Church of St Mary the Virgin, Baldock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary the Virgin, Baldock |
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| Location | Baldock |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Mary |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Specifications | |
| Bells | 8 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | St Albans (since 1877) |
| Province | Canterbury |
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a historic parish church in Baldock, Hertfordshire. It belongs to the Church of England. This church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The very first church on this spot was built around 1150 by the Knights Templar. Later, it was mostly rebuilt in 1330 by the Knights Hospitaller. Today, it is a Grade I listed building, meaning it's a very important historical site.
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History of St Mary's Church
The right to choose the priest for St Mary's Church in Baldock originally belonged to the Knights Templar. They built the first church around 1150. This land was given to them by Gilbert de Clare, the Earl of Pembroke. You can still see parts of this old church at the east end of the chancel. The Knights Templar owned the church until their group was stopped in 1308.
After that, the church and the land of Baldock were given to the Knights Hospitaller. They made the church much bigger around 1330. For a while, different people were given the right to choose the priest. Eventually, the King Edward III claimed this right. The Crown continued to choose the priest until after 1822. Later, this right was passed to the Lord Chancellor, then to the Bishop of Rochester, and finally to the Bishop of St Albans. Since 1902, the bishop and the Marquess of Salisbury take turns choosing the priest.
A group called the Fraternity or Gild of Jesus was started at St Mary's in Baldock in 1459. This group had a master, churchwardens, and members. They paid for a priest to help the main church priest with his duties.
The church has some old silverware, including a silver cup and plate from the time of Queen Elizabeth I (1569). This is called the Byrd Chalice. It's named after Reverend Josias Byrd, who was the church's Rector from 1613 to 1662. Reverend Byrd is famous for giving King Charles I a drink from this cup in 1647. This happened when the king was passing through Baldock.
Reverend John Smith was the church's Rector from 1832 to 1870. He is buried in the churchyard. He was the first person to fully read and understand the secret Diary of Samuel Pepys. Others had only figured out small parts before him. Smith worked on the Diaries for three years, from 1819 to 1822. His copy of the diary is kept in the Pepys Library. It was used for the first published version of the diary in 1825.
The old rectory, which is the house where the Rector lived, was built next to the church in 1871. It is now called 'Butterfield House'. It was designed by a famous church architect named William Butterfield. Today, it is a nursery school. A newer, smaller rectory is now in Pond Lane.
St Mary's also has two church schools. These are St Mary's Infant and St Mary's Junior Schools. They are located together on St Mary's Way in Baldock.
Church Building and Design
The church is built from flint stones with special stone decorations. The tower is covered with a type of cement. You can see pieces of older buildings used in the walls. The roofs of some parts are made of slate, and others are made of lead.
The church has several main parts: a chancel (the area around the altar), north and south chapels, a nave (the main part where people sit), north and south aisles (passageways), a west tower, and north and south porches. The entire church and tower have decorative battlements along the top. The tower has a lead spire with a gold weathervane shaped like a cockerel on top.
The south chapel was started in the late 1300s and finished in the early 1400s. It has a window with three sections. Near it, you can see a piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels) and sedilia (seats for priests) from the 1200s.
The south aisle has three windows from the 1400s. The south doorway is from the 1300s. There's also a smaller doorway from the 1400s that used to lead to a staircase for the parvise (a room over the porch). The north aisle also has three windows from the 1400s. A door from 1826 opens to the north porch.
The clerestory (the upper part of the nave walls with windows) was added in the 1400s. The church also got a new roof at this time. In the 1800s, many improvements were made. The spire was rebuilt in 1816, and the North Porch in 1826. The whole building was repaired, and some roofs were replaced. The top part of the tower was fixed in the early 1900s.
A small porch on the northwest side replaced an old staircase that led to the rood-loft (a gallery above the rood screen). The statue of the Virgin Mary with Child on the north wall was given to the church in memory of Albert Victor Baillie, who died in Baldock in 1955. This statue was made by Sir William Reid Dick.
The nave has six sections from the 1300s. The roof, also from the 1400s, has carved heads called corbels supporting it. The west tower is 130 feet tall to the top of its spire. The lower parts of the tower might be from the very first church around 1150.
Outside the church, in the wall of the north aisle, there's a recess from the 1300s. Inside it is a coffin lid from the 1300s with a cross carved on it. In the south aisle wall, there are two more recesses, probably from the 1400s. The lych gate (a covered gateway to the churchyard) was built in 1871.
The Chancel
The very east end of the chancel is from the original church built in the late 1100s. But most of the chancel, the north chapel (now the vestry), the nave, aisles, and west tower were built around 1330.
The east window of the chancel has five sections. Below this window on the outside, there is a niche from the 1300s.
The rood screen (a carved screen separating the chancel from the nave) in the chancel is from the late 1300s. It is made of carved oak. The screen in the north aisle is from the 1400s, and the one in the south aisle is from about 1480. The chancel roof, from the 1400s, also has carved heads supporting it. The Norman and Beard organ was put in the church in 1913 and was fixed up in the 1990s.
The Font
The font is from the late 1100s. This means it belongs to the very first church on this site. It has an eight-sided bowl with round edges. It stands on a round base with eight smaller columns. The steps around it were added much later, around 1901. Next to the font, there is an old iron-bound chest. This chest was used to collect 'Peter's Pence', which was money given to the Pope.
Memorials and Brasses
At the front of the nave, near the chancel screen, there is a stone slab. It remembers Reginald de Argentein, who died in 1307. He is thought to have been a Knight Templar and helped rebuild the church.
Outside the vestry, there is a marble coffin lid from the 1200s with a cross carved on it. On the north wall, there is a brass (a metal plate with an engraved image) of a man and his wife from about 1400. The man is dressed as a forester. On the floor, there is another brass of a man and his wife from about 1470.
In the floor at the west end of the nave, there is a brass showing a nun from about 1400. The original writing is gone. Instead, there is writing about a Rector of Baldock from 1807.
In the churchyard, you can find the graves of Reverend John Smith, who was the Rector and first to fully read Samuel Pepys's Diary. His son, Josiah William Smith, a lawyer and judge, is also buried there.
'Coathanger Window' and Other Glass
The chancel has a modern east window with five sections. It has small pieces of colored glass at the top, probably from the early 1400s. The two windows in the north wall are from the 1400s. The stained glass in them is from the 1800s. The stained glass at the eastern end, from 1849, shows Jesus Christ in the middle. Around him are the Four Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
In the north aisle, there is a window made by Charles Eamer Kempe in 1881. The three clear glass windows in the north aisle replaced older, not-so-good stained-glass windows. These windows are special because they were paid for by selling covered coat hangers. Mrs. Dorothy Arbury made and sold these in the 1960s. This is remembered by the tiny coat hangers around a cross in the 'Coathanger Window'. This window is dedicated to Mrs. Arbury.
The first 'Coathanger Window' from the 1960s was damaged. It was replaced with a new window where the image is etched into the glass. This new window was designed by Glenn Christodoulou.
Bells and Clock
The church has eight bells. Most of them were made by Taylor of Loughborough in 1882. One bell, the fifth, was made in 1650. Another, the eighth, has a Latin inscription from 1711.
The church clock was made by Messrs. Potts & Sons in 1882. It weighs two tons! Church records show it cost £250. There was an older clock in the tower before 1882. The Westminster Chimes ring every quarter-hour using four of the bells. The hours are struck on the largest bell. In the Ringing Chamber, there is a peal board from 1737. It is said to be one of the oldest in the country.
Images for kids
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The East window
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Window of the South Chapel
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Exterior view
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Exterior view
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Exterior view
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The chancel and rood screen in 2014
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Window by Charles Eamer Kempe showing Faith, Hope and Charity
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East Window showing Christ with the Four Evangelists
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Window in the South Aisle Chapel showing Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection
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The Piscina and Sedilia in the South Chapel
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Memorial Brasses on the North Wall
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Unusual iron tomb in the churchyard to William Clarkson
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Grave of Rev John Smith, Rector from 1832 to 1870 and his son Josiah William Smith QC
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The former Rectory, designed by William Butterfield
