Description

BIDEFORD

SS4526 CHURCH WALK 842-1/6/75 (South side) 08/11/49 Church of St Mary

GV II*

Parish Church. Probably C15; all but the tower rebuilt by Edward Ashworth in 1862-5. Fittings and monuments retained from old church. Stone rubble, with limestone details. Slate roof. Nave, N and S aisles with attached chapel on N, chancel, N and S chancel chapels, N and S porches, W tower. Both medieval and C19 parts in Perpendicular style. 3-stage tower with angle-buttresses at NW and SW corners; set-back buttresses at east end of north and south faces. 5-sided stair-turret on N face. Pointed-arched W doorway with double-ogee mouldings; C19 ribbed door with ornamental strap-hinges. Above it a 4-light traceried window with pointed arch (restored). Second stage has single-light windows with cinquefoil arches in N and S faces (both restored); that to S has square-headed slit window above it. 2-light apertures in each face, that to east apparently reduced in height to insert a clock; the other 3 openings have pointed arches, each light beneath having itself a plain pointed arch. Stair-turret has pointed-arched doorway (probably C19) with plank door having ornamental strap-hinges; 5 original slit windows. Tower finished with battlemented parapet. C19 body of church has traceried windows, mostly of 3, 4, or 5 lights; pointed arches, except for 4-centred ones on N and S sides of chancel chapels; hood-moulds have dramatic high-relief male and female heads as terminals. INTERIOR: nave has 6-bay aisle-arcades with 4-centred arches; similar 2-bay arcades in chancel. nave and S aisle have false hammerbeam roofs; arch-braced roofs over N aisle and chancel; wagon roofs over chancel chapels. Fittings: Norman stone font with scalloped bowl having carved panels and cable-mouldings. Doors in tower arch made up of early C16 carved bench-ends. C19 pulpit; white marble veined with orange; green and red marble attached columns; attached figure of Christ. Glass screen between the N aisle and chapel engraved by Peter Tysoe, 1982. Several stained glass windows, including east window by A Gibbs, 1865, and north window by Dix. Monuments: traceried stone screen between chancel and south chapel incorporating tomb of Sir Thomas Graynfild (d.1514); chest with quatrefoil panels carrying recumbent figure in armour; south aisle has wall monument with high-relief bust of John Strange, merchant (d.1646), four times mayor of Bideford; inscription recording his work during the plague, of which he died. (The Buildings of England: Cherry B: Devon (2nd edition): London: 1989-: P.174, 176).

Listing NGR: SS4538626423

External Links

• Church of St Mary at Wikipedia
• Church of St Mary official website
• Wikidata Q17536632

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)