St Mary's Church, Dymock
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St Mary's Church, Dymock is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
parish church in the center of the village of
Dymock Dymock is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, about four miles south of Ledbury. In 2014 the parish had an estimated population of 1,205. Dymock is the origin of the Dymock Red, a cider apple ...
in
Gloucestershire, England Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the ...
. It is a
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
building.


History

The building is mainly Norman and is mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
(1086 AD). The tower dates from the 15th century. The church had further
Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive wikt:refurbish, refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England church (building), churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century Victorian era, re ...
by John Middleton in the 19th century. The church has been placed on the
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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
Heritage at risk 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 acti ...
register because of slow deterioration of the stonework of the tower and
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es. The parish is part of the
benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
of Redmarley D'Abitot, Bromesberrow,
Pauntley Pauntley is a village and civil parish in the district of Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. In 2019 it had a population of 304. School Pauntley Church of England Primary School is located at the top of Poolhill. History The name "Pa ...
and Upleadon within the
Diocese of Gloucester The Diocese of Gloucester is a Church of England diocese based in Gloucester, covering the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire. The cathedral is Gloucester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Gloucester. It is part of the Province ...
.


Dymock sculptors

Dymock is celebrated as the centre of a mediaeval school of
Romanesque sculpture Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 19th-centur ...
that was first described in detail by George Zarnecki in 1950. It was more fully analysed by the Reverend
John Eric Gethyn-Jones Canon John Eric Gethyn-Jones MBE FSA (9 October 1909 – 9 November 1995) was a clergyman and historian of Gloucestershire. He served in the Royal Army Chaplains' Department during the Second World War for which he was awarded the MBE in 1945. L ...
, who renamed it after the Dymoch church which contains all of its characteristic motifs. Evidence of the work is also found in other churches within a ten-mile radius.


Architecture

The church consists of a long 12th-century
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and a west tower dating from the 15th century, topped with a short octagonal pyramid spire. It has a south porch, and a south chapel immediately east of it. There is a north chapel not facing the south one, but further to the west. East of the nave is a 12th-century bay that was originally the lower story of a crossing tower. The tower and octagonal spire include a small octagonal stair turret and is supported by
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es. The church includes several examples of
Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
including the doorway and windows of the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, the stringcourse of the tower and part of the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
wall. The west end of the nave is devoted to a display of the Dymock poets, their work and associations. Within the church is a memorial to the men of Dymock who died in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


References


Further reading

* Crawley-Boevey A. W., ''The Cartulary and Historical Notes of the Cistercian Abbey of Flaxley'' (Exeter: Privately printed, 1887), p. 159. * Gethyn-Jones, J. E., ''The Dymock School of Sculpture'' (London and Chichester: Phillimor, 1979). * Jones, J. E. G., ''Dymock down the Ages'' (1966). * Taylor, H. M., and J. Taylor, ''Anglo-Saxon Architecture'' (1965). * Thurlby, M., ''The Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture'' (Eardisley: Logaston, 1999), pp. 20–23 and ''passim''. * Verey, D., ''Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and the Forest of Dean'', The Buildings of England (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970; 2nd ed., 1976), pp. 175–77. * ''Victoria County History: Gloucestershire XII''. Online text in progress, Dymock, August 2007. * Zarnecki, G., ''Regional Schools of English Sculpture in the Twelfth Century: The Southern School and the Herefordshire School''. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of London, 1950, pp. 223–28. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dymock Churches in Gloucestershire Church of England church buildings in Gloucestershire Grade I listed churches in Gloucestershire