St. Mary's Church, Chesham
Encyclopedia
St. Mary's Church is a Grade A listed Anglican
church in Chesham
, Buckinghamshire
, and is part of the Diocese of Oxford
. Built on the site of a Bronze Age
stone circle
of puddingstone
s, parts of the church building date to the 12th century. Remodelled in the 15th and 17th centuries, the church is architecturally a mixture of English Gothic
styles. Weakened by additions to the church tower and undermined by burials in and around the church, by the 19th century the building was structurally unsound. The church was remodelled and strengthened in the 1860s by George Gilbert Scott
and again in the 20th century by Robert Potter.
Formerly part of the Diocese of Lincoln
, it served what was historically the largest parish
in Buckinghamshire, and the church traditionally had two vicar
s. Initially the advowson
(the right to appoint the vicar) was held jointly by a pair of prominent local families, but in the wake of the 12th century civil wars of the reign of King Stephen
(1135–1154), the advowsons were granted to the monks of Woburn Abbey
and to the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis
in Leicester
, each of whom appointed their own vicars to the parish. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries Woburn Abbey, together with its half of the advowson, was granted to the Earls of Bedford, while the half that had belonged to Leicester Abbey passed through a succession of private owners. In 1769 the Duke of Bedford acquired the Leicester half of the advowson and unified the parish, and from then on the parish was served by a single vicar.
The town of Chesham grew rapidly in the 19th century. After the parish was transferred to the Diocese of Oxford, reforms introduced by the Bishop of Oxford
, Samuel Wilberforce
, led to the parish being partitioned, eventually becoming four independent parishes (Chesham, Latimer, Waterside and Ashley Green). In 1980 it was decided to reverse this decision, and over the 1980s and 1990s three of these parishes (Chesham, Waterside and Ashley Green) were reunited under St. Mary's Church.
town of around 20,000 people, located in the Chiltern Hills
at the head of the River Chess
, about 25 miles (40.2 km) north-west of London
and 11 miles (17.7 km) south-east of Aylesbury
.
There is archaeological evidence of human habitation during the Mesolithic
period circa 8000 BC, of Neolithic
farming circa 2500 BC and of Bronze Age
settlement circa 1800 BC, during which time a stone circle
of puddingstones
was built at Chesham. The Catuvellauni
tribe occupied and settled the area in around 500 BC, and at nearby Latimer
there are remains of a Roman
villa
and archaeological evidence of Roman vineyards. Following the departure of the Romans the area appears to have been depopulated until Anglo-Saxon
colonisation in the 7th century AD.
The first recorded mention of Chesham dates from 970 in the will of Lady Ælfgifu (identified with the former consort of King Eadwig of England), bequeathing Cæstæleshamme, "the water meadow at the pile of stones", to Abingdon Abbey
. The Domesday Book
of 1086 lists Cestreham as containing four mills and comprising three adjacent estates, the most important of which were held by Odo of Bayeux and Queen Edith
, the widow of Edward the Confessor
.
As with much of England, Chesham suffered serious religious unrest in the 16th and 17th centuries, and in 1532 Lollard radical Thomas Harding
was burnt at the stake in the town for heresy
. From the 17th century Chesham was a focus for dissenters
. The first Baptist chapel in the town opened in 1701, Quakers have met in Chesham since the late 17th century, and John Wesley
preached in Chesham in the 1760s.
Chesham Old Town, to the south-east of the present-day town centre, is the oldest part of the town and was the centre of Chesham until the late 19th century; in 1851 the population stood at 2,496. In 1889 the Metropolitan Railway
reached the area as the first phase of a planned extension from Rickmansworth
to Berkhamsted
, and Chesham railway station
was opened to the north-east of the Old Town. Following the Metropolitan Railway's acquisition of the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway
(A&B) in 1891, the extension to Berkhamsted was abandoned in favour of a connection between the Metropolitan Railway's station at Chalfont Road
(now Chalfont & Latimer) to Aylesbury
and over the A&B's route to Verney Junction
, and Chesham station was left as the terminus of and sole station on a 3.89 miles (6.3 km) branch
from the mainline, a status it retains today.
The new town of present-day Chesham grew between the railway station and the Old Town, leaving the architecture of the Old Town almost untouched. In June 2009 the Old Town and the present-day town centre were added to English Heritage
's Conservation Areas at Risk Register, although the local authority claimed that this was owing to a misunderstanding of its responses to English Heritage's questionnaire.
, and although no archaeological evidence exists of any pre-Conquest
structure on the site of the present-day St. Mary's Church other than the stone circle itself, it is considered likely that a wooden church was built on the site by the Anglo-Saxons. The earliest evidence of there being a church in Chesham is in the registers of the Diocese of Lincoln, whose 1153 registers mention "the church in Chesham". In 1257 Hugh de Vere
was granted the right to hold an annual three-day fair
and a weekly market in Chesham by Henry III
. The annual fair was to be held on "the eve, the day and the morrow of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary", strongly suggesting that Chesham's church was already dedicated to Mary.
The church is built on the Bronze Age puddingstone circle, which has been incorporated into the foundations of the church. Built of knapped flint with limestone
dressings
, it has a roughly cruciform
shape. The present day church building comprises a chancel
, a clerestoried
nave
, north and south aisle
s and transept
s and a south porch
with a tierceron vault. The church is topped by a square central crenellated steeple
with an octagonal wooden spire
covered with lead
. Although the current stone church of St. Mary's contains a mixture of architectural styles, mainly Gothic
and dating from later periods, a Romanesque
window between the north transept
and north aisle
has been dated to the 12th century, indicating that the church was already a stone building by this time.
