Taunton Minster (St Mary Magdalene church) 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 Britai ...

parish

minster church Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire. The term ''minster'' is first found in royal foundation charte ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. It was completed in 1508 and is in the Early Tudor Perpendicular Gothic style. It is designated as a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

. It is notable for its very tall tower.

History and description

St Mary's church was probably established as part of the reorganisation of Taunton by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, by 1180, and has been the town church since 1308. Prior to 1308 the church was dependent on the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

Taunton Priory Taunton Priory, or the Priory of St Peter and St Paul, was an Augustinian house of canons founded c. 1115 by William Gyffarde (also called William Giffard), Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England near Taunton, Somerset, England. Histo ...

. A new chapel was consecrated in 1437. It is built of sandstone and has a painted interior. Most of the statues and stained glass date from the

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 proc ...

. Within the church are a variety of memorials and tablets including War Memorials for soldiers from Somerset, including the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

. The tower was built around 1503, financed by the prosperity created by the wool trade, and was rebuilt in 1858–1862 (in replica) by Sir George Gilbert Scott and Benjamin Ferrey, using Otter sandstone from Sir Alexander hood's quarry at

Williton Williton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. Williton sta ...

and some Igneous Diorite from Hestercombe. It is considered to be one of the best examples of a Somerset tower and is a local landmark. The tower is 131 feet (40 metres) high to the roof and 158 feet (48 metres) high to the tips of the pinnacles. The tower was described by Simon Jenkins, an acknowledged authority on English churches, as being "the noblest parish tower in England". The tower itself has 15 bells and a clock mechanism. 12 are hung for full-circle ringing, tenor tuned to D. In addition there is a "flat 6th" which allows bells 2–9 to be rung as a lighter 8. The ringing bells, along with two additional bells form a chime, also (though technically incorrectly) referred to as a carillon. The present ring of bells were cast by Taylors of

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

in 2016. There is also an older display bell cast by the

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 ...

in 1922. The church has suffered from the weather over the years and there have been various appeals for funding to repair the fabric of the building including one for £135,000, to repair the tower's stonework after two pinnacles fell through the roof. In 2009 vandals damaged some of the windows of the church, however the stained glass, which includes fragments from the

medieval era In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

were undamaged as they are protected by wire mesh.

Joseph Alleine Joseph Alleine (baptised 8 April 1634 – 17 November 1668) was an English Nonconformist pastor and author of many religious works. Life Alleine belonged to a family that had originally settled in Suffolk. As early as 1430, some of the descenda ...

the noted Puritan minister and author was curate of the church in the 1660s and is buried in the churchyard.

Present day

Taunton Minster (St Mary Magdalene church) is now part of a combined benefice with the Church of St John the Evangelist, Taunton. It is within the

Archdeaconry of Taunton The Archdeacon of Taunton has been, since the twelfth century, the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells (in the Church of England). The archdeaconry includes seven deaneries. Hist ...

in the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the ...

. The church had been of a low church and

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

since its medieval foundation, but it has moved towards a

central churchmanship Central churchmanship describes those who adhere to a middle way in the Anglican Communion of the Christian religion and other Anglican church bodies, being neither markedly high church/Anglo-Catholic nor low church/evangelical Anglican in their ...

in recent times. At a special service on Sunday 13 March 2022, St Mary Magdalene church became Taunton Minster.

References

External links

*
St Mary Magdalene web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taunton, Saint Mary Magdalene Church of England church buildings in Taunton Deane Religious buildings and structures completed in 1508 Grade I listed churches in Somerset

Saint Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

Grade I listed buildings in Taunton Deane

History and description

Present day

See also

References

Further reading

External links