St Mary's Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church in Weymouth,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Built of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

in 1815–1817, the church has been described as having an "austere design in Palladian mode". It has been 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 ...

since 1953. Christ Church, 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 ...

to St Mary's, also served the town between 1874 and 1939.

History

A church on the site of St Mary's dates back to the 13th century, when a

Chantry chapel A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Church service, Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantr ...

was first recorded there in 1299. A new church was built on the site in 1605, which replaced St Mary's at

Radipole Radipole is a suburb of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth in Dorset, England. History In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 340. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Weymouth and Chickerell. It remains a separate ecclesias ...

as the parish church of

Melcombe Regis Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th cen ...

in 1606. The decision to build a new church stemmed from the church at Radipole being too small and at an inconvenient location for many parishioners. Furthermore, it was considered that Melcombe Regis was "subject to the incursion of foreign enemies, who might surprise the town during Divine service, and depart before the inhabitants could repair home to make resistance". The church was frequently used by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

during his visits to Weymouth between 1789 and 1805. By the early 19th century, the church had become too small to adequately serve the population of Melcombe Regis, and had fallen into a dangerous and dilapidated state. Fundraising for the church to be rebuilt commenced in early 1815, with the appeal noting that the "smallness and inconvenience" of the church had "long been a source of infinite regret to well disposed Christians, and the cause of much injury to Weymouth as a watering place." Furthermore, as a result of the church not being enlarged or improved over the years, non-conformist worship had thrived within the town. Plans for a church capable of accommodating upwards of 2,000 people were drawn up by James Hamilton of Weymouth, with many seats being free and unappropriated for the benefit of the poor and visitors to the seaside resort. In June 1815, an Act of Parliament was obtained for the rebuilding of the church and tenders from builders were sought that month. The foundation stone was laid by the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

, the Right Rev.

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

, on 4 October 1815, and the completed church was opened by the

Archdeacon of Dorset The Archdeacon of Dorset is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the four area deaneries: Purbeck, Poole, Wimborne, and Milton & ...

, the Right Rev.

William England William England (died 1896) was a successful Victorian photographer specialising in stereoscopic photographs. Life Sources disagree on his date of birth, with dates from 1816 to 1830 quoted by different authors. In the 1840s England ran a London ...

, on 23 March 1817. The church underwent major restoration in 1922, which included the rebuilding of the north aisle.

References

External links

*
Radipole and Melcombe Regis Churches website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Weymouth Buildings and structures in Weymouth, Dorset Churches in Dorset Church of England church buildings in Dorset Grade I listed churches in Dorset 1817 establishments in England