The building as a whole is 114 feet (34.7 m) long from east to west and 53 feet (16.2 m) wide from north to south. The nave (excluding the aisles) is 64 in 6 in (19.66 m) long and 22 feet (6.7 m) wide; English Gothic
aisles and the arcades
of the nave were added early in the 13th century. The arcades consist of five bays
with octagonal piers
and arch
es with half-pyramid shaped springers
, a design described by Nikolaus Pevsner
in 1960 as "baffling". In 1270 the eastern arch of the tower was widened, and in around 1320 the other arches of the tower were also widened. In about 1370 the chancel was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style, and a doorway added in the south aisle at around the same time.
windows were installed in the clerestory, but their contents were not recorded, and only small fragments of the mediaeval glass survive today: the arms of the Cheyne family, a human figure, and a shield with fragments of coloured glass, possibly the impaled arms
of Woburn and Leicester. A staircase in the porch led to a parvise
above; local tradition holds that Thomas Harding was held in the parvise prior to his execution in 1532. The porch also contains a stoup dating from the late 14th century, which although much damaged has survived all subsequent restorations and remodellings unaltered.
While the stone tower was completed in the 15th century, the date of the spire is unknown and has been dated to periods ranging from the 16th to 18th centuries. The church is known to have possessed a ring of bells
by the 16th century, as the 1552 inventory of church possessions carried out on the instructions of Edward VI
lists "v bells in the stepill". A bell cast in around 1450 by John Sturdy is still used as a Sanctus bell and is regarded as having national historic significance.
In the chaotic climate of religious upheaval during and following the Reformation
of the 16th century many of England's churches fell into disrepair, including St. Mary's; the great door of St. Mary's was damaged during the Civil War
and bullet holes from the conflict remain visible today. In 1606 it was decided to renovate St. Mary's. Two of the bells were re-cast, the pew
s were replaced, and "a fair new gallery
" was built along the south aisle. In the 18th century two further galleries were added to the church; a north gallery reserved for the exclusive use of "maids and maidservants", and a west gallery for the use of St. Mary's band of musicians and choristers, later used to house the church's organ. The wooden communion table
was sold for 3s and a new table added at a cost of 10s 6d
(about £ as of ).
and the lead-covered spire added to the weight of the tower, and the number of burials of local notables within the church and of parishioners immediately outside the church building weakened the structure further. By the 18th century the problems had become severe enough that the west arch of the south transept was blocked up in an effort the strengthen the structure, and a hollow pillar which housed the stairway to the rood loft was filled in. The tower continued to weaken, a situation made worse by the addition in 1812 of a new ring of six bells with a 17 cwt (860 kg) tenor bell, cast by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
. Iron bands were wrapped around the tower to strengthen it but these soon snapped, and by the 19th century large cracks, which had appeared in the tower, were filled with broken bricks and rubble and covered over with roughcast as an interim solution.
By 1867, church authorities deemed the problems with the tower as severe enough to warrant a major reconstruction
of the church. George Gilbert Scott
, who had recently designed the monumental London buildings of the Foreign Office and St. Pancras Station
, was chosen to lead the project. Scott was a leading advocate of the Gothic Revival and saw the renovation as a chance to return St. Mary's to a state nearer to its earlier Gothic design.
Scott removed the galleries, the high-sided 1606 pews, and the three-tiered pulpit
. The tower was strengthened, the building's exterior facing of flint and limestone was restored, and the chancel, which had been remodelled in the late 17th century, was restored to its original shape and given a new east window in the Decorated Gothic style, containing Ward and Hughes
glass depicting Faith, Hope and Charity, donated by the Duke of Bedford. New wooden pews were installed together with a Gothic style pulpit, and a font of Mansfield Woodhouse
stone donated by the Lowndes family.
The north transept, which had previously served as a vestry
from which the Poor Law
was administered, was used to house the church's William Hill & Son organ, which had been installed in 1852 in the now-removed western gallery; the south transept, which up to that date had been used as a mausoleum for the Cavendish family
and was completely walled off from the rest of the church and accessible only via its own door from the churchyard, was opened up to the church. In 1890 Cambridge Chimes were added to the tower clock, in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
images of Pre-Raphaelite knights by Edward Burne-Jones
as a memorial to a young officer killed during the Boer War
, and the painting of a mural
over the chancel arch by John Ward
depicting the events of Holy Week
in modern dress and set in the Chilterns. In 1951 the church was Grade A listed.
In 1980 the fourth bell of the ring of six was recast, again by the Whitchapel Foundry. By the 1990s the internal design of the church was beginning to be considered impractical for the needs of the community, and the interior was remodelled to a design by Robert Potter, with the works carried out in 1999. The west gallery was restored to house the 1852 organ, together with a kitchen and toilet facility, and the north transept was converted into a vestry with a room above it. Underfloor heating
was built below a new marble floor and the chancel step replaced by an ovoid raised marble dais
. Meanwhile, Scott's pews were removed altogether and replaced by wooden chairs.
