St Mary's Church, St Mary's is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

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 ...

located in

Hugh Town Hugh Town ( kw, Treworenys or ) is the largest settlement on the Isles of Scilly and its administrative centre. The town is situated on the island of St Mary's, the largest and most populous island in the archipelago, and is located on a narrow ...

St Mary's, Isles of Scilly St Mary's ( kw, Ennor, meaning ''The Mainland'') is the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in England. Description St Mary's has an area of — 40 percent of the total la ...

, UK. The Church was consecrated on 7 September 1838 and replaced the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

which was inconvenient for the Hugh Town population and in need of repair.

History

Augustus Smith although not an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

designed the church and according to a letter, penned by himself to the secretary of the

Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...

was very pleased with his architectural skill. Smith laid the foundation stone on 31 October 1836, on a site at the eastern end of Hugh Town on high ground between Carn Thomas and Buzza Hill. Vyvyan (1960) describes the building as ° ''... bold rather than pleasing, plain rather than ornate, characteristics which mark the interior also''″.

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

granted £1,500 towards its erection, it was completed in August 1838 and was consecrated on 7 September 1838. The proposed inscription for the church, according to a memorandum in Smith's handwriting was to be ″''This Church was erected by the munificence of His Majesty, King William the Fourth, a lasting memorial of his zeal and of his paternal regard for the inhabitants of these Islands''.° It actually reads ″''In the year of our Lord, 1837, this Church was erected by the munificence of His Majesty King William IV. The same was completed at the expense of Augustus Smith, Esq''″. The interior contains the coloured and gilded wooden lion from the flagship of

Sir Cloudesley Shovell Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. ...

, wrecked in 1707. Outside the church are two lead water cisterns, with heraldic plaques and cartouches set in strapwork panels, dating from 1727 and brought here from

Star Castle ''Star Castle'' is a vector graphics Vector graphics is a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associat ...

. The church was repaired by Corfield (C. Russell and Son), Architects of Falmouth between 1979 and 1980.

Stained glass

The east window dates from 1899 and is by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lichg ...

. The west window dates from 1937 and was designed by Arthur Lucien Ward. Two north windows by Alfred Wilkinson were added in 1967.

Bells

The peal of eight bells were cast together at

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells a ...

to a

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bel ...

1922 profile in 2008. The bell frame was constructed and bells hung by Nicholson Engineering of

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 ...

2009. The dedication of the eight new bells, clock and chimes was by the

Bishop of Truro The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury. History There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Crediton ...

Timothy Martin Thornton, on his first visit to the Islands. This was on 21 May 2009.

Organ

The church pipe organ is by Willis and dates from 1866. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

Parish structure

St Mary's Church is within the United Benefice of the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...

parishes, comprising * All Saints' Church, Bryher *

St Agnes' Church, St Agnes St Agnes' Church is a parish church in the Church of England located in St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, UK. History The Anglican church is dedicated to St Agnes of Rome. The first church was built in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, but it w ...

* St Martin's Church, St Martin's *

St Mary's Old Church, St Mary's St Mary's Old Church, St Mary's is a parish church in the Church of England located in Old Town on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, United Kingdom. History The Anglican church of St Mary was built at Old Town, Isles of Scilly during the 1 ...

St Nicholas's Church, Tresco St Nicholas's Church, Tresco, is a parish church in the Church of England located in Tresco, Isles of Scilly, UK. History Originally two old cottages were used by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) as a church. Augustus Smith ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's, Saint Mary's Church 1838 establishments in England Church of England church buildings in the Isles of Scilly Grade II listed churches in Cornwall St Mary's, Isles of Scilly