St Mary's Church is an Anglican

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the centre of the town of

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

, England. The church has a rich and long history, being over 900 years old and has been rebuilt and refurbished constantly over the centuries. The Church is one of the largest in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

and considered a fine example of

medieval 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 ...

architecture. The Church is part of the St Albans

Diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

. The church is grade-I listed and the only one to be a grade-I listed building in the whole of Luton.

History

Original church

The site of St Mary's has been the centre of worship for people in the area for over 1,000 years, and a church was built in about 930 AD by

King Athelstan King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

as an act of thanksgiving for victory over the Danes. The land here was owned by the king in Saxon and early

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

times and the church was very richly endowed.

12th century

The current church was built by

Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved ...

in 1121 and consecrated in 1137. The original structure of the church was a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

without aisles, but with the increases in population, the north and south aisles were added within 40 years of each other around the start of the 13th century.

14th century

This was a time of great extension to the church, with a tower being built,

transepts A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

being extended, with twin arches opening into the new chapels on their east side. A vaulted sacristy with an upper room was built north of the chancel and a new font was given a unique canopy of richly carved stone in an octagonal shape.

15th century

A lot of

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 ...

and

rebuilding Remanufacturing is "the rebuilding of a product to specifications of the original manufactured product using a combination of reused, repaired and new parts". It requires the repair or replacement of worn out or obsolete components and modules. P ...

work was carried out in this time, with Someries chapel being extended, the sacristy being re-built further east and the west tower made taller and having most of the windows renewed. All this work was carried out with the help of Lord John Wenlock, whose family had been connected with the church since 1389. In 1461 the chapel was renamed the Wenlock Chapel, and William Wenlock (father of John) is one of three people interred there. In addition to the Wenlock Chapel there is also the Hoo Chapel, the Rotheram family monuments and the Barnard Chantry chapel.

19th and 20th centuries

Again, in this time,

work began to help restore the church to its full glory. The distinctive

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

and

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

chequer was extended to cover most of the church and the tower was restored in 1906 and the Wenlock Chapel was also restored in 1914. In the 1960s, offices, halls and

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...

were built in the chequered style to provide more space and the Magnificat Window in the south transept was installed in 1979. The church has also installed projection screens, moved the pulpit to its former position and completely replaced the Victorian heating system in 2019.

The Friends of St Mary's

Much of the funding for the building has come from th
Friends of St Mary's Luton
who have raised over £1 million since 1965.

Clock of St Mary's

The

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...

itself was installed in 1901, and faced west across the town. However, after two overhauls in 1909 and 1949, which included the installation of a new bell, the clock's mechanism's seized and gave up in 1979. The bell was not heard for 28 years, until the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

(formerly of Luton), decided to offer to help restore the clock, ready for the new year and the millennium. The university owned buildings next to the church and decided it was time to restore the clock to its former glory. The clock was officially re-opened on 11 November 1999,

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...

Present day

St Mary's currently stands in the

Open Evangelical An open evangelical attempts to uphold evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both individuals and institutions. Uses Open ...

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 ...

of the Church of England. It has been known for its youth work in the town and its pioneerin
peace and reconciliation ministry
The area next to St Mary's Church (Power Court) has been due to be renovated for years. Currently Luton Town Football Club have proposed to develop the site with a stadium and other facilities. The project has been granted planning permission and is due to be completed in 2021.

Architecture

The architecture of St Mary's is varied as the church has been renovated and rebuilt many times, but the basic layout is that of a cruciform, with north–south aisles and many chapels and extensions in various directions heading off the main church. The total length of the church is , the total width is , and the height is . The outside of the church is clad in a distinctive flint and stone chequer, which makes the church stand out in the town. The graveyard in the direct vicinity of the church is no longer used, but a cemetery that covers most of St Anne's hill, the Luton Church Cemetery, is about a mile from the church, heading up to Crawley Green.

References

External links

*
Friends of St Mary's Luton
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Marys Church Luton Luton, St Mary's Luton, St Mary's Listed buildings in Luton