(the right to appoint the vicar
) of the church was held jointly by two local landowning families, the de Bolbec (or de Bolebec) and Sifrewast families; as a very large parish
(generally considered to have been the largest parish in Buckinghamshire) twin administrations suited the needs of the parish. Following the civil wars of the reign of King Stephen
(1135–1154) England underwent a major upsurge in religious activity and saw a significant growth of monasteries
. At some point prior to 1221 the de Bolbec family had included their half of the advowson in a grant to the Cistercians of Woburn Abbey
, and the Sifrewasts had granted their half to the Augustinian Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis
in Leicester
. From then on, Woburn and Leicester were to share the patronage, each appointing their own vicars to the parish, known as Chesham Woburn and Chesham Leicester.
Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century the advowson of Chesham Woburn remained attached to Woburn Abbey and was transferred, along with the abbey building, to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
. The advowson of Chesham Leicester was sold, and from then on had a succession of owners, eventually coming into the ownership of prominent local landowners the Skottowe family, who purchased it from Sir Francis Whichcote, MP for Cambridgeshire
. From 1601 onwards, other than a brief period between 1623–1660, the appointees of Chesham Woburn and Chesham Leicester were the same person, and thus the parish was served by a single vicar, although he continued to be appointed by the holders of each advowson separately. In 1769 John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
, who had inherited Chesham Woburn, also acquired Chesham Leicester and from then on the parish was served by a single vicar assisted by multiple curate
s; in 1767 the two halves of the parish were formally unified by an Act of Parliament
.
In 1845 Chesham, along with the rest of Buckinghamshire, was transferred from the Diocese of Lincoln, of which for historical reasons it had been a part since the Norman Conquest despite its distance from Lincoln, to the Diocese of Oxford
. It thus came under the control of Oxford's newly appointed dynamic young bishop Samuel Wilberforce
, who in turn appointed Adolphus Aylward as vicar in 1847 to oversee the reform of the parish. A second church at Waterside
was opened in 1867, and the huge parish of Chesham was partitioned between St. Mary's and the new Christ Church, Waterside. As Chesham and the surrounding towns grew following the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway the parish was divided further, leaving a total of four independent parishes: St. Mary's, Christ Church Waterside, St. John the Evangelist Ashley Green, and Latimer At the end of the 19th century the advowson of the much-reduced parish of St. Mary's was acquired by the recently created Peache Trust
.
In 1980 it was decided to reverse the partition of the parish. Over the course of the 1980s and early 1990s three of the four parishes were reunified into a single parish of Great Chesham, administered by a single Rector, also the Vicar of St. Mary's, and a team of clergy serving five of the other churches; the sixth, St. Michael's Whelpley Hill, was closed.
William Lowndes rebuilt Chesham's manor house, The Bury, immediately to the south of the church. The building still stands today, and currently serves as an office building.
Owing to its unusual advowson, Chesham historically had two vicarages. The Upper Parsonage, also known as Bury Hill House, was built in the 16th century and attached to Chesham Leicester, and was used as a residence by the Skottowe family following their acquisition of Chesham Leicester; it was a large mansion house immediately north of St. Mary's Church. In the early 19th century the house was bought and demolished by the Lowndes family.
The Lower Parsonage, attached to Chesham Woburn, stood immediately east of the church, between the church and the Old Town. It was demolished in around 1769 by John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, and replaced by a new vicarage for the vicar of the newly unified parish. This vicarage remains attached to the parish, and since the re-amalgamation of the Chesham parishes in the 1980s and 1990s is known as the Rectory.
installed at the eastern end of the north aisle.
. During Scott's renovations of the 1860s the transept was opened up to the church and remodelled, and only one Cavendish tomb survives today, that of John Cavendish, son of William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
, who had died in 1617 aged 11. Sculpted by John Bolt the Elder of London, the tomb features ornately carved strapwork
above a sarcophagus
, flanked by black coupled columns supporting small obelisk
s, and topped by a double-curved roof. The south transept also holds the 1726 pyramid-shaped tomb of Lady Mary Whichcote, wife of Sir Francis Whichcote who at that time owned Chesham Leicester; Mary Whichcote's elaborate funeral bankrupted Sir Francis, leading to his sale of Chesham Leicester to the Skottowe family.
Richard Bowle (c. 1549 – 13 December 1626), who had recorded and audited the restoration project of 1606, is commemorated by a black marble monument on the north side of the chancel, noting his "faithful service of divers great lords", and that "part of" him "lyeth here".
On the north wall of the sanctuary
is a large memorial to Richard Woodcock, who had served as vicar of both Chesham Woburn and Chesham Leicester from 1607 to 1623. Topped by a large painted bust of Woodcock holding a book, a lengthy gilded inscription in Latin and English describes Woodcock as "Hæreticorum Malleus" ("The hammer of heretics"). Woodcock had been a popular local figure, and at his death the parishioners had taken it in turns to carry the coffin to the church. Near the memorial to Woodcock is a memorial to Nicholas Skottowe erected in 1800. This takes the form of a stone sculpture of a mourning woman kneeling over a sarcophagus, and was described by Pevsner as "[an] interpretation of remarkable tenderness".
During Scott's renovations of the 1860s, all burials within the church itself were removed. However, during the 1999 renovation, a vault was uncovered near the crossing
. The vault was marked by a brass plaque inscribed "The Family Vault of Robert Ward", and was found to contain the coffins of Catherine Julia Ward, wife of novelist and Tory politician Robert Plumer Ward
, and of their three-year-old son Charles Robert Ward. The vault has been resealed and remains in place.
