The Parish Church of St Mary, more commonly known as St Mary's, is the main Church of England parish church for the town of Bridgwater, Somerset. Originally founded well before the Norman Conquest, the present church is a large and impressive structure dating primarily from the 14th and 15th centuries, with both earlier remains and later additions.
The church is notable for its Gothic architecture, large stained glass windows, and unusually tall spire, a rarity in Somerset, a county known for its tall and elaborate church towers. With a height of 174 feet (53 m), it is the tallest medieval spire in the county. Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, author of the 'Buildings of England''' series, describes the spire as "exceedingly elegant".
The church is also of considerable interest for housing an exceptionally rare and unusually large painting depicting the Descent from the Cross. The artist of the painting is unknown but is generally attributed (controversially) to either the Spanish painter Murillo, or the Italian painter Carracci, both of the 17th century. The building is the town's major landmark and due to its rich architecture and treasures, has been designated a Grade I listed building, the highest possible category, by Historic England. The church is also categorised by the Church of England as a 'Major Parish Church' due to its large size and historic importance.
History
Foundation A church is recorded at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, however, it is not known either the location of this early structure or its history. The earliest record of a church on the present site is from 1107, when the church's revenue was granted to Bath Priory by the wife of Walter de Douai, following his death. This grant was confirmed by Walter's son, Robert of Bampton, and in 1156 by the Pope, Adrian IV.Baggs, A P, and M C Siraut. "Bridgwater: Churches." A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6, Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and Neighbouring Parishes). London: Victoria County History, 1992. 230-235. British History Online. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
In 1180, Walter's grandson Fulk Pagnell, who owned the manor and the land the church was built on, granted the latter to Marmoutiers Abbey, near Tours, France. The first vicar of the church is recorded a few years later, in 1187.
Gothic rebuilding During 1203, William Brewer, who succeeded Fulk as Lord of Bridgwater, reversed his predecessor's grant to Marmoutiers, returning the church to Bath Priory in exchange for an annual payment of 100 shillings. From 1209, Brewer undertook the rebuilding of the church in the Early English Gothic style with William Briwere, architect. In 1214, Bath Priory, by this time a cathedral, gave its remaining rights to Brewer's newly founded Hospital of St John in Bridgwater, in return for a pension of £4 13s 4d, which was paid annually until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
In the early 14th century, the church was extended westwards, aisles were added to the nave and a western tower was completed. The precise dates for the construction of the aisles and western nave are unknown, but the tower must have been completed by 1318 when a 'great' bell was installed. In 1367, construction on a spire, designed by Nicholas Whaleys, began on 28 June. The money for raising the spire came from the townspeople, from wills, and several donations, including from neighbouring villages. The construction of the spire required the addition of massive corner buttresses on the tower to support it, constructed 1383-1385. The total cost of the spire was £137 (equal to approximately £100,000 in 2017).
The end of the 14th century and the first half of the 15th century saw a large amount of rebuilding, beginning with the chancel, which was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style from 1395-1420. The rood screen was built in the final phase of this work, from 1414-1420. The reconstruction of the nave followed, from 1420 to 1430, incorporating some of the Early English work in the previous nave. Building work continued into the middle of the 15th century, financed by tallages, with the rebuilding or modification of the lady chapel from 1447-1448.
The Reformation THOMAS STRETE 1528-1571 became Vicar of Saint Mary's on 11 August 1528, when the Church was still Roman Catholic. He had been Vicar for only a few years when the King, Henry VIII, proclaimed himself head of a Protestant Church of England. Thomas therefore became the first Protestant Vicar of Saint Mary's. When be became Vicar in 1528, Catholic religious customs were in full power. The Church contained several Chantries, each with its own priest; masses and anniversaries were celebrated and the Church was a blaze of colour and light, with probably as many as ten altars. Inventories survive in the Borough Archives of elaborate Communion plate and of sets of coloured vestments.
With the Reformation came many changes, but Thomas Strete obviously accepted these and remained Vicar. The Monasteries and Abbeys were abolished and Glastonbury left a ruin. The Abbot had refused to accept the King as the spiritual leader and was executed. A part of his body was in fact displayed over the East Gate at Bridgwater - a grim reminder to people such as Thomas of the consequences of disobeying the King. Henry VIII died in 1547 and was succeeded by his son Edward VI. During Edward's reign the Chantries were suppressed and all churches were ordered to use the Book of Common Prayer. After Edward's death in 1553 his Catholic half-sister Mary became Queen, but Thomas Strete survived her reign and was still Vicar when Elizabeth 1 became Queen in November 1558.Thomas remained Vicar until his death in 1571. At the time of his death St Mary's had become a Royal Living.
17th, 18th and 19th centuries
The next major event in the history of the church was during the First English Civil War. On 21 July 1645, during the Siege of Bridgwater, the church was damaged when it was caught in an artillery duel between the defending Royalists, led by Edmund Wyndham, and the invading Parliamentarians, led by Thomas Fairfax.Jarman, Sydney Gardnor (1889). The Siege of Bridgwater, Chapter IX in The History of Bridgwater . Elliott Stock. p. 6. To what extent the church was damaged is unknown.
During the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, the Duke of Monmouth, James Scott, climbed the church tower on 5 July to watch the assembly of James II's forces at Westonzoyland prior to the Battle of Sedgemoor, the final conflict of the war which would end with the Duke's execution 11 days later.
In 1814, the spire was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm, resulting in a deep crack developing in the structure. It was repaired "with great difficulty" the following year by Thomas Hitchings, a local builder. A series of poles were attached to the spire with ropes, followed by the fixing of a ladder so that the capstone could be reached. The capstone was too badly cracked to be fixed, so was replaced. To prevent a recurrence of the problem, a lightning conductor was fastened to the top of the spire and a long metal rod was placed inside, where it was bolted to the centre of the tower in the belfry.
From 1848 to 1857, the church was restored by William H. Brakespear (1818-1898) at a cost of £4,000-£5,000. He was a Manchester based architect, who had worked with Augustus Pugin on the restoration of the Houses of parliament, after the fire of 1834.
The nave and aisle roofs were replaced, the internal galleries removed and new pews added. The Tudor Pulpit and a section of the medieval choir stalls were retained—the latter may be seen in the Sanctuary.
The hagioscopes in the North transept was removed—These allowed a view from the North porch of the High Altar through the walls of the chapels of the Holy Cross and St Catheryn. The tower and the spire were restored and the parapet was rebuilt. Additionally, an octagonal vestry, noted to be designed like a cathedral chapter house in miniature, was added in 1854 to the north choir aisle, and the medieval rood screen was split in two, with one half each going behind the north and south choir stalls.
A further restoration took place in 1878 at the cost of £2,000. The old gas brackets were removed, the blue lias stone floor replaced with tiling, the pews of the central nave shortened to accommodate a widening of the aisles, the stained glass overhauled, the restoration of the roof bosses in the chancel and the tower arch was unblocked. The stonework was cleaned, scraped, and restored by Bradfield & Sons; the church reopened on 29 July after six months of closure.
20th century In 1902, the unique but ultimately undersized octagonal