The St Mary's Church 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 ...

Thatcham Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It is situated in the valley of the River Kennet east of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading and west of London. The town has a long history d ...

in the English county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. It is dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and is a Grade II* listed building. It has been claimed that the church was founded in the 7th century by St Birinus, and parts of the church date from the 12th century.

Tower and bells

The tower contains a peal of 10 change ringing bells. The oldest bells (5th–9th) date from 1624 and were cast by Ellis I Knight of Reading. The newest bells (1 and 2) date from 1969 and were cast by John Taylor & Co. The tenor bell (cast in 1825) weighs 13-0-23 (671 kg) and rings out the note 'F'. The bell ringers practise on a Tuesday night from 7:30pm till 9:15pm. They also ring on a Sunday from 9:15am till 10am. Treble: 3cwt, John Taylor 1969 in A 2nd: 3cwt, John Taylor 1969 in G 3rd: 4cwt, John Taylor 1929 in F 4th: 4cwt, John Taylor 1929 in E 5th: 5cwt, Ellis I Knight 1624 in D 6th: 6cwt, Ellis I Knight 1624 in C 7th: 6cwt, Ellis I Knight 1624 in Bb 8th: 7cwt, Ellis I Knight 1624 in A 9th: 10cwt, Ellis I Knight 1624 in G Tenor: 13cwt, Thomas II Mears 1825 in F

References

External links

Official Site
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berkshirehistory.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcham, St Mary's Church Church of England church buildings in Berkshire English churches with Norman architecture Grade II* listed churches in Berkshire St Mary's Church Diocese of Oxford