Adolphus Aylward, the vicar from 1847 to 1872 and overseer of the parish restructuring, is commemorated by a brass plaque on the south-west pillar of the tower, and by a Clayton and Bell
window in the north-west chancel. Aylward's daughter Julia had died in 1862 aged 15 and is buried in the churchyard; her grave was planted with snowdrop
s at her mother's request, which still bloom each spring. Julia Aylward is also commemorated by a piece of Burlison and Grylls
glass in the lancet window
at the west end of the north aisle.
A memorial to Lollard martyr Thomas Harding stands in the churchyard near the south chancel, erected in 1907 by the Protestant Alliance. The base of the cross is inscribed:Harding was executed at nearby White Hill and is believed to have been held in St. Mary's parvise prior to his execution. Foxe's Book of Martyrs
describes the execution thus: Near the memorial to Harding by the chancel door is a worn gravestone depicting a teacher and a group of children, believed to be the grave of Daniel King, teacher in Chesham's first Sunday School.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in Chesham
Chesham
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and is part of the Diocese of Oxford
Diocese of Oxford
-History:The Diocese of Oxford was created in 1541 out of part of the Diocese of Lincoln.In 1836 the Archdeaconry of Berkshire was transferred from the Diocese of Salisbury to Oxford...
. Built on the site of a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
of puddingstone
Puddingstone (rock)
Puddingstone, also known as either Pudding stone or Plum-pudding stone, is a popular name applied to a conglomerate that consists of distinctly rounded pebbles whose colors contrast sharply with the color of the finer-grained, often sandy, matrix or cement surrounding them...
s, parts of the church building date to the 12th century. Remodelled in the 15th and 17th centuries, the church is architecturally a mixture of English Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
styles. Weakened by additions to the church tower and undermined by burials in and around the church, by the 19th century the building was structurally unsound. The church was remodelled and strengthened in the 1860s by George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
and again in the 20th century by Robert Potter.
Formerly part of the Diocese of Lincoln
Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...
, it served what was historically the largest parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in Buckinghamshire, and the church traditionally had two vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
s. Initially the advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
(the right to appoint the vicar) was held jointly by a pair of prominent local families, but in the wake of the 12th century civil wars of the reign of King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
(1135–1154), the advowsons were granted to the monks of Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :...
and to the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis
Leicester Abbey
Leicester Abbey, the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis , standing about a mile north of the city of Leicester in the riverside meadows on the west bank of the River Soar, was built under the patronage of Robert le Bossu, Earl of Leicester. It was founded as a community of Augustinian Canons, the...
in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, each of whom appointed their own vicars to the parish. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries Woburn Abbey, together with its half of the advowson, was granted to the Earls of Bedford, while the half that had belonged to Leicester Abbey passed through a succession of private owners. In 1769 the Duke of Bedford acquired the Leicester half of the advowson and unified the parish, and from then on the parish was served by a single vicar.
The town of Chesham grew rapidly in the 19th century. After the parish was transferred to the Diocese of Oxford, reforms introduced by the Bishop of Oxford
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
, Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce was an English bishop in the Church of England, third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his time and place...
, led to the parish being partitioned, eventually becoming four independent parishes (Chesham, Latimer, Waterside and Ashley Green). In 1980 it was decided to reverse this decision, and over the 1980s and 1990s three of these parishes (Chesham, Waterside and Ashley Green) were reunited under St. Mary's Church.
Historical background
Chesham ˈtʃɛsəm is a BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
town of around 20,000 people, located in the Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
at the head of the River Chess
River Chess
The River Chess is a chalk stream which springs from Chesham, Buckinghamshire and runs through Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, in south-eastern England. The Chess, along with the Colne and Gade, gives rise to the name of the district of Three Rivers, in which it forms its confluence with the...
, about 25 miles (40.2 km) north-west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and 11 miles (17.7 km) south-east of Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
.
There is archaeological evidence of human habitation during the Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
period circa 8000 BC, of Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
farming circa 2500 BC and of Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
settlement circa 1800 BC, during which time a stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
of puddingstones
Puddingstone (rock)
Puddingstone, also known as either Pudding stone or Plum-pudding stone, is a popular name applied to a conglomerate that consists of distinctly rounded pebbles whose colors contrast sharply with the color of the finer-grained, often sandy, matrix or cement surrounding them...
was built at Chesham. The Catuvellauni
Catuvellauni
The Catuvellauni were a tribe or state of south-eastern Britain before the Roman conquest.The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories. They are mentioned by Dio Cassius, who implies...
tribe occupied and settled the area in around 500 BC, and at nearby Latimer
Latimer, Buckinghamshire
Latimer is a village and civil parish that sits on the border between Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, in England. The parish forms part of the Buckinghamshire district of Chiltern. Latimer parish includes the villages of Latimer, Ley Hill and Tyler's Hill.Latimer was originally joined with the...
there are remains of a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
and archaeological evidence of Roman vineyards. Following the departure of the Romans the area appears to have been depopulated until Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
colonisation in the 7th century AD.
The first recorded mention of Chesham dates from 970 in the will of Lady Ælfgifu (identified with the former consort of King Eadwig of England), bequeathing Cæstæleshamme, "the water meadow at the pile of stones", to Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery also known as St Mary's Abbey located in Abingdon, historically in the county of Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire, England.-History:...
. The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 lists Cestreham as containing four mills and comprising three adjacent estates, the most important of which were held by Odo of Bayeux and Queen Edith
Edith of Wessex
Edith of Wessex married King Edward the Confessor of England on 23 January 1045. Unlike most wives of kings of England in the tenth and eleventh centuries, she was crowned queen, but the marriage produced no children...
