St. Mary's Church, Fordingbridge on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
St Mary's Church, Fordingbridge is a 12th–13th-century church in Hampshire, England. It was restored in the 19th century.
Externally the Church has changed little since the 16th century although originally the exterior flint work would have been plastered like one of its neighbours, St Mary,
Avon Valley Partnership
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fordingbridge, St Mary's Church Church of England church buildings in Hampshire Grade I listed churches in Hampshire St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, Fordingbridge is a 12th–13th-century church in Hampshire, England. It was restored in the 19th century.
History
A church is mentioned in the '' Domesday Book'' in 1086. It was rebuilt by the Normans around 1150 and would then have been an open space internally. The North Chapel and north and south aisles were added around 1230. Within another 100 years theclerestory
In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
had been added, the tower raised (in modern times housing 8 bells plus a Sanctus bell) and the North Chapel extended. The Chapel has a straight tie beam truss roof
A timber roof truss is a structural framework of timbers designed to bridge the space above a room and to provide support for a roof. Trusses usually occur at regular intervals, linked by longitudinal timbers such as purlins. The space between each ...
of chestnut that masquerades as a hammerbeam roof
A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams pr ...
.
Lands in Fordingbridge and the advowson of the church were granted to King's College, Cambridge in 1447 by Henry VI, after being given to the Crown by Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham.
Externally the Church has changed little since the 16th century although originally the exterior flint work would have been plastered like one of its neighbours, St Mary, Breamore
Breamore ( ) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish near Fordingbridge in Hampshire, England. The parish includes a notable Elizabethan English country house, country house, Breamore House, built with an E-shaped ground plan. T ...
. Internally the Church looks much as it did after the 1840 renovation except for the addition of the organ in 1887 and the reredos in 1920. The church was restored between 1901 and 1903 under the direction of Charles Ponting
The Church once had a "three-decker" pulpit but this has been removed. In very recent years the Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
pews were replaced by chairs to facilitate using the space much more flexibly. In 2000 a new window was commissioned in the south aisle to commemorate the millennium. Also two of the bells were sent to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry to be recast and re-tuned.
Vicarages
There are two survivingvicarage
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically own ...
s in Fordingbridge, the imposing residence opposite the West Front built in 1817 and now converted to apartments and the current, more modern building opposite the South side.
Churchyard
The churchyard has a monument to thesafe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
building family "Chubb", and also a memorial to the last British man killed in a duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
in England, James Alexander Seton
James Alexander Seton (1816 – 2 June 1845) was the last British person to be killed in a duel on English soil.
Early life
James Alexander Seton was born in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in 1816, the son of Colonel James Seton and Margaret Findla ...
. Along with all the town burial sites (except the new Catholic burial ground) St Mary's Churchyard was closed in 1896 and replaced by the new cemetery at Stuckton Road. In modern times the Churchyard has been cleared to allow easier maintenance and many of the gravestones now form the path from the lichgate to the North Porch. The original locations of some of the stones and the owners of some of worn stones can be deduced from the Fordingbridge Sexton's register which covers the period from 1730.
Services
The church choir can usually be heard every Sunday supporting services such as the Family Communion, with traditional Evensong on the third and fourth Sunday evenings each month There is an annual Patronal Festival on the 1st weekend in July.References
External links
Avon Valley Partnership
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fordingbridge, St Mary's Church Church of England church buildings in Hampshire Grade I listed churches in Hampshire St Mary's Church