The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin is a
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...
in
East Brent, Somerset
East Brent is a village and civil parish, on the eastern edge of a hill that dominates the surrounding level countryside— Brent Knoll—close to the M5 motorway, west of Axbridge, in the county of Somerset, in the south-west of England. The ...
, England. It was built in the 15th century is a
Grade I listed building
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 ...
.
History
Parts of the building date from 1298. The west tower and spire were added around 1400.
The church has a 15th-century
eagle lectern
An eagle lectern is a lectern in the shape of an eagle on whose outstretched wings the Bible or other texts rest. They are common in Christian churches and may be in stone, wood or metal, usually brass.
History
Eagle lecterns in stone were a ...
and pulpit from 1634.
In the 19th century the building was
restored
''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard Aus ...
with a
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
by
William Butterfield
William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy.
Biography
William Butterfield was bo ...
. The heating system includes spiral heating pipe coils.
On 9 February 1961 the church was designated a Grade I listed building.
[
In the late 1990s the stonework of the tower was repaired using local lias stone to fit in with the original architecture. The dangerous state of the spire required £200,000 to be raised for repairs.
]
Bells
The west tower has a ring
(The) Ring(s) may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV
* ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
of six bells. The third bell was cast in about 1450, possibly by the Bristol foundry. William Chamberlain of Aldgate
Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London.
The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...
, London cast the fourth bell in about 1480. George Davis of Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...
cast the fifth bell in 1799. Llewellins & James of Bristol cast the tenor bell in 1877 and the treble and second bells in 1910.
Administration
The patron of the Church of England parish is the Bishop of Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.
The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...
. It is part of the Parish of Three Saints along with the Church of St Christopher, Lympsham
The Church of St Christopher in Lympsham, Somerset, England dates from the 15th century, and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
It is known that Bartholomew de England was appointed rector at Lympsham in 1274, although the parish ...
and the Church of St Michael, Brent Knoll
The Church of St Michael at Brent Knoll, Somerset, England dates from the 11th century but has undergone several extensions and renovations since then. It has been designated as a grade I listed building. There is a Norman doorway however the r ...
.
Notable clergy
Charles Fane de Salis was the vicar in the late 19th century, before being made Suffragan Bishop of Taunton. From 1911 to 1935 the vicar was Archie Wickham
Archdale Palmer Wickham (9 November 1855 – 13 October 1935) was an English Anglican clergyman, first-class cricketer and entomologist.
Clerical career
Wickham was the son of the Rev. Edmund Dawe Wickham of Holmwood, and was educated at Marlb ...
who played cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Somer ...
.
See also
* List of Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a former local government district in the English county of Somerset. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cul ...
* List of towers in Somerset
The Somerset towers, church towers built in the 14th to 16th centuries, have been described as among England's finest contributions to medieval art. The paragraphs and descriptions below describe features of some of these towers. The organization ...
*
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:East Brent, Saint Mary
15th-century church buildings in England
Church of England church buildings in Sedgemoor
Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor
Grade I listed churches in Somerset
Towers completed in the 14th century