, the widow of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
.
As with much of England, Chesham suffered serious religious unrest in the 16th and 17th centuries, and in 1532 Lollard radical Thomas Harding
Thomas Harding
Thomas Harding was a sixteenth century English religious dissident who, whilst waiting to be burnt at the stake as a Lollard in 1532, was hit on the head by a piece of firewood which killed him instantly....
was burnt at the stake in the town for heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. From the 17th century Chesham was a focus for dissenters
English Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
. The first Baptist chapel in the town opened in 1701, Quakers have met in Chesham since the late 17th century, and John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
preached in Chesham in the 1760s.
Chesham Old Town, to the south-east of the present-day town centre, is the oldest part of the town and was the centre of Chesham until the late 19th century; in 1851 the population stood at 2,496. In 1889 the Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
reached the area as the first phase of a planned extension from Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth station
Rickmansworth is a London Underground and National Rail station in the town of Rickmansworth, in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire to the north-west of London...
to Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted railway station
Berkhamsted railway station is in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is located just beside Berkhamsted Castle, overlooking the Grand Junction Canal. The station is north west of London Euston on the West Coast Main Line...
, and Chesham railway station
Chesham tube station
Chesham lies at the end of the Metropolitan Line Chesham branch, and opened on 8 July 1889 as the original northern terminus of the Metropolitan Railway from . The station is a Grade II listed building. There is no station starter signal at Chesham. The branch has no intermediate stations...
was opened to the north-east of the Old Town. Following the Metropolitan Railway's acquisition of the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway
Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway
The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway was an English railway located in Buckinghamshire, England operating between Aylesbury and Verney Junction.-History:...
(A&B) in 1891, the extension to Berkhamsted was abandoned in favour of a connection between the Metropolitan Railway's station at Chalfont Road
Chalfont & Latimer station
Chalfont & Latimer station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Travelcard Zone 8 on the Metropolitan Line, in Buckinghamshire. It is the junction between the through service to and a shuttle service every half an hour to...
(now Chalfont & Latimer) to Aylesbury
Aylesbury railway station
Aylesbury railway station is a railway station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England and is a major stop on the London to Aylesbury Line from Marylebone station via Amersham. It is 37.75 miles from Aylesbury Station to Marylebone Station...
and over the A&B's route to Verney Junction
Verney Junction railway station
Verney Junction was a railway station at a junction serving four directions between 1868 and 1968 and from where excursions as far as Ramsgate could be booked...
, and Chesham station was left as the terminus of and sole station on a 3.89 miles (6.3 km) branch
Chesham branch
The Chesham branch is a short single-track railway branch line in Buckinghamshire, England. Although no part of it is within London and it runs entirely above ground, it is owned and operated by the London Underground...
from the mainline, a status it retains today.
The new town of present-day Chesham grew between the railway station and the Old Town, leaving the architecture of the Old Town almost untouched. In June 2009 the Old Town and the present-day town centre were added to English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
's Conservation Areas at Risk Register, although the local authority claimed that this was owing to a misunderstanding of its responses to English Heritage's questionnaire.
Architecture
The existence of the stone circle indicates that a pagan place of worship existed in the area since prehistoryPrehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
, and although no archaeological evidence exists of any pre-Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
structure on the site of the present-day St. Mary's Church other than the stone circle itself, it is considered likely that a wooden church was built on the site by the Anglo-Saxons. The earliest evidence of there being a church in Chesham is in the registers of the Diocese of Lincoln, whose 1153 registers mention "the church in Chesham". In 1257 Hugh de Vere
Hugh de Vere, 4th Earl of Oxford
Hugh de Vere, 4th Earl of Oxford was an English nobleman and the only known child and heir of Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford.-Early Life:...
was granted the right to hold an annual three-day fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
and a weekly market in Chesham by Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. The annual fair was to be held on "the eve, the day and the morrow of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary", strongly suggesting that Chesham's church was already dedicated to Mary.
The church is built on the Bronze Age puddingstone circle, which has been incorporated into the foundations of the church. Built of knapped flint with limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
dressings
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
, it has a roughly cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
shape. The present day church building comprises a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, a clerestoried
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s and transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s and a south porch
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
with a tierceron vault. The church is topped by a square central crenellated steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
with an octagonal wooden spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
covered with lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
. Although the current stone church of St. Mary's contains a mixture of architectural styles, mainly Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and dating from later periods, a Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
window between the north transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
and north aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
has been dated to the 12th century, indicating that the church was already a stone building by this time.
The building as a whole is 114 feet (34.7 m) long from east to west and 53 feet (16.2 m) wide from north to south. The nave (excluding the aisles) is 64 in 6 in (19.66 m) long and 22 feet (6.7 m) wide; English Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
aisles and the arcades
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
of the nave were added early in the 13th century. The arcades consist of five bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
with octagonal piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
and arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es with half-pyramid shaped springers
Springer (architecture)
A springer is an architectural term for the lowest voussoir on each side of an arch. Since it is the bottom-most element of the arch, it is where the arch support terminates at the responds. It rests on the impost or pier of the arch, that is, the topmost part of the abutment, from which the arch...
, a design described by Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
in 1960 as "baffling". In 1270 the eastern arch of the tower was widened, and in around 1320 the other arches of the tower were also widened. In about 1370 the chancel was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style, and a doorway added in the south aisle at around the same time.
