St Mary's Church, Temple, Corsley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Temple, Corsley |
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"Arts and Crafts Gothic"
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| Location | Temple, Corsley, Wiltshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Mary's, Temple Corsley |
| History | |
| Founder(s) | Mary Barton |
| Dedication | Saint Mary |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 11 September 1968 |
| Architect(s) | W. H. Stanley |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Arts and Crafts |
| Completed | 1902–1903 |
| Construction cost | c. £5,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone |
The Church of St Mary in Temple, Corsley, Wiltshire, England, is a special church built in the early 1900s. It's known as a "chapel-of-ease," which means it was built to serve people who lived far from the main parish church. Mary Barton, a local resident, paid for the church to honor her husband and son.
This beautiful building was designed in the Arts and Crafts style. Today, it is looked after by the Friends of Friendless Churches, a group that helps save old churches. St Mary's is also a Grade II listed building, meaning it's an important historical site.
Building a Special Church
The Barton family had owned land in Corsley since the 1700s. They built their home, Corsley House, in 1814. This house was designed in the Neoclassical style, which means it looked like ancient Greek and Roman buildings.
In 1899, Mary Barton decided to leave money in her will to build a church. A will is a legal document that says what should happen to someone's money and property after they pass away. She wanted the church to be a lasting memory of her husband and son.
Mary Barton set up something called the Barton Trust with £10,000. A trust is like a special fund managed by people for a specific purpose. About half of this money was used to build the church. The rest was invested to help pay for the church's upkeep and services.
Design and Features of St Mary's
Experts on buildings, like those who wrote the Wiltshire Pevsner Architectural Guides, describe St Mary's as having an "Arts and Crafts Gothic" style. This style mixes the traditional look of Gothic churches with the artistic details of the Arts and Crafts movement. One expert, Julian Orbach, even called the church "charming."
The church is built from limestone, a strong natural stone, and has a roof made of tiles. It features a porch on the north side with a pointed roof, called a gabled porch. There's also a small bell-cote above the east end, which is a small structure holding a bell.
The Church Today
St Mary's Church used to depend on the main parish church, St Margaret's at Corsley. In recent years, St Mary's was declared a redundant church. This means it was no longer regularly used for services by the local church.
Because of this, the church was taken over by the Friends of Friendless Churches. This organization works to preserve historic churches that might otherwise be forgotten. While it's not used every week, services are still held there sometimes by the Cley Hill Churches team.
