St Mary's Church is the Church of England parish church in the town of Marlborough, Wiltshire, England.
| St Mary's, Marlborough | |
|---|---|
| Church of St Mary the Virgin | |
 | |
  St Mary's, Marlborough Location in Wiltshire | |
| 51°25′18″N 1°43′46″W / 51.4218°N 1.7295°W / 51.4218; -1.7295 | |
| OS grid reference | SU189692 |
| Location | Marlborough, Wiltshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Perpendicular |
| Years built | 12th, 15th–17th centuries, 1874 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Salisbury |
| Archdeaconry | Wilts |
| Deanery | Marlborough |
| Parish | St. Mary the Virgin with St. Peter and St. Paul |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Reference no. | 1034302[1] |
The church stands at the east end of the town's High Street. Founded in the 12th century, it was partly rebuilt after a fire of 1653, and extended in 1874. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]
Two churches were mentioned at Marlborough in 1091, and in 1223 the bishop of Salisbury took both St Mary's and St Peter's under his jurisdiction.[2] St Mary's was the church for the eastern part of the borough, while St Peter's, at the other end of the High Street, served the western part.[2]
The present church is built of ashlar and rubble, with ashlar dressings; the tower is ashlar. In the west wall of a tower is a repositioned 12th-century doorway or arch, and inside the church are fragments of 11th-century stonework including parts of corbels.[3] The tower was added in the 15th century, and in that century and the early 16th the aisles were rebuilt and extended.[4]
The town suffered a large fire in 1653 which destroyed the roof and the interior of the church, and damaged the Norman arcades.[2] Subsequently the north arcade was merged with the nave – a Norman respond survives at the west end[3] – and the south arcade was rebuilt as five rounded arches, described by Pevsner as "eminently interesting".[5] Galleries were added to the nave in 1707 and the chancel was rebuilt in 1873-4 to designs by G.E. Street. The south chapel was restored as a memorial after the First World War. Further restoration was undertaken in 1955–7.[4]
Of the eight bells in the tower, one is from 1653 and two are from the 18th century.[6] The seventh and eighth bells were cast in 1969 from the discarded peal of St Peter's church.[2] The building was designated as Grade I listed in 1949.[1]
The benefices of the two Marlborough parishes were united in 1924,[7] and the parishes were united in 1952 to form the parish of Saint Mary the Virgin with Saint Peter and Saint Paul.[8] St Peter's church was declared redundant in 1974 and later became a community centre and events venue.[9]
Today the parish is served by the Marlborough Anglican Team, which also covers St George's, Manton (to the west of Marlborough) and St John the Baptist, Mildenhall (east).[10]
Media related to Church of St Mary the Virgin, Marlborough at Wikimedia Commons