St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from " Little St Mary's". It is one of the Greater Churches. It is designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building. In addition to being a parish church in the

Diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now co ...

, it is the university church for the University of Cambridge. As such it has a minor role in the university's legislation: for example, university officers must live within 20 miles of Great St Mary's and undergraduates within three. The church also hosts the "University Sermons" and houses the University Organ and the University Clock. The latter chimes the "

Cambridge Quarters The Westminster Quarters, from its use at the Palace of Westminster, is a melody used by a set of four quarter bells to mark each quarter-hour. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes, Cambridge Quarters or Cambridge Chimes from its place of ...

" which were later used by the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament ("

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...

").

History

The first mention of the church is a record of King John presenting Thomas de Chimeleye to the rectory in 1205.The city of Cambridge – Churches , British History Online
/ref> The foundations of the church may date to 1010, but the church was mostly destroyed by fire 9 July 1290 and then rebuilt. At the time, this fire was attributed to the Jewish population of the city, with the result that the synagogue was closed. Prior to 1352, it was known as The Church of St Mary the Virgin, but since that year has become known by its modern name. During its early years, the patronage of the church (that is, the right to name the incumbent) belonged to the crown, but on 15 July 1342, the patronage was passed to King's Hall. When King's Hall was subsumed by Henry VIII into Trinity College the patronage of the University Church also passed to Trinity, where it has rested since. The orders for the consecration of the new church were sent out on 17 May 1346, but were not enacted until 15 March 1351. 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

Senate House Senate House may refer to: * The building housing a legislative senate ** List of legislative buildings **Senate House State Historic Site, in Kingston, New York, where the state's first Constitution was ratified in 1777. * The building (formerly) h ...

was built across the street. 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 Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

and Henry VII. The church was restored by James Essex in 1766. In 1850–51 a restoration was carried out by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

, 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. Various leading philosophers of the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

preached there, notably Erasmus.

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...

, 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.

Present day

Great St Mary's stands in the Liberal Catholic tradition of the Church of England. It is a member of

Inclusive Church Inclusive Church is an organisation founded in 2003 that advocates for the full inclusion of all people regardless of ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, in the Christian churches (especially the Church of England), including in the threef ...

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 The Society of Cambridge Youths is a bellringing society founded and based in Cambridge. It is dedicated to ringing the bells of the university church, Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge, Great St Mary's, Cambridge for religious services at th ...

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. In 2009 the old ring of bells was replaced with a new ring cast by Taylors Eayre and Smith Ltd, made possible by a donation from Dr Martin C Faulkes. The new ring of 13 bells in the key of D (including a flat bell no. 6 providing a lighter ring of 8 bells in the key of G) has a tenor weighing 24cwt. Some of the original bells have been retained to continue sounding the Cambridge Chimes.

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 'Father' Bernard Smith. It was added to over the 18th and 19th centuries until a major (yet sensitive) rebuild was carried out by William Hill in 1870. The organ saw further work in 1963 from Hill, Norman and Beard (again remarkably sensitive for the time) and was extensively restored in 1995 by Mander Organs, and rededicated on 30 January 1996. It is a noted historic instrument, a significant monument to the work of William Hill, and, in addition, likely the largest repository of Father Smith pipework in a single instrument. The Parish Organ was built in 1991 by Kenneth Jones and Associates. It replaced an earlier instrument by Miller of Cambridge (one time organist of Great St Mary's) dating from 1869.

Architecture and features

The church is designed in the Late Perpendicular style. The stained glass is the work of Hardman and was added between 1867 and 1869. 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. The sculpture is by

Alan Durst Alan Lydiat Durst (1883–1970) was a British sculptor and wood carver and member of the London Group of artists. Three of Durst's work are held in the permanent collection of Tate Gallery. Personal life Alan Durst was born at the rectory in ...

List of vicars

Philip Waggett Philip Napier Waggett (27 February 1862 – 4 July 1939) was a British Anglican priest, scholar, and military chaplain. Early life and education Waggett was born on 27 February 1862 in Kensington, London, England. He was one of four sons of John ...

(1927–1930) * Mervyn Stockwood (1955-1959); afterwards Bishop of Southwark *

Joseph Fison Joseph Edward Fison (18 March 1906 – 2 July 1972) was an Anglican bishop. He was the 74th Bishop of Salisbury. Fison was educated at Shrewsbury School and then at The Queen's College, Oxford, where he took second-class honours in Classical Mod ...

(1959-1963); afterwards Bishop of Salisbury * Hugh Montefiore (1963-1970); afterwards Bishop of Kingston, then of Birmingham *

Stanley Booth-Clibborn Stanley Eric Francis Booth-Clibborn (20 October 1924 – 6 March 1996) was a British Anglican bishop in the late 20th century. He was Bishop of Manchester from 1979 to 1992. He was well known during his episcopal ministry for his outspoken polit ...

(1973-1979); afterwards Bishop of Manchester *

Michael Mayne Michael Clement Otway Mayne, (10 September 1929 – 22 October 2006) was an English priest of the Church of England who served as the Dean of Westminster. Early life Michael Clement Otway Mayne was born at Harlestone, Northamptonshire, the ...

(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)

Burials and funerals

(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

References

External links

Great St Mary's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary The Great, Cambridge, Church Buildings and structures of the University of Cambridge Culture of the University of Cambridge History of the University of Cambridge Major Churches Network Church of England church buildings in Cambridge Anthony Salvin buildings Cambridge,Mary the Great Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge Churches completed in 1519