St Mary's Church, Purton
St Mary's, Purton | |
---|---|
Church of St Mary the Virgin | |
Malmesbury | |
Deanery | Swindon |
St Mary's Church in the village of Purton in north Wiltshire, England, is an active Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Bristol. A large building begun in the 13th century and one of only three churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire, it has been designated as a Grade I listed building by English Heritage.[1]
Location
Purton is about 4 miles (6 km) north-west of the large town of Swindon, and a similar distance south of Cricklade. Nikolaus Pevsner describes the church as "beautifully placed";[2] it stands separate from and to the south of the present-day village, next to the 16th-century manor house.[3]
History
Malmesbury Abbey may have built a church on its Purton estate before the Norman conquest,[4] although no church is recorded in the Domesday survey of 1086.[5] A church at Purton was listed among the abbey's possessions in 1151, and was appropriated by the abbey in 1276; at that time a vicarage had recently been built.[4] The quality of the construction and interior adornment of the church may reflect the wealth of Malmesbury Abbey.[4]
The crudely carved capital of the east respond of the south arcade may be from the 12th century.[6] The nave was built in the early 13th century, and in the next century the crossing tower, transepts and south-east chapel were added and the arcades rebuilt, wider and higher, making the nave unusually tall.[6][7] The chancel dates from the late 13th century.[7] The west tower, called "ambitious" by Pevsner,[2] is 15th-century; the upper stage and slender octagonal spire over the crossing may be 14th-century[1] or 15th.[2]
Restoration was carried out in 1872 by William Butterfield, when three walls of the chancel were rebuilt.[7] At this time a skeleton was discovered in a wall of the north transept.[7]
Architecture
The church is constructed of coursed rubble limestone, with roofs of slate and lead.[1] Its plan consists of a three-bay nave with aisles, a tower to the west and a transept. Above the crossing is a steeple. There is a chancel, and a porch to the south with an upper storey heated by a fireplace.[1]
The west tower, which has the entrance to the church, has angled buttresses and three stages; the upper stage has three-light belfry louvres, with perforated stone screens.[1] The tower has crocketed pinnacles at its corners and a stair turret to the north corner. There are a number of niches, and in 1973 figures by Simon Verity were installed in niches on the north and south sides.[2]
The central steeple has two-light belfry louvres and a crenellated parapet. The spire is octagonal.[1] St Mary's is one of only three churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire.[nb 1]
The church houses a ring of eight bells hung for change ringing and a Sanctus bell. The first and second bells (the lightest) were cast in 1989, and the seventh in 1916 by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough; the third and fifth by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon in 1924 and 1923 respectively; the fourth by Robert Wells II in 1793; the sixth by Joseph Carter in 1598, the largest bell known to have been cast by this founder; and the tenor (heaviest) by Abel Rudhall of Gloucester in 1738. Rudhall also made the Sanctus bell, cast in 1760.[10]
The windows are three- and four-light, in the
Interior
While the exterior of the building is largely
The plain octagonal font is 13th-century.
Coloured patterns on the arcade arches were restored in 1872.
Monuments
The church is the burial place of several members of the Maskelyne family, landowners since the 15th century.[4] Among the wall monuments in the church, are three to Maskelynes in the south transept: Nevil Maskelyne MP (1679, black and white marble with cherubs); Nevil Maskelyne, the fifth Astronomer Royal (1811, grey marble); and Anthony Maskelyne, barrister (1879, alabaster).[1] The limestone chest tomb of the Astronomer Royal is outside the south transept.[12]
Records
The surviving parish registers date from 1558 for marriages and burials, 1564 for baptisms;[13] there are gaps between 1641 and 1647 which coincide more or less with the disruptions of the Civil War.
References
Notes
- ^ The other churches with both a western tower and a central spire are St Andrew's Church in Wanborough, Wiltshire and the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Ormskirk, Lancashire.[7][8][9]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1283956)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ OCLC 1201298091.
- ^ Historic England. "Manor House, Purton (1023170)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Bainbridge, Virginia, ed. (2011). "Historic Parishes – Purton with Braydon". A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 18. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 244–285. Retrieved 17 January 2023 – via British History Online.
- ^ Purton in the Domesday Book
- ^ a b "St Mary, Purton, Wiltshire". The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland. King's College London. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Church of St. Mary, Purton". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ Richardson (1919), p. 10
- ^ Boughen, Tony. "Ormskirk, St Peter & St Paul". Lancashire Churches. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- ^ "Purton—S Mary", Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, 28 February 2007, retrieved 22 September 2010
- ^ a b c "History (from church leaflet)". St Mary's Church Purton. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Maskeylne Monument in Churchyard Against South Trancept Wall (1023166)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Purton". GENUKI. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- Richardson, Ethel M. (1919), The Story of Purton; a Collection of Notes and Hearsay, Bristol: Arrowsmith, OCLC 12994691
External links
Media related to St Mary's Church, Purton at Wikimedia Commons