St Mary's Church, East Brent

The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin is a Church of England parish church in East Brent, Somerset, England. It was built in the 15th century is a Grade I listed building.[1]

Church of St Mary
Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin
Church of St Mary is located in Somerset
Church of St Mary
Church of St Mary
51°15′45″N 2°56′30″W / 51.2626°N 2.9417°W / 51.2626; -2.9417
LocationChurch Road, East Brent, Somerset, TA9 4HZ
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Previous denominationRoman Catholic
ChurchmanshipCentral
Websitetheparishofthreesaints.org.uk
History
StatusActive
DedicationSt Mary the Virgin
Associated people
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Heritage designationGrade I listed
Designated9 February 1961
StylePerpendicular Gothic
Years built15th century
Specifications
Materialsstone
Bells6
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DioceseBath and Wells
ArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of Wells
ParishParish of Three Saints
Clergy
Priest in chargeThe Revd Simon Lewis
Laity
Reader(s)Nikki Burns
Churchwarden(s)Kathy Quinnell

History

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Parts of the building date from 1298. The west tower and spire were added around 1400.[2]

The church has a 15th-century eagle lectern and pulpit from 1634.[3][4]

In the 19th century the building was restored with a chancel by William Butterfield. The heating system includes spiral heating pipe coils.[5]

On 9 February 1961 the church was designated a Grade I listed building.[1]

In the late 1990s the stonework of the tower was repaired using local lias stone to fit in with the original architecture.[6] The dangerous state of the spire required £200,000 to be raised for repairs.[7]

Bells

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The west tower has a ring of six bells. The third bell was cast in about 1450, possibly by the Bristol foundry. William Chamberlain of Aldgate, London cast the fourth bell in about 1480. George Davis of Bridgwater cast the fifth bell in 1799. Llewellins & James of Bristol cast the tenor bell in 1877 and the treble and second bells in 1910.[8]

Administration

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The patron of the Church of England parish is the Bishop of Wells.[9] It is part of the Parish of Three Saints along with the Church of St Christopher, Lympsham and the Church of St Michael, Brent Knoll.[10]

Notable clergy

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Charles Fane de Salis was the vicar in the late 19th century,[11] before being made Suffragan Bishop of Taunton. From 1911 to 1935 the vicar was Archie Wickham who played cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club.[12][13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Historic England. "Church of St Mary (Grade I) (1262673)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  2. ^ "The history of East Brent". East Brent parish Council. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  3. ^ Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The Complete Guide. Dovecote Press. p. 91. ISBN 1-874336-26-1.
  4. ^ "East Brent St Mary". Dawson Heritage. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  5. ^ "St Mary's Church, East Brent, Somerset". Chartered Institution of Building service engineers. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Conservation sample projects". Chedburn-Dudley. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  7. ^ "The busy life of a parish priest". BBC. 30 July 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  8. ^ Smith, Martin (14 December 2011). "East Brent Blessed Virgin Mary". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  9. ^ "East Brent: St Mary the Virgin, East Brent". Church of England. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Churches". East Brent Parish Council. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  11. ^ "Vicar of St Mary's, East Brent". Rooksbridge. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  12. ^ Harris, Penelope. "A short history of The church of St Mary the Virgin East Brent". Rooksbridge. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  13. ^ "The Church of St Mary the Virgin at East Brent". East Brent Parish History Group. Retrieved 28 October 2012.

Further reading

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