Church of St Mary the Virgin is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

church in

Henlow Henlow is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old Eng ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England. It became a listed building on 31 October 1966. The original footprint of the church dates back to the 12th century, but the current building dates mostly from the 15th century. The church is mostly in a

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

, with a myriad of monuments and stained glass windows and a three-stage tower, which was added in the 15th century. The tower housed five bells, which were cast in 1628. Although the number of bells was increased to eight in the 20th century, the nearby house still retains its name of ''The Five Bells.'' Originally the nave was aisleless and shorter than it is now (). The north and south aisles were added around the 14th/15th centuries, as was the chancel, whereas the porch is entirely modern. Records show that the church (and the village) have a connection with the

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony at what now is Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. John Smith had named ...

; at least three residents, Edward and Ann Tilley, and John and Joan Tilley. Both women died in the first winter. they took one of their nephews, Henry Samson, with them. Samson was baptized in St Mary's. The cemetery is listed with the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

as it has at least 20 graves containing the dead from both the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

External links

Official website
Church of England church buildings in Bedfordshire Grade I listed churches in Bedfordshire

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

{{England-church-stub

See also

References

External links