St Mary's Church is the civic church of Bury St Edmunds and is one of the largest

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

churches in England. It claims to have the second longest nave (after Christchurch Priory), and the largest West Window of any parish church in the country. It was part of the abbey complex and originally was one of three large churches in the town (the others being St James, now St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and St Margaret's, now gone).

History

The church's full name is 'The church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary'. The present church is not the first building to stand on the site, the first being built in the seventh century, founded by King Sigeberht. The second church was built in the early twelfth century by Abbot Anselm to replace the previous church of St Mary which was demolished to make space for the construction of the south wing of the Abbey Church. However, nothing survives of the Norman church and the oldest part of the existing building is the decorated chancel (c. 1290). There was a major renovation between the 14th and 16th centuries and it is at this point that the nave, its aisles and the tower were built. It is also at this time that

Mary Tudor, Queen of France Mary Tudor (; 18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533) was an English princess who was briefly Queen of France as the third wife of King Louis XII. Louis was more than 30 years her senior. Mary was the fifth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth ...

, favourite sister of Henry VIII (not to be confused with his daughter Mary I of England), died and was buried in the abbey church. When the abbey was destroyed, her body was removed and reburied here in St Mary's. Her tomb is in the sanctuary directly to the north of the Lord's table. The church, however, is dedicated to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, the mother of Jesus, and not, as some mistakenly believe, to Mary Tudor. A tablet was erected to her memory in 1758. At the suggestion of Edward VII, who visited the church in 1904, a marble kerb surrounds her grave stone. During the 16th century, John Notyngham and Jankyn Smyth, two wealthy local benefactors, bequeathed large amounts of money to the church. These funds contributed to building the north and south quire aisles, now the

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

and Royal Anglian (formerly Suffolk Regimental) chapel, two chantry chapels and a north and south porch. The north porch, known as the Notyngham porch, was built in 1437 in accordance with the will of John Notyngham. The south porch of 1523 was removed during a restoration in 1831. St Wolstan's chapel, on the north-west side, formerly held the Suffolk Regimental cenotaph until it was moved to the end of the north aisle. It now holds the church kitchen. The west window is believed to be the largest of any parish church in the country, measuring 35 ft 6in by 8 ft 6in. The church is awarded three stars by Simon Jenkins in his 1999 book ''England's Thousand Best Churches''. Jenkins, S. (1999), ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', London:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.traditional Anglican choir of boys and gentlemen, with a history dating back to as early as 1354, after which there are many references to singers and ‘childs with a surplys’. This tradition is believed to have remained untouched even during Puritan times. The choir has more recently toured Spain, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Malta, France, Belgium, and Germany, and has sung evensongs at cathedrals including

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

and St Paul's. The Choir is affiliated to the

RSCM The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, ...

, and choristers are trained using the RSCM ''Voice for Life'' scheme. 2010 saw the inception of St Mary's Ladies' Choir, and the Girls' Choir began in 2015. Although they are quite separate from the Church Choir, they join for large services, namely Easter, Harvest, Advent and Christmas.

Organ

There is evidence for an organ in St Mary's as early as 1467, in the will of John Baret which states that ‘ye pleyers at ye orgenys o be paidij d’. Another bequest from 1479 grants the organist 10d. The main organ is a four-manual instrument with 79 speaking stops. Built initially by John Gray of London in 1825, it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1865, 1885, and 1898 by J. W. Walker. There have been later rebuilds by

Hill, Norman and Beard William Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Limited (commonly known as Hill, Norman and Beard) were a major pipe organ manufacturer originally based in Norfolk. History They were founded in 1916 by the merger of Norman and Beard and William Hill & Sons ...

in 1931,

John Compton Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first Prime Minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton se ...

in 1959, and Kenneth Canter in 1988, the latter included providing a mobile console. The organ was over-hauled in 2009 by Clevedon Organ Services, and is equipped with a 250-channel memory. A separate, portable four-stop

chamber organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...

, possibly by John Harris (son of

Renatus Harris Renatus Harris (c. 1652 - 1724) was an English master organ maker in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. During the period of the Commonwealth, in the mid-seventeenth century, Puritans controlled the country and or ...

, c. 1677 – 1743) is placed in the Suffolk Regimental Chapel and is occasionally used as a continuo instrument.

Organists

The following list is taken from Peter Tryon's book. * Ralph Guest 1796–1822 * Robert Nunn 1822–1863 * Thomas Bentick Richardson 1864–1893 (formerly chorister and assistant organist at Salisbury Cathedral) * Matthew Kingston 1893–1896 * George William Boutell 1897–1909 * Edwin Percy Hallam 1909–1937 (subsequently organist at St Edmundsbury Cathedral) * Clifton Cecil Day 1937–1942 * Dr Adcock 1942–1948 * Norman Holdford Jones 1948–1969 * John Fear 1969–1980 * David Ivory 1980–1982 (formerly assistant) * Peter Tryon 1983–2015 * Adrian Marple 2015–2018 (formerly assistant; currently Director of Music at

Inverness Cathedral Inverness Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-Eaglais Inbhir Nis), also known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew (1866–69), is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church situated in the city of Inverness in Scotland close to the banks of ...

) * DB di Blasio 2018–2020 (formerly assistant) * Richard Baker 2021–2022 West Window, St Mary's, Bury St Edmunds

Notable burials

* Mary Tudor, Queen of France and sister of Henry VIII, (d. 1533). * Nicholas Clagett the Elder (d. 1662), English

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

cleric and ejected minister *Sir William Carew (d. 1501) of Bury St Edmunds, created a knight banneret by King Henry VII, after the Battle of Blackheath (1496). He was the fifth son of Nicholas III Carew of

Mohuns Ottery Mohuns Ottery or Mohun's Ottery ( "moon's awtrey"),Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M. (1931). ''The Place-Names of Devon''. English Place-Name Society. Vol viii. Part II. Cambridge University Press. p.642 is a house and historic manor in ...

in Devon, by his wife Joan Courtenay (born 1411), a daughter of Sir Hugh Courtenay (1358–1425) of

Haccombe Haccombe is a hamlet, former parish and historic manor in Devon, situated 2 1/2 miles east of Newton Abbot, in the south of the county. It is possibly the smallest parish in England, and was said in 1810 to be remarkable for containing only two ...

in Devon and of

Boconnoc Boconnoc ( kw, Boskennek) is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately four miles east of the town of Lostwithiel. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 96. The parish is rural in character and i ...

in Cornwall, MP and

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

, a grandson of

Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (12 July 1303 – 2 May 1377), 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton, played an important role in the Hundred Years War in the service of King Edward III. Hi ...

(1303–1377) and grandfather of

Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (c. 1527 – 18 September 1556) was an English nobleman during the rule of the Tudor dynasty. Born into a family with close royal connections, he was at various times considered a possible match for the ...

(d.1509) * Robert Drury (d. 1536),

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, and his wife Anne Calthorpe *

George Kirbye George Kirbye (c. 1565 – buried 6 October 1634) was an English composer of the late Tudor period and early Jacobean era. He was one of the members of the English Madrigal School, but also composed sacred music. Little is known of the de ...

(d. 1634), madrigalist and churchwarden of St Mary's *Peter Gedge (d. 1818), founder of the ''Bury and Norwich Post'' *John Reeve (d. 1540), last abbot of Bury St Edmunds

References

External links

The Parish of St. Mary's with St. Peter's, Bury St. Edmunds
{{Authority control

Bury Saint Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...