St Mary's Church, Mudford

The Church of St Mary in Mudford, Somerset, England, dates from the 14th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.[1]

Church of St Mary
Stone building with square tower. In the foreground is a road.
LocationMudford, Somerset, England
Coordinates50°58′37″N 2°36′27″W
Built14th century
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated19 April 1961[1]
Reference no.262693
St Mary's Church, Mudford is located in Somerset
St Mary's Church, Mudford
Location of Church of St Mary in Somerset

The church was granted by Montacute Priory to the Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1339.[2] The interior includes a Jacobean pulpit and a stone font from the 15th century.[3]

It has a 66 feet (20 m) high three-stage tower, which dates from around 1498,[4] divided by string courses with clasping corner buttresses, a battlemented parapet with small corner and intermediate pinnacles, and corner gargoyles. There is a stair turret on the north-east corner with a weathervane finial, and a clock face on the east side. It contains five bells dated 1582, 1621, 1623, 1664 and 1666, all by the Purdue family of nearby Closworth.[5] The tower was rebuilt in 1309 and again in the early 20th century following a lightning strike.[3]

The parish is part of the benefice of Chilton Cantelo, Ashington, Marston Magna, Mudford and Rimpton within the Yeovil deanery.[6]

Due to the condition of the high level stonework the church has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register; however repairs were undertaken in 2013 to correct this.[7]

The church graveyard is the resting place of Bishop Bill Flagg, the first Bishop of Northern Argentina and Paraguay, who was born and raised in Mudford.

See also

References
  1. "Church of Saint Mary". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  2. Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press Ltd. pp. 152. ISBN 1-874336-26-1.
  3. "History". St Mary The Virgin, Mudford. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  4. Poyntz Wright, Peter (1981). The Parish Church Towers of Somerset, Their construction, craftsmanship and chronology 1350 - 1550. Avebury Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86127-502-0.
  5. "Church of St Mary". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  6. "The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mudford". Church of England. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  7. "Church of St Mary, Mudford - South Somerset". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
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