St Mary's Church in Kempley is a former

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the

Forest of Dean district Forest of Dean is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in west Gloucestershire, England, named after the Forest of Dean. Its council is based in Coleford, Gloucestershire, Coleford. Other towns and villages in the district inc ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, close to the border with

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. It 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 ...

. St Mary's Church is now owned by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

and maintained by The Friends of Kempley Churches.

History

The simple Norman church is now remote from the village it served. It has some of the best preserved medieval wall paintings in Britain. Those in the

barrel-vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

ed chancel, which is painted throughout, including the ceiling, are particularly rare, dating from the early 12th century. St Mary's has in its chancel "the most complete set of Romanesque

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es in northern Europe", including the ''

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory () is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership change ...

'' painting created in about 1120. On the walls of the nave are further images, including a wheel of life, showing the life cycle of man. The nave paintings are worked in

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

painted on dry

lime mortar Lime mortar or torching is a masonry mortar (masonry), mortar composed of lime (material), lime and an construction aggregate, aggregate such as sand, mixed with water. It is one of the oldest known types of mortar, used in ancient Rome and anci ...

, unlike those in the chancel which are true frescoes. The paintings, having been covered with

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

, were rediscovered in 1872 during preparation for renovations. On the advice of the architect, John Henry Middleton, the renovation plans were dropped and the paintings uncovered and conserved. Sadly, such attempts to remove "the so-called 'preservative' materials" caused them to darken and to start flaking, said an English Heritage conservator. "It was very well intentioned, but what they did was wrong". As of May 2024, a decision had not yet been made as to the best method of restoring those area. In 1999 Francis P. Kelly at

initiated a dendrochronology test on the oak roof of the church. The Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory found the roof was the oldest medieval roof in Britain ever tested, dating back to 1120–1150.Treasure House: Church has Britain's oldest roof
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 25 May 1999 The church has an unusually well-preserved interior. The church was restored in 1913 by

Temple Moore Temple Lushington Moore (7 June 1856 – 30 June 1920) was an English architect who practised in London but whose work can be seen across England, particularly in the North. He is famous for a series of fine Gothic Revival churches built betwe ...

. In the early months of the year, from late February to early March, the churchyard is often covered in wild daffodils. The small village has two notable

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

churches, the other, St Edward's Church, is Grade II* listed. The church, dedicated to

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

, was built (1903–4) as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

by the Lord of the Manor and major landowner,

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (20 February 1872 – 14 November 1938), styled Viscount Elmley until 1891, was a British Liberal politician. He was Governor of New South Wales between 1899 and 1901, a member of the Liberal administrations of ...

, because St Mary's was too far away from the main centres of population in the parish and liable to flooding. The newer church was built to the design of

Randall Wells Albert Randall Wells (1877–1942) was an English Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts architect, designer, craftsman and inventor. He was the son of an architect, Arthur Wells of Hastings. After a practical training in joinery and foundin ...

. St Edward's became the parish church following the redundancy of St Mary's in 1975.

Gallery

File:Interior of Kempley Church - geograph.org.uk - 443154.jpg, Interior of St Mary's File:Wall paintings, Kempley Church - geograph.org.uk - 443160.jpg, Christ in Majesty in a lobed

mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in tra ...

on the chancel ceiling File:St Marys, Kempley - geograph.org.uk - 957461.jpg File:Detail of Mural, Kempley Church - geograph.org.uk - 1373640.jpg File:12th Century Door, Kempley Church - geograph.org.uk - 1373638.jpg, 12th Century Door File:Parish Chest in St. Mary's Church, Kempley - geograph.org.uk - 550586.jpg, Parish chest

References

External links

English Heritage; St Mary's Church, KempleyFriends of Kempley Churches
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kempley, St Mary's Church Church of England church buildings in Gloucestershire St Mary's Church Forest of Dean Grade I listed churches in Gloucestershire Redundant churches