St Mary's Church is an

Anglican parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and withi ...

, Dorset, England. It is a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

. Part of the Bridport Team Ministry, it is the civic church of the town and principal church of the Parish of Bridport. There is a strong connection with the Bridport United Church (

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

) and the two hold joint services, study groups and children's holiday clubs. The parish is linked with

Roumois The Roumois () is a region in the northwestern part of the Eure ''département'' in Normandy, France. It is a plateau situated southwest of Rouen. Its northern boundary is the Seine downstream of Elbeuf, its western boundary is the Risle valley. T ...

in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Évreux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Évreux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Ebroicensis''; French language, French: ''Diocèse d'Evreux'') is a Roman Catholic diocese in France. The diocese comprises the Departments of France, department of Eure within the Region ...

, Normandy, France. The church has a maximum capacity of 400 and hosts many events. It has a peal of eight bells.

History

The earliest remains of the church, dating from the early 13th century, are to be found in the north and south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s. Much of the rest of the building, including the central tower, dates from the late 14th century and the 15th century. The church was substantially restored and altered in the 19th century. There is a 17th-century

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

in St. Catherine's Chapel that commemorates Edward Coker who was killed in 1685 during the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

, reportedly of a gunshot wound on East Street.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Bridport Saint Mary's Church Church of England church buildings in Dorset Grade I listed churches in Dorset 13th-century church buildings in England