The Church of St Mary is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in the village of

Selborne Selborne is a village in Hampshire, England, south of Alton, Hampshire, Alton, and just within the northern boundary of the South Downs National Park. The village receives visitors because of its links with the naturalist Revd. Gilbert White, a ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. It is in the Diocese of Winchester. The building is

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 ...

; The church dates from about 1180, with modifications in the medieval period and restoration in the 19th century.

History and description

The oldest part of the church, the four-bay arcades 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 ...

, dates from about 1180. The north aisle, later rebuilt, is thought to have its original width. The south aisle was widened about 1220, to a size similar to that of the nave, and it has a separate roof. A north

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 ...

was built about 1305. The tower has had many alterations made, and was repaired in 1781; its original date is not known.'The parish of Selborne', in ''A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3'', ed. William Page (London, 1908), pp. 4-16
British History Online. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

19th century

There was restoration 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 ...

about 1840; of the nave and north transept in 1877; and the south aisle and tower were restored in 1883. More work was done to the chancel in 1889. The chancel arch, of 1856, by William White, is a copy of the nave arcades.

Interior

The font, at the west end of the south aisle, dating from the 12th century, is plain and round; the cover is made of wood from the Selborne Yew. Over the altar there is a painting of the Adoration of the Magi by

Jan Mostaert Jan Mostaert (c. 1475 – 1552/1553) was a Dutch Renaissance painter who is known mainly for his religious subjects and portraits. One of his most famous creations was the ''Landscape with an Episode from the Conquest of America''. There are ve ...

, of about 1510. It is a triptych, showing Saint Andrew on the north side and Saint George on the south. It was given to the church in 1793 by Benjamin White. Also in the church is a Flemish wood carving of about 1520, of the Descent from the Cross, originally a panel from a

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

. It was the gift of John Turner, Archdeacon of Basingstoke. In the south aisle is a stained glass three-light window fitted in 1920, a memorial to the naturalist Gilbert White, depicting St Francis and the Birds; the birds shown are all mentioned in White's '' The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''. White was the curate of Selborne for many years, and is buried in the churchyard.''St Mary's Church, Selborne''
Retrieved 16 March 2023.

The Selborne Yew

Plaque on the church porch at Selborne - geograph

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

stands on the left-hand side of the path leading to the south porch. It was planted about 600 A.D., and in Gilbert White's time its girth was . In ''The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne'' it is included among the village's antiquities. It was blown down in a storm on 25 January 1990; the trunk was replanted, but it was declared dead in 1991. A cutting from the tree is growing in the churchyard."The Great Yew of Selborne"
''Hampshire History''. Retrieved 16 March 2023."The Selborne Yew"
''European Romanticisms in Association''. Retrieved 16 March 2023. The Selborne Yew was selected in 2002 by

the Tree Council The Tree Council was founded in 1974 in the United Kingdom, and became a Charitable organization#Charity registration, registered charity in 1978. Its primary objective is to act as an umbrella organisation for local groups involved in the plant ...

as one of the 50 Great British Trees marking the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Beneath the tree is the grave, lacking a headstone, of the village trumpeter John Newland. He took part in the Swing Riots of 1830; the rioters were captured by soldiers, but Newland escaped. He was eventually pardoned, and he returned to Selborne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selborne, Church of St Mary Grade I listed churches in Hampshire Church of England church buildings in Hampshire English churches with Norman architecture Diocese of Winchester