St. Mary's Church, Atherstone is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Co ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The stonework in the tower is in poor condition and hence the church is listed on

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

History

The ancient St. Mary's Chapel located in Atherstone dates from the early 12th century, when the monks of

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made a donation of to a house of friars and hermits, later referred to as “Austin friars." According to Nichols, the chapel was granted to Henry Cartwright in 1542, then left abandoned and neglected until 1692, when Samuel Bracebridge settled a yearly sum for the parson of Mancetter to preach there every other Sunday in the winter season. After this, St. Mary's Chapel has experienced some form of revival. Its square tower was rebuilt in the fashionable “

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

” style in 1782. This drastic alteration probably aroused some controversy, although the fine architectural drawing of the chapel made by

Jacob Schnebbelie Jacob Schnebbelie (30 August 1760 – 21 February 1792) was an English draughtsman, specialising in monuments and other historical subjects. Early life Jacob Schnebbelie was born in Duke's Court, St Martin's Lane, London, on 30 August 1760. His fa ...

in 1790 prompted Nichols to assert that “the new tower provides a good effect." St. Mary's was further redesigned in 1849 by

Thomas Henry Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870–73 and being awarded its Royal Gold Medal for A ...

and David Brandon. The chapel was restored to be used as a chancel in 1888.

Organ

The first record of an

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

is in 1852, when an instrument by Holdich was installed. This was replaced in 1898, when an organ by Henry Jones and Sons was obtained from Christ Church, South Banbury. A specification of the organ can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atherstone, Saint Mary Saint Mary's Church Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Warwickshire 13th-century church buildings in England Grade II* listed churches in Warwickshire Church of England church buildings in Warwickshire