alan Durst
List of vicars
- Philip Waggett (1927–1930)
- Mervyn Stockwood (1955–1959); afterwards Bishop of Southwark
- Joseph Fison(1959–1963); afterwards Bishop of Salisbury
- Hugh Montefiore (1963–1970); afterwards Bishop of Kingston, then of Birmingham
- Stanley Booth-Clibborn (1973–1979); afterwards Bishop of Manchester
- Michael Mayne (1979–1986); later Dean of Westminster
- David Conner (1986–1993); afterwards Bishop of Lynn, then Dean of Windsor
- John Binns (1994–2017)
- Adrian Daffern (2018–2022)
- Jutta Brueck (2023–) [Interim Priest-in-Charge from 2022,[15] Vicar from 2023]
Burials and funerals
- Martin Bucer (1491–1551), Protestant reformer
- Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), theoretical physicist, funeral held on 31 March 2018 prior to his cremation and interring of his ashes in Westminster Abbey
- Jack Merritt (1994–2019), prison educator and mentor, funeral held on 20 December 2019 prior to his cremation
See also
- List of church restorations and alterations by Anthony Salvin
- Holy Trinity Church in Market Street to the east
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge (1126084)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ "Chapter XI: University Offices and Grants of Title" (PDF). Ordinances of the University of Cambridge. p. 680. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ "Chapter II: Matriculation, Residence, Admission to Degrees, Discipline, Conduct, Complaints" (PDF). Ordinances of the University of Cambridge. p. 178. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ a b The city of Cambridge – Churches | British History Online
- ^ Cooper, Charles Henry (1866) "Memorials of Cambridge (Volume 3)", Cambridge: Wm Metcalfe.
- ^ a b Venables, Edward (1855). The Archaeological Journal (PDF). Longman, Rrown,(sic) Green, and Longman. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ Cooper, Charles Henry (1845). Annals of Cambridge (Volume 1). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b c d "St Mary's University Church, Cambridge". Sacred Destinations. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ "Great St Mary's Parish Profile" (PDF). elydatabase.org. Diocese of Ely. 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ "Bells". St Mary the Great. Retrieved 1 October 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "The Society of Cambridge Youths". Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ "Martin C. Faulkes Bell Fund". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ "Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers". Retrieved 11 January 2010. See John Bowtell.
- ^ "St Mary the Great". Mander Organs Portfolio. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ "Appointments". Church Times. 21 October 2022.