15th and 17th century renovation
In the 15th century the clerestory was added to the nave, along with the Perpendicular two-storied south porch; these reconstruction works necessitated the repositioning of the door on the south aisle, and the building of the present-day western wall of the nave, with a great window and door also in the Perpendicular style. Stained glassStained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows were installed in the clerestory, but their contents were not recorded, and only small fragments of the mediaeval glass survive today: the arms of the Cheyne family, a human figure, and a shield with fragments of coloured glass, possibly the impaled arms
Impalement (heraldry)
In heraldry, impalement is the combination of two coats of arms side-by-side in one shield or escutcheon to denote union, most often that of a husband and wife, but also for ecclesiastical use...
of Woburn and Leicester. A staircase in the porch led to a parvise
Parvise
Parvise or parvis may refer to:#A room over the porch of a church — quite often found in Norman churches in England. In some churches these rooms were used for school rooms and in Castle Ashby was the home of a woman - who saved the manor house from burning when she saw the fire taking hold from...
above; local tradition holds that Thomas Harding was held in the parvise prior to his execution in 1532. The porch also contains a stoup dating from the late 14th century, which although much damaged has survived all subsequent restorations and remodellings unaltered.
While the stone tower was completed in the 15th century, the date of the spire is unknown and has been dated to periods ranging from the 16th to 18th centuries. The church is known to have possessed a ring of bells
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
by the 16th century, as the 1552 inventory of church possessions carried out on the instructions of Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
lists "v bells in the stepill". A bell cast in around 1450 by John Sturdy is still used as a Sanctus bell and is regarded as having national historic significance.
In the chaotic climate of religious upheaval during and following the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
of the 16th century many of England's churches fell into disrepair, including St. Mary's; the great door of St. Mary's was damaged during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and bullet holes from the conflict remain visible today. In 1606 it was decided to renovate St. Mary's. Two of the bells were re-cast, the pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s were replaced, and "a fair new gallery
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
" was built along the south aisle. In the 18th century two further galleries were added to the church; a north gallery reserved for the exclusive use of "maids and maidservants", and a west gallery for the use of St. Mary's band of musicians and choristers, later used to house the church's organ. The wooden communion table
Communion table
A Communion table is used by many Protestant churches, particularly from Reformed, Baptist, Congregational, and non-denominational traditions, for the preparation of the Eucharist ....
was sold for 3s and a new table added at a cost of 10s 6d
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
(about £ as of ).
19th-century renovation
Since the widening of the tower arches in 1270 and 1320 the tower of St. Mary's had been structurally weak. The subsequent addition of the bells and belfryBell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
and the lead-covered spire added to the weight of the tower, and the number of burials of local notables within the church and of parishioners immediately outside the church building weakened the structure further. By the 18th century the problems had become severe enough that the west arch of the south transept was blocked up in an effort the strengthen the structure, and a hollow pillar which housed the stairway to the rood loft was filled in. The tower continued to weaken, a situation made worse by the addition in 1812 of a new ring of six bells with a 17 cwt (860 kg) tenor bell, cast by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
. Iron bands were wrapped around the tower to strengthen it but these soon snapped, and by the 19th century large cracks, which had appeared in the tower, were filled with broken bricks and rubble and covered over with roughcast as an interim solution.
By 1867, church authorities deemed the problems with the tower as severe enough to warrant a major reconstruction
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
of the church. George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
, who had recently designed the monumental London buildings of the Foreign Office and St. Pancras Station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, was chosen to lead the project. Scott was a leading advocate of the Gothic Revival and saw the renovation as a chance to return St. Mary's to a state nearer to its earlier Gothic design.
Scott removed the galleries, the high-sided 1606 pews, and the three-tiered pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
. The tower was strengthened, the building's exterior facing of flint and limestone was restored, and the chancel, which had been remodelled in the late 17th century, was restored to its original shape and given a new east window in the Decorated Gothic style, containing Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes was the name of an English company producing stained glass windows. They began in 1836 as Ward and Nixon.Perhaps the most prestigious stained glass commission of the 19th century, the re-glazing of East Window of Lincoln Cathedral, went to Ward and Nixon in 1855...
glass depicting Faith, Hope and Charity, donated by the Duke of Bedford. New wooden pews were installed together with a Gothic style pulpit, and a font of Mansfield Woodhouse
Mansfield Woodhouse
Mansfield Woodhouse is a large village about 2 kilometres north of Mansfield itself, in Nottinghamshire, England. With a history dating back before the Romans, it is still noteworthy for its stone built town centre...
stone donated by the Lowndes family.
The north transept, which had previously served as a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
from which the Poor Law
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
was administered, was used to house the church's William Hill & Son organ, which had been installed in 1852 in the now-removed western gallery; the south transept, which up to that date had been used as a mausoleum for the Cavendish family
House of Cavendish
Cavendish is the surname of a British noble family, also known as the House of Cavendish, descended from Sir John Cavendish of Cavendish in the county of Suffolk Cavendish is the surname of a British noble family, also known as the House of Cavendish, descended from Sir John Cavendish of Cavendish...
and was completely walled off from the rest of the church and accessible only via its own door from the churchyard, was opened up to the church. In 1890 Cambridge Chimes were added to the tower clock, in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
20th century renovation
Scott's alterations proved successful in stabilising the tower and in serving the needs of the church, and the church remained little changed for the next 130 years; the most notable alterations during this period were the replacement of the glass in the chancel's two leper windows with stained glassStained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
images of Pre-Raphaelite knights by Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
as a memorial to a young officer killed during the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
, and the painting of a mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
over the chancel arch by John Ward
John Stanton Ward
John Stanton Ward CBE was an English portrait artist, landscape painter and illustrator. His subjects included British royalty and celebrities.-Life and Work:...
depicting the events of Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
in modern dress and set in the Chilterns. In 1951 the church was Grade A listed.
