The Church of St Mary in

Meare Meare is a village and civil parish north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Westhay. History Meare is a marshland village in typical Somerset " rhyne" c ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, was formerly in the keeping of

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It w ...

, and dates from 1323. It was built for Abbot Adam of Sodbury, and is 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 ...

. There is a legend that the church was built on the site of a cell of the monk Saint Beonna (also Benen or Beon), who was later confused with

Benignus of Armagh Saint Benignus of Armagh (died 467) was the son of Sesenen, an Irish chieftain in the part of Ireland that is now called as County Meath. He was baptised into the Christian faith by St. Patrick, and became his favourite disciple and his coadjuto ...

, between the 5th and 9th centuries. His remains was moved to Glastonbury Abbey in 1091. The current

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. Ov ...

and tower date from the building's construction in 1323 when it was consecrated by

John Droxford John Droxford (sometimes John Drokensford; died 9 May 1329), was a Bishop of Bath and Wells. He was elected 5 February 1309 and consecrated 9 November 1309.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 228 Early life Droxford, born probabl ...

, the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

. Around 1470 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 ...

was rebuilt by Abbot John Selwood and the work completed by Abbot Richard Beere. The church has a 15th-century stone pulpit, wooden chest from 1705 and candelabra from 1777. The tower holds a peal of six bells. The parish is part of the benefice of Glastonbury

St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and

St Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orie ...

with Meare, which is part of the Glastonbury deanery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meare, Church of St Mary Buildings and structures completed in 1323 Grade I listed churches in Somerset Church of England church buildings in Mendip District Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District

See also

References