St Mary's Buttsbury
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St Mary's is a
Grade II* 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, H ...
parish church in the village of
Buttsbury Buttsbury is a village and former civil parish (once an ancient parish) now in the parish of Stock, Essex, Stock, in the Chelmsford (borough), Chelmsford district of Essex, England. Its name is a contraction of Botwulf of Thorney, Botulph's Per ...
, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north west of
Ingatestone Ingatestone is a village and former civil parish in Essex, England, with a population of 5,409 inhabitants at the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census. Just north lies the village of Fryerning; the two now forming the parish of Ingatestone ...
and 3.8 miles (6.1 km) south east of
Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, east of the City of London. The town was founded in the 13th century by the Stratford Langthorne Abbey, Abbot of West Ham, ...
in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, England. The present building dates from the 14th century, but St Mary's Church was mentioned in 1170century, the site is believed to have been where St Botolph preached under a pear tree in the 7th century.


History


Roman Period.

Roman Tiles are built within the walls of the Nave & Chancel and can be seen from the exterior, metal detectorists from Havering have found Roman coins in the fields which surround the church, so we can assume that a settlement was here where the church stands today.


Saxon period

St Botulph is said to have preached under a pear tree in the area of Buttsbury, therefore its highly likely that the church of St Mary was built on this spot, in Saxon times Buttsbury was known as Cingam, which meant "Dwellers in the district", in Saxon times the land was owned by the family Bond or Bodis.


Norman period

In 1086 Buttsbury was entered in
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
under the name Cinga; the landowner was Henry de Ferrers, a Norman. The exact building date of St Mary's is unknown, but the church is first mentioned 1190, when Buttsbury was given to the nunnery of St Leonard-atte-bow in London.


Church Position.

St Mary's Church is situated in an isolated position surrounded by active farmland on three sides, the River Wid flows past just West to St Marys, and a road junction on east side, the roads connect to Ingatestone, Stock & Billericay.


Construction

The small church has a very short (2-bay) 14th-century nave, with 15th-century north and south aisles wider than they are long. (This may well point to the original Saxon layout.) The aisles are built mainly in flint rubble with stone dressings and large 14th-century east windows; they were heavily renovated in the 18th and 19th centuries. The chancel was also built in the 14th century, although it too has undergone renovation and reconstruction. In 1876 the east window was fitted in the
Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', ⟠...
style, the north and south sides' windows were fitted in the late 18th and early 19th century, and the exterior was heavily refurbished with cement mortar. The north aisle door is of 12th Century construction, it was carbon dated to 1170, the Medieval Ironwork possibly pre dating this to the Viking period. The west tower is built of brick, having been reconstructed in the 18th century, with a weather boarded top tower and brick buttresses. In the 17th century the tower was built of rubble, with a tall spire.


Church Renovations.

During the Victorian period, around 1876 St Marys underwent a major Restoration program, the west tower was reconstructed in brick, the spire reduced in height to the present design, the internal arches in the Nave were reconstructed, and the South Porch added. In June 1927 the North Aisle window was restored in memory of Edward Guard Rock. In September 2021, the South Porch underwent restoration, replacement of timber, and painting internally and externally.


Church Features and Memorials.

The North Aisle door is of particular historical importance. This 5-plank oak door was carbon dated, with the results indicating that its timber was felled in 1156 and it was constructed between 1156 and 1180. The door has two iron hinges, featuring the head and tail of a Norse serpent ( Jormungandr) possibly of Viking origin, and three iron straps. In the Chancel on the South wall is a painting from the medial period of the
Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
, it depicts
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, with an Angel either side, one Angel holds the nail from the crucifixion and the other holds the spear, the painting was discovered by workmen when working in the oak roof structure, the oak board may well have been hidden in the roof at the time of the English reformation. Set in the floor of the Nave & the North Aisle are two memorial slabs from the 17th century. On the West wall of the Nave a WW1 Memorial unusual in design, on the left and right panels, it lists the men from Buttsbury who were enlisted to serve in WW1, and the centre panel shows who had died and did not return.


Today

St Mary's is open for service every Sunday. The services are traditional and follow the ''
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...
''; the church has no electricity, so services are illuminated by candlelight. Other services carried out in the church are baptisms, marriages and funerals. St Mary's is part of the Diocese of Chelmsford, in which since August 2004, Buttsbury Village has constituted part of the benefice of
Margaretting Margaretting is a village and civil parish in the Chelmsford (borough), Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England. The population of the village taken at the United Kingdom 2011 Census, 2011 Census was 847. The village is located on th ...
with
Mountnessing Mountnessing is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Brentwood in south Essex, England. It is situated to the north-east of Brentwood and south-west of Ingatestone. A large proportion of the houses are situated on the Roman Road between ...
and Buttsbury. St Mary's church has an association with Margaretting Church of England Primary School. The upkeep of the church is supported by volunteers, including a grounds keeping and maintenance group, a floral-arranging group and a cleaning group. The Church participates each year in the charity event
Ride & Stride
which takes place in mid September, money raised helps restore Essex Churches.


References

{{coord, 51.66174, 0.40435, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Churches in the City of Chelmsford Grade II listed churches in Essex Stock, Essex