St Mary the Virgin, Lytchett Matravers
| St Mary the Virgin | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church St Mary the Virgin, Lytchett Matravers | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Medieval with later additions |
| Town or city | Lytchett Matravers |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 50°45′53″N 2°05′33″W / 50.764839°N 2.092417°W |
| Construction started | circa. 1100 |
| Client | Sir Walter Maltravers |
| Technical details | |
| Size | small |
St Mary the Virgin, usually called St Mary's, is a church situated on the edge of Lytchett Matravers village in Dorset, England. It is part of Salisbury Diocese.
English Heritage have designated it a Grade I listed building.[1]
History
Foundation
There are no known records giving the date of the foundation of the church at Lytchett Matravers. At Domesday, the manor of Lytchett Matravers was held by Sir John Maltravers.[2] The John Matravers who was buried in the church was Edward II's gaoler and possibly murderer.[2]
In the grave yard of the Church, just outside the north door there is a yew tree which in the 1980s was dated to be at least 1700 years old. The location here next to the Church certainly suggests the spot has been a holy place since before the current building was founded. It is suspected that there was a Saxon church (probably of wooden construction) on the site prior to the Norman conquest.
A Sir Walter Maltravers went on a crusade to the Holy Land and it is possible that he ordered the church to be built beside the manor house in his absence about the year 1200. The west tower, the nave and the chancel were built at this time, followed by the North aisle in the 14th century. Sir John Maltravers’ heir, his granddaughter Alianor carried the manor and title to her husband’s family, the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel, who later became the Dukes of Norfolk and are still Barons Maltravers.
The tower is the oldest part of the building – the arch dates from 1200 whilst the pinnacles, which are carved within the Maltravers fret, are circa 1500. There are six bells, some very old, their dates being displayed in the Tower. The arches on the north side of the nave date from about 1350, when the north aisle was added.
There is also an unusually large Hagioscope or squint giving a view to the chancel and communion table from the north side of the church, although the age and origin of this feature is unknown. The Hagioscope featured on the 2013 DVD 'Turning a Blind Eye' by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
Plague
Local tradition has it that the Village moved away from the location of the Church during the Black Death. The Church slowly fell into disuse and was used solely by the Rector for Morning Prayer and Vespers with regular worship moving to a chapel in the village.
A great deal of restoration was carried out at the beginning of the sixteenth century by Dame Margarita Clements
During the 1600s the Arundel family, the heirs by marriage to the Maltravers estate, funded the restoration of St Mary's and the building of the newer North Aisle of the Church. The chapel in the village was closed and St Mary's once again became the centre of the worshipping life of the village.
Civil War
During the civil war St Mary's was damaged by Round Head infantry who defaced a tomb in the North Aisle removing and destroying the plaque inscribed in memoriam to the deceased (this tomb without plaque can still be seen in the North Aisle of the Church). The tomb is believed to be that of a member of the Arundel or Maltravers family.
Victorian era
In common with thinking at the time pews were added to St Mary's where previously the congregation probably stood for worship or in the case of the infirm or disabled sat against the walls. It is possible there were chairs before this date.
In 1891, the barrel organ was replaced by a pipe organ with two manuals and pedals. Over the next hundred years, it was rebuilt several times and improved. Around this time a vestry extension was built behind this new Organ creating a room accessed from the chancel and hidden from the rest of the Church by the organ pipes. This instrument was replaced in 1992 by a Wyvern electronic organ.[3]
20th Century
In 1931 the Bells were removed, refurbished and rededicated.
In the 1960-70s an offer to build a secondary Church building in the centre of the village during the planning and development of the Village Hall was declined by the Church leadership of the time.
A new Wyvern electronic organ was installed in 1992 and the vestry area opened up to form an adminstrative area and vestry. More modern pews were added to the North Aisle around the same time, originally from Sherborne Abbey these pews are obviously different from the more familiar Victorian pews.
