Church of St Mary the Virgin, East Stoke

Church of St Mary the Virgin
Yellow stone building with square tower set in graveyard.
Location East Stoke, Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, England
Coordinates 50°57′07″N 2°44′07″W / 50.95194°N 2.73528°W / 50.95194; -2.73528Coordinates: 50°57′07″N 2°44′07″W / 50.95194°N 2.73528°W / 50.95194; -2.73528
Built 12th century
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated 19 April 1961[1]
Reference no. 440779
Location of Church of St Mary the Virgin in Somerset

The Church of St Mary the Virgin at East Stoke in Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.[1] It was previously dedicated to Saint Denis.[2]

Much of the church, including the nave and chancel with their stone carving are Norman,[3] the structure being supported by pilaster buttresses.[2] The north transept was added about 1225 and the south transept about 1300.[4]

The church has a tower with five bells. It shows various medieval carving including abstract corbels, an astrological tympanum, and St Michael slaying the dragon. Two of the carvings are thought to be Sheela na Gigs.[5][6] The upper part of the tower was built in the 13th century with the parapet being added in the 15th.[2]

The church was restored in 1862,[3] by Benjamin Ferrey.[6]

The parish is within the benefice of Stoke-sub-Hamdon, which is part of the Wells archdeaconry.[7]

Two of the Grade II* listed 17th-century monuments in the churchyard have suffered from subsidence and as a result rising damp has caused salt crystallisation which is affecting the inscriptions. As a result, they have been added to the Heritage at Risk register.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Church of St Mary the Virgin". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  2. 1 2 3 R. W. Dunning (editor), A. P. Baggs, R. J. E. Bush, Margaret Tomlinson (1974). "Parishes: Stoke sub Hamdon". A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 3. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Stoke sub Hamdon St Mary the Virgin". Dawson Heritage. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Church Building". St Mary Stoke. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "The Stoke sub Hamdon Figure". Sheela Na Gig Project. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  6. 1 2 "Church of St Mary the Virgin, East Stoke (South side), Stoke sub Hamdon". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "St Mary's, Stoke-sub-Hamdon". Church of England. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Two monuments in churchyard, approx 6 and 8 metres south of south transept, St Mary the Virgin, East Stoke, Stoke Sub Hamdon - South Somerset". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
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