The

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 t ...

Church of St Mary the Virgin in

Chard Chard or Swiss chard (; '' Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf bl ...

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 , lor ...

, England dates from the late 11th century and was rebuilt in the 15th century. It has been 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 I ...

. Due to the effects of a leak in the roof it was added to the Heritage at Risk Register in 2013. The

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It c ...

cruciform church has an aisled

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-typ ...

and north and south porches. The north transept has an oak roof, which was refurbished in 1975. The south transept contains the organ, built in 1883. The church used to have galleries. The Fawcus chapel in the north aisle, dedicated to a local physician, includes the Brewer Memorial . The west tower was built between 1505 and 1520 and contains a peal of eight bells, of which two were made in the 1790s by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family in Cullompton. The three-stage tower has moulded string courses and an angle stair turret in the north-west corner. The clock chimes each quarter-hour in a setting often known as Chard Chimes. There is a church room built in 1827. The parish is part of the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Chard, St. Mary with Combe St Nicholas, Wambrook and

Whitestaunton Whitestaunton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Northay. It was known simply as Staunton until the 14th century. History The univallate Iron Age hill fort at Hor ...

within the deanery of Crewkerne and Ilminster.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chard, Mary the Virgin Church of England church buildings in South Somerset Grade I listed churches in Somerset Saint Mary 11th-century church buildings in England Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset

See also

References