St Mary's Church, Burford, is located near to Burford House in Shropshire, England, about to the west of Tenbury Wells. It is an active

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 th ...

parish church in the deanery of Ludlow, the archdeaconry of Ludlow, and the diocese of Hereford. Its

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is united with those of eleven other parishes to form the Tenbury Team Ministry. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

History

The oldest surviving part of the church is in the chancel, and dates from the 12th century, with the nave and tower from the 14th century. In 1889–90 the church was extensively restored by Aston Webb for the Honourable Georgina Rushout of Burford House. He largely rebuilt the tower, added buttresses and crenellation to the nave and chancel, and replaced the tracery in the windows. Inside the church he rebuilt the chancel arch and roof, adding carvings of angels.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in stone with tiled roofs. Webb's additions are in

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sandstone. The plan consists of a nave with a south porch, a chancel with a north vestry, and a west tower. The chancel contains Norman features. The nave is Decorated style, and the tower is Perpendicular. The tower has a west doorway with a window above it. In the top stage are bell openings consisting of pairs of louvred lancets.

Interior

In the chancel is a canopied sedilia. By the south door is a medieval stoup. Most of the fittings in the church were designed by Webb. The

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is octagonal in Perpendicular style. The

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s and other lamps in the church are "large and fantastic", the brass lectern includes a carving of the Virgin, the

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has carvings of the Doctors of the Church, and the

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is in

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. Most of the stained glass is by

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, and dates from 1890 to about 1902. In the vestry is a panel composed of 14th and 15th-century tiles. Many of the monuments are to the Cornwall family, which were probably repainted in the 19th century; these date from the 14th to the 17th century. Later monuments are to the Rushout family and date from the 19th century; one of these is by Sir Richard Westmacott and another is by

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. A stone wall plaque on a marble shelf with relief carvings of cross, crown and palm leaves, is the parish war memorial to the dead of both World Wars.

External features

To the south of the church is a medieval churchyard cross. Part of the original shaft is set on four octagonal steps. The upper part was restored in 1867 and incorporates carvings of the Crucifixion and the Nativity. It is listed at Grade II. The churchyard contains the war grave of a King's Shropshire Light Infantry soldier of World War I.
CWGC casualty record.

Burials

* Elizabeth of Lancaster, Duchess of Exeter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burford, St Mary's Church Grade I listed churches in Shropshire Church of England church buildings in Shropshire English churches with Norman architecture English Gothic architecture in Shropshire Gothic Revival architecture in Shropshire Diocese of Hereford