St Mary's Church is an

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 ...

parish church in

Saltford Saltford is a large English village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route. Saltford Manor House (built about 11 ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. It dates from the 12th century or earlier and has been designated as a Grade II

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

This church has stood in the village of Saltford for over a thousand years. It is believed to be

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

with an authentic Norman

Font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

still used for christenings today. It was taken away and defaced during the Battle of Lansdown during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. It was subsequently found being used as a cattle trough. The rector at the time was never seen again. The tower is believed to be Saxon although have been added and extensively repaired. Originally there were three bells dated 1820, although only one remains and still used. The gallery and porch are 19th-century and is where the organ is. More recently, a window has been added in memorial of the choirmaster for 10 years, Mr. T.C.G. Ewins.

Current Information

The current rector is The Reverend Daile Wilshere. She succeeds The Reverend G. Richard W. Hall, who served as Rector between 1988 and 2014. The church has many youth groups and other resident groups and initiatives. The Choir sings at most Parish Communion services. The church holds close links with Saltford Church of England Primary School, where the Rector speaks at Assembly every Monday Afternoon.

The Church Hall

The former village school has been converted into a Church Hall, with a spacious Main Hall, full kitchen facilities and 3 different smaller rooms. Local Groups hire these rooms; with revenue going to the church.

The Benefice, Deanery and Diocese

Saltford is part of the Benefice of Saltford, All Saints Church, Corston and Holy Trinity in

Newton St Loe Newton St Loe is a small Somerset village and civil parish located close to the villages of Corston and Stanton Prior, between Bath and Bristol in England. The majority of the village is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The parish has a popula ...

, as well as the Diocese of Bath & Wells (in the Archdiocese of Canterbury) and the Deanery of Chew Magna. The church's sister parish, Newton-St-Loe, is in the patronage of the Duchy of Cornwall.

References

External links