In 1980 the fourth bell of the ring of six was recast, again by the Whitchapel Foundry. By the 1990s the internal design of the church was beginning to be considered impractical for the needs of the community, and the interior was remodelled to a design by Robert Potter, with the works carried out in 1999. The west gallery was restored to house the 1852 organ, together with a kitchen and toilet facility, and the north transept was converted into a vestry with a room above it. Underfloor heating
Underfloor heating
Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling which achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using conduction, radiation and convection...
was built below a new marble floor and the chancel step replaced by an ovoid raised marble dais
Dais
Dais is any raised platform located either in or outside of a room or enclosure, often for dignified occupancy, as at the front of a lecture hall or sanctuary....
. Meanwhile, Scott's pews were removed altogether and replaced by wooden chairs.
Ecclesiastical organisation
In the 12th and early 13th centuries the advowsonAdvowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
(the right to appoint the vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
) of the church was held jointly by two local landowning families, the de Bolbec (or de Bolebec) and Sifrewast families; as a very large parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
(generally considered to have been the largest parish in Buckinghamshire) twin administrations suited the needs of the parish. Following the civil wars of the reign of King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
(1135–1154) England underwent a major upsurge in religious activity and saw a significant growth of monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. At some point prior to 1221 the de Bolbec family had included their half of the advowson in a grant to the Cistercians of Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :...
, and the Sifrewasts had granted their half to the Augustinian Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis
Leicester Abbey
Leicester Abbey, the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis , standing about a mile north of the city of Leicester in the riverside meadows on the west bank of the River Soar, was built under the patronage of Robert le Bossu, Earl of Leicester. It was founded as a community of Augustinian Canons, the...
in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. From then on, Woburn and Leicester were to share the patronage, each appointing their own vicars to the parish, known as Chesham Woburn and Chesham Leicester.
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, KG, PC, JP was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal....
. The advowson of Chesham Leicester was sold, and from then on had a succession of owners, eventually coming into the ownership of prominent local landowners the Skottowe family, who purchased it from Sir Francis Whichcote, MP for Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...
. From 1601 onwards, other than a brief period between 1623–1660, the appointees of Chesham Woburn and Chesham Leicester were the same person, and thus the parish was served by a single vicar, although he continued to be appointed by the holders of each advowson separately. In 1769 John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, FRS was an 18th century British statesman. He was the fourth son of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham, Surrey...
, who had inherited Chesham Woburn, also acquired Chesham Leicester and from then on the parish was served by a single vicar assisted by multiple curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
s; in 1767 the two halves of the parish were formally unified by an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
.
In 1845 Chesham, along with the rest of Buckinghamshire, was transferred from the Diocese of Lincoln, of which for historical reasons it had been a part since the Norman Conquest despite its distance from Lincoln, to the Diocese of Oxford
Diocese of Oxford
-History:The Diocese of Oxford was created in 1541 out of part of the Diocese of Lincoln.In 1836 the Archdeaconry of Berkshire was transferred from the Diocese of Salisbury to Oxford...
. It thus came under the control of Oxford's newly appointed dynamic young bishop Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce was an English bishop in the Church of England, third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his time and place...
, who in turn appointed Adolphus Aylward as vicar in 1847 to oversee the reform of the parish. A second church at Waterside
Waterside, Buckinghamshire
Waterside is a hamlet in the parish of Chesham, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the town itself, though anciently referred to the group of dwellings next to the River Chess in Chesham....
was opened in 1867, and the huge parish of Chesham was partitioned between St. Mary's and the new Christ Church, Waterside. As Chesham and the surrounding towns grew following the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway the parish was divided further, leaving a total of four independent parishes: St. Mary's, Christ Church Waterside, St. John the Evangelist Ashley Green, and Latimer At the end of the 19th century the advowson of the much-reduced parish of St. Mary's was acquired by the recently created Peache Trust
Peache Trust
The Peache Trust is an Anglican body formed in 1877. It owns the advowson for a number of Anglican churches in England, and is responsible for selecting and appointing appropriate candidates as vicar for the churches in its trust. it held the advowson for 45 churches....
.
In 1980 it was decided to reverse the partition of the parish. Over the course of the 1980s and early 1990s three of the four parishes were reunified into a single parish of Great Chesham, administered by a single Rector, also the Vicar of St. Mary's, and a team of clergy serving five of the other churches; the sixth, St. Michael's Whelpley Hill, was closed.
Associated buildings and structures
In 1712 Secretary to the TreasurySecretary to the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are junior Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure as Lord Treasurer in the 16th century. The...
William Lowndes rebuilt Chesham's manor house, The Bury, immediately to the south of the church. The building still stands today, and currently serves as an office building.
Owing to its unusual advowson, Chesham historically had two vicarages. The Upper Parsonage, also known as Bury Hill House, was built in the 16th century and attached to Chesham Leicester, and was used as a residence by the Skottowe family following their acquisition of Chesham Leicester; it was a large mansion house immediately north of St. Mary's Church. In the early 19th century the house was bought and demolished by the Lowndes family.
The Lower Parsonage, attached to Chesham Woburn, stood immediately east of the church, between the church and the Old Town. It was demolished in around 1769 by John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, and replaced by a new vicarage for the vicar of the newly unified parish. This vicarage remains attached to the parish, and since the re-amalgamation of the Chesham parishes in the 1980s and 1990s is known as the Rectory.
Organ
In 1504 the will of Robert Wedon bequeathed funds for a chaplain, provided that he could "organise" and "sing well". No other reference to an organ at St. Mary's exists until the installation of the William Hill & Son organ in 1852 in the west gallery. In 1869 the organ was moved to the north transept during Scott's renovation of the church, and at this time its volume and power were increased. In Potter's 1999 remodelling of the church the pipes of the organ were moved to the new west gallery and electronically enhanced, and the consoleOrgan console
thumb|right|250px|The console of the [[Wanamaker Organ]] in the Macy's department store in [[Philadelphia]], featuring six manuals and colour-coded stop tabs....
installed at the eastern end of the north aisle.
Notable graves and memorials
The south transept had historically served as the mausoleum for the Cavendish family, who resided at nearby LatimerLatimer, Buckinghamshire
Latimer is a village and civil parish that sits on the border between Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, in England. The parish forms part of the Buckinghamshire district of Chiltern. Latimer parish includes the villages of Latimer, Ley Hill and Tyler's Hill.Latimer was originally joined with the...
. During Scott's renovations of the 1860s the transept was opened up to the church and remodelled, and only one Cavendish tomb survives today, that of John Cavendish, son of William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire was an English politician and courtier.-Life:The second son of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick, he was educated with the children of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, whom his mother married after his father's death. She made him a rich...
, who had died in 1617 aged 11. Sculpted by John Bolt the Elder of London, the tomb features ornately carved strapwork
Strapwork
In the history of art and design, the term strapwork refers to a stylised representation in ornament of strips or bands of curling leather, parchment or metal cut into elaborate shapes, with piercings and often interwoven...
above a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
, flanked by black coupled columns supporting small obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
s, and topped by a double-curved roof. The south transept also holds the 1726 pyramid-shaped tomb of Lady Mary Whichcote, wife of Sir Francis Whichcote who at that time owned Chesham Leicester; Mary Whichcote's elaborate funeral bankrupted Sir Francis, leading to his sale of Chesham Leicester to the Skottowe family.
On the north wall of the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
is a large memorial to Richard Woodcock, who had served as vicar of both Chesham Woburn and Chesham Leicester from 1607 to 1623. Topped by a large painted bust of Woodcock holding a book, a lengthy gilded inscription in Latin and English describes Woodcock as "Hæreticorum Malleus" ("The hammer of heretics"). Woodcock had been a popular local figure, and at his death the parishioners had taken it in turns to carry the coffin to the church. Near the memorial to Woodcock is a memorial to Nicholas Skottowe erected in 1800. This takes the form of a stone sculpture of a mourning woman kneeling over a sarcophagus, and was described by Pevsner as "[an] interpretation of remarkable tenderness".
During Scott's renovations of the 1860s, all burials within the church itself were removed. However, during the 1999 renovation, a vault was uncovered near the crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
. The vault was marked by a brass plaque inscribed "The Family Vault of Robert Ward", and was found to contain the coffins of Catherine Julia Ward, wife of novelist and Tory politician Robert Plumer Ward
Robert Plumer Ward
Robert Ward or from 1828 Robert Plumer Ward , novelist and politician, born in London, educated at Oxford, and called to the Bar 1790, held various political offices, and wrote some books on the law of nations; also three novels, Tremaine, or the Man of Refinement, full of prolix discussions; De...
, and of their three-year-old son Charles Robert Ward. The vault has been resealed and remains in place.
Adolphus Aylward, the vicar from 1847 to 1872 and overseer of the parish restructuring, is commemorated by a brass plaque on the south-west pillar of the tower, and by a Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient workshops of English stained glass during the latter half of the 19th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton and Alfred Bell . The company was founded in 1855 and continued until 1993...
window in the north-west chancel. Aylward's daughter Julia had died in 1862 aged 15 and is buried in the churchyard; her grave was planted with snowdrop
Snowdrop
Galanthus is a small genus of about 20 species of bulbous herbaceous plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae...
s at her mother's request, which still bloom each spring. Julia Aylward is also commemorated by a piece of Burlison and Grylls
Burlison and Grylls
Burlison and Grylls is the name of an English company who produced stained glass windows from 1868 onwards.The company of Burlison and Grylls was founded in 1868 at the instigation of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Both John Burlison and Thomas Grylls had trained in the...
glass in the lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
at the west end of the north aisle.
A memorial to Lollard martyr Thomas Harding stands in the churchyard near the south chancel, erected in 1907 by the Protestant Alliance. The base of the cross is inscribed:Harding was executed at nearby White Hill and is believed to have been held in St. Mary's parvise prior to his execution. Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, more accurately Acts and Monuments, is an account from a Protestant point of view of Christian church history and martyrology...
describes the execution thus: Near the memorial to Harding by the chancel door is a worn gravestone depicting a teacher and a group of children, believed to be the grave of Daniel King, teacher in Chesham's first Sunday School.