St Mary's Church, Shipton Solars facts for kids
St Mary's Church in Shipton Sollars, Gloucestershire, England, is a very old and special church. It is no longer used for regular church services, but it is looked after by a group called The Churches Conservation Trust. This church is so important that it is listed as a Grade I listed building, which means it has a lot of historical and architectural value.
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Shipton Sollars |
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St Mary's Church, Shipton Sollars
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| OS grid reference | SP 031 184 |
| Location | Shipton Solars, Gloucestershire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | [1] |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 26 January 1961 |
| Architect(s) | W. E. Ellery Anderson (restoration) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 13th century |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone, roof of Cotswold stone slates |
Contents
History of St Mary's Church
The first time anyone wrote about a church here was in 1236. That's almost 800 years ago! Over time, the building started to fall apart. By the 1600s, it was in such bad shape that it was closed.
In 1883, a new church leader, Reverend Charles Pugh, arrived. He found the church being used as a cow shed! Its windows were blocked up, and trees were even growing through the roof. With help from his wife, he worked hard to fix it. They reopened the church the next year. Services were held in the summer, but the church still had problems. So, the services stopped again.
In 1929, Ernest Francis Fieldhouse paid for more repairs. An architect named W. E. Ellery Anderson helped fix the roof and clean the inside walls. The church was used sometimes during the 1900s. But in 2005, it was officially declared a "redundant church." This means it was no longer needed for regular services.
On July 15, 2005, The Churches Conservation Trust took over the church. They hired an architect to make sure the building was safe and protected from the weather. Today, the church is usually open during the day. Local people help to clean and care for it.
Architecture of the Church
St Mary's Church is built from limestone rocks, and its roof is made of special Cotswold stone slates. It was built in a style called Perpendicular Gothic, which was popular a long time ago. Some of the original plaster that covered the outside walls can still be seen.
Outside the Church
The church has a simple shape. It has a long main part called the nave and a smaller section at the end called the chancel. At the west end, there's a small tower with one bell, called a bellcote.
Look closely at the windows! On the north side of the chancel, there's a tall, narrow window called a lancet window. The window at the very front (east end) has three sections. On the south side of the chancel, there's a door for the priest and two more windows. The main entrance door is on the south side of the nave. The window at the west end also has three sections. The bellcote on top has one bell and a cross.
Inside the Church
The inside walls of the church are covered in plaster. Both the nave and the chancel have rounded ceilings that look like the inside of a wagon. Near the front of the church, there are small cupboards called aumbrys where sacred items were kept. There's also a special basin called a piscina where holy water was poured away.
The walls around the altar are covered with wooden panels. Some of these panels have a cool carved design that looks like folded linen. You can still see parts of old paintings on the walls from the Middle Ages! These paintings show words and crosses. Above the arch that separates the nave and chancel, you can see the painted date 1212.
The floor is made of large flat stones. The seats for the choir and the other chairs are from the 1900s. But the carved wooden pulpit (where the priest speaks) and its canopy are much older, from the 1600s. Next to the pulpit, there's an hourglass on a stand, which was used to time sermons!
The baptismal font (a large bowl used for baptisms) is from the 1400s. It's a simple eight-sided bowl on an eight-sided stand. All around the church walls, you'll find old stone memorials from the 1600s and 1700s. The stained glass in the chancel windows was made in the 1900s by an artist named Geoffrey Webb. These windows show pictures of Saint Thomas, Mary Magdalene, the Fieldhouse family crest, and the Madonna and Child.
See also
