Church of St Mary, Great Bedwyn
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The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is the parish church of
Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun (River Kennet), River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough, Wilt ...
, Wiltshire, England, and 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. The church was built in the Norman style in the 12th century, but beneath the existing building are Saxon remains dating back to the 10th century. The church boasts a handsome memorial to Sir John Seymour, father of
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...
's wife Jane Seymour, and grandfather of King Edward VI of England.


History

The church has Anglo-Saxon origins. In A.D. 905, the bishop of Winchester purchased land in
Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun (River Kennet), River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough, Wilt ...
to build a church. Beneath the existing church are the substantial remains of a
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
church.


Norman era

The
Domesday 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 ...
survey of 1086 recorded a church at ''Beduinde'', held by Brictward the priest, with church lands worth one and a half hides. Income from the church, along with St Michael's at
Little Bedwyn Little Bedwyn (also spelt Little Bedwin, and sometimes called Bedwyn Parva) is a village and civil parish on the River Dun in Wiltshire, England, about south-west of the market town of Hungerford in neighbouring Berkshire. The parish includes ...
, was granted to Salisbury Cathedral in 1091.


16th century

In the chancel is a memorial to Sir
John Seymour (1474–1536) Sir John Seymour, Knight banneret (c. 1474 – 21 December 1536) was an English soldier and a courtier who served both Henry VII and Henry VIII. Born into a prominent gentry family, he is best known as the father of the Henry VIII's th ...
, father of
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...
's wife Jane Seymour, father to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and grandfather of King Edward VI of England. Seymour's monument – removed from Easton Royal priory in 1590 – consists of a chest tomb displaying heraldic escutcheons, surmounted by his recumbent effigy, fully dressed in armour with hands in prayer, his head resting on his helm from which projects the sculpted Seymour crest of a pair of wings. His feet rest on a lion and a sword lies by his side. On the wall above is fixed a tablet inscribed as follows: A transcript was made of the inscriptions of the Seymour monuments by the topographer John Aubrey on his visit to the church in 1672, who also recorded the heraldry on the monument at that date, much of which has been lost.


17th century

Thomas Willis Thomas Willis FRS (27 January 1621 – 11 November 1675) was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. Life Willis was born on his pare ...
(1621–1675), the great Oxford physician and natural philosopher, was born at Great Bedwyn on 27 January 1621 and was baptized on 14 February at the church. Still present in the church today is the elegant tomb of Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (1599–1674), the daughter of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who was executed for treason in 1601. Frances Seymour was the second wife of
William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, (158824 October 1660) was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Origins Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (who predeceased his own father) by his wif ...
, and the mother of his seven children.


Architecture

The cruciform church is built in flint with limestone dressings. Pevsner writes that the crossing tower is "of just the right height in relation to nave, chancel and transepts", but notes the lack of early details to the exterior. The arcades are from the late 12th century, although Pevsner says Wyatt's work in the 19th century left the capitals "over-restored". The chancel was rebuilt and made longer in the late 13th century. The tower is early 14th century (its openwork battlements added later) and the crossing and transepts were added around the same time. The end windows of the transepts have ogee tracery, in a barbed design which is also found at the cruciform church at Downton and at Malmesbury Abbey.
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
in 1853–5 by the diocesan architect
T.H. Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870–73 and being awarded its Royal Gold Medal for A ...
included new roofs throughout.


Interior

In the south transept are two early 14th-century tomb recesses. In one of them lies a stone effigy of a knight with shield and drawn sword, said to be Sir Adam de Stokke (died 1313), the builder of the transepts. In the 1850s the 14th-century oak chancel screen was removed (it is now across the north transept) and replaced by rails delicately made in wrought iron. Wyatt provided a stone font and pulpit, in a style called "muscular Gothic" by Julian Orbach in his update of Pevsner's book. The 15th-century font was transferred to Weston, Hertfordshire. All six bells are from the 17th century, the oldest cast by John Wallis at the Salisbury foundry in 1623. There is also a sanctus bell made in 1741 by John Cor at Aldbourne.


Churchyard

North-west of the church stands the Grade II* listed base and shaft of a 14th-century limestone churchyard cross, capped with a 17th-century polyhedral sundial. Nearby, facing the entrance from Church Street, is the parish war memorial of c.1920: a tall shaft has an ornately carved cross, and a three-sided wall carries the names of those killed in the First World War. Chest tombs include several for the Tanners of Wexcombe (dated 1797 to 1845) and another for Elizabeth Pinckney of Tidcombe (1800).


Prebend and parish

From the late 11th century, the Bedwyn prebendary at Salisbury was rector of Bedwyn church. The prebendary had the status of an
archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
, with jurisdiction over Great Bedwyn,
Little Bedwyn Little Bedwyn (also spelt Little Bedwin, and sometimes called Bedwyn Parva) is a village and civil parish on the River Dun in Wiltshire, England, about south-west of the market town of Hungerford in neighbouring Berkshire. The parish includes ...
and later
Collingbourne Ducis Collingbourne Ducis is a village and civil parish on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, about south of Marlborough. It is one of several villages on the River Bourne which is a seasonal river, usually dry in summer. The parish includes ...
parishes; this became known as the peculiar of the Lord Warden of Savernake Forest. After the prebend was dissolved in 1543 the jurisdiction and its visitation court continued, only ceasing in 1847. The prebendal manor was part of the
Tottenham House Tottenham House is a large Grade I listed English country house in the parish of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, about five miles southeast of the town of Marlborough. It is separated from the town by Savernake Forest, which is part of the Tottenham ...
estate from 1567, until the land was sold to the Crown in 1950 by the 6th Marquess of Ailesbury. A vicarage had been ordained at Bedwyn by 1316. The ancient parish had a wide extent, and at one time or another there were
chapels of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...
at East Grafton,
Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
, Wilton, Little Bedwyn, Chisbury and Knowle (near Chisbury); only the buildings at Little Bedwyn and Chisbury stand today, although the latter chapel fell out of use after 1547. In the 16th century or perhaps earlier, Little Bedwyn became a separate parish. In 1844 a church was built at East Grafton and the southern part of Great Bedwyn parish assigned to it, then in 1864 a north-western part was transferred to the new church of St Katharine on the Tottenham House estate. In 1982 the benefices of Great Bedwyn, Little Bedwyn, and St Katharine were united. Today the parish is within the area of the Savernake Team, a group of eleven village parishes.


Gallery

File:St Mary's Great Bedwin Interior.jpg, St Mary's, Great Bedwin, interior File:Tomb of Frances Devereux.jpg, Tomb of Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, widow of
William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, (158824 October 1660) was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Origins Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (who predeceased his own father) by his wif ...


References


Further reading

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Bedwyn, Saint Mary Church of England church buildings in Wiltshire Grade I listed churches in Wiltshire 12th-century church buildings in England