Description

GUY'S CLIFFE

10/375

Chapel of St Mary Magdalene

(formerly included as Guy's Cliffe Chapel)

11.4.67

GV

II*

Circa early C15, altered mid C18 and early C19, restored 1874 and 1933. Circa 600 oratory chapel dedicated to St Mary Magdalene founded at Guy's Cliffe by Saint Dubritius. Circa 1430 present chapel rebuilt by Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, at cost £184. Circa 1764 chapel restored and upper part of tower built with crocketted pinnacles and parapet with battlements and frieze with cusped arcade. 1819-24 interior re-constructed and west and north-east windows 'open-up'. 1974 chapel adapted for use as Masonic Temple.

Consists of two parallel aisles of five bays with a porch and small tower at the centre of south-west wall. Hipped plain tile roof with gabled end to river. North-east third of random sandstone rubble, remainder of sandstone ashlar. Hollow chamfered windows with roll mouldings, one has tracery. Quatrefoil window to left hand side of tower. Winding stone staircase in tower leads to priests' rooms in rafters. Beneath chapel is undercroft and below that a barrel-vaulted chamber 6 metres by 2.4 metres known as dungeon. Chapel contains late C14 mutilated statue 2.4 metres high, carved out of rock face, reputed to represent Guy of Warwick who is held to have occupied the nearby excavations in the rock. John Rous, the C15 antiquarian, was a priest here.

This entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 13 September 2018.

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