The North transept was extended in 1993 to give added facilities including a new vestry and small upper room which was used for Sunday school and some meetings.[3]
In 1962 renowned Football star Fred Pentland was buried in the Churchyard.
21st Century
By the early 2000s the building of St Mary's had a number of cosmetic issues that needed addressing and a some suspected structural issues. In 2011 it was discovered that the rendering on the southern walls (dating from late 20th Century) had been in correctly applied and the non-porous wash used was causing significant problems with the integrity of the walls and floors on the nave.
Investigative work discovered the joists that support the floor under the chancel step were wholly rotten due to the moisture created by the problem with the walls. Emergency repairs were made on the joists and a temporary floor placed down to allow the continued use of the building. On advice from the Archdeacon's office the pulpit (which dates from the 1950s) was removed as the floor is unable to support it.
In 2012 a massive redecoration project was completed in less than two weeks thanks to a massive effort from a dedicated group of volunteers. The non-porous render was removed and an approved lime wash applied to the walls. It will take some time for the walls to dry completely and the rebuilding of the chancel step to be approved.
A number of other structural and maintenance issues have been addressed during the years 2012-13 including the redigging of soak-aways to aid the drainage and drying of the Church and a significant number of minor and medium-priority issues that were highlighted in the 2010 Quinquennial report.
Deanery and Parish structures
Being on the edge of a growing conurbation like Poole has led to a number of changes over the church's position in the diocesan structures.
Originally in Poole deanery Lytchett Matravers has since the mid-90's been part of Milton and Blanford Deanery. On 1 January 2010 it was officially rejoined with Poole. In October 2010 Church joined with the 'Lytchett Minster & Upton Team Ministry' to form 'The Lytchetts & Upton Benefice' Largely a resource sharing benefice, St Mary's retains its own Vicar but as part of a wider team of clergy.
Clergy
Rectors of the Parish 1313-1977
Rectors of St Mary's 1313 - 1977 as transcribed by local historian Shirley Percivel in 1982[4]
| 1313 | Jordon Sarol | Will Mautravers |
| 1316 | William de Cabrithaley | Thomas de Bocklande |
| 1324 | James le Brut | |
| 1326 | William de Astyngton | |
| 1332 | Hugh Filiol | |
| 1340 | Richard de Pourstock | |
| 1342 | John de Stoke | |
| 1348 | Peter Fitzwaryn | |
| 1361 | Henry Tingwyke | Walter Rickener |
| 1362 | John de Sonnyings | |
| 1390 | Thomas Claydon | Robert Fynor |
| 1392 | John White | |
| 1398 | Stephen Pope | |
| 1430 | Thomas Talpathyn | |
| 1470 | John Wheler & John Campion | |
| 1485 | Robert Grenelode | |
| 1504 | John Hoper | |
| 1518 | John Vesey LLD | |
| 1583 | James Turbervile & William Lyllington | |
| 1587 | William Burges | |
| 1615 | Swithin Cleves | |
| 1658 | Thomas Rowe | |
| 1662 | Samuel Conant DD | |
| 1719 | William Leigh DD | |
| 1752 | John Trenchard Bromfield LLD | |
| 1753 | John Leach BA | |
| 1792 | George Trenchard LLD | |
| 1808 | John Wickens | |
| 1810 | Henry Luke Dillon BA | |
| 1832 | Christopher Fleet MA | |
| 1841 | Howell James MA | |
| 1850 | William Mortimer Heath MA | |
| 1917 | James Alexander Renton Swaby | |
| 1939 | Arthur Phillips FRCO | |
| 1943 | George Heaslett BA | |
| 1950 | James Nicholas Mahon MA | |
Clergy since 1977
| Year licensed | Name | Title held |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | John Hamblen | Priest-in-charge |
| 1984 | Nigel Lloyd | Rector |
| 1994 | Patrick Hastings | Priest-in-Charge |
| 2010 | Parish becomes part of The Lytchetts & Upton Benefice | |
| 2010 | Ali (Alistair) Mepham | Team Vicar |