St Mary's Church, Dymock is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

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 ...

Gloucestershire, England Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Glou ...

. It is a

Grade I 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 ...

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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

(1086 AD). The tower dates from the 15th century. The church had further

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proce ...

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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

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 actio ...

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 buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

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 ...

Redmarley D'Abitot Redmarley D'Abitot is a civil parish and village in the Forest of Dean district, Gloucestershire, South West England. In addition to the village of Redmarley, the civil parish also includes the settlements of Lowbands, Haw Cross, Playley Green, ...

Bromesberrow Bromsberrow (or Bromesberrow) is part of the Forest of Dean district. The village is close to the meeting point between Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. The nearest town is Ledbury, about four miles north in Herefordshire. A ...

, Pauntley 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-century ...

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. Lat ...

, 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

es. The church includes several examples of

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

including the doorway and windows of the

, the stringcourse of the tower and part of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

wall. The west end of the nave is devoted to a display of the

Dymock poets The Dymock poets were a literary group of the early 20th century who made their homes near the village of Dymock in Gloucestershire, in England, near to the border with Herefordshire. Significant figures and events The 'Dymock Poets' are genera ...

, their work and associations. Within the church is a memorial to the men of Dymock who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Dymock sculptors

Architecture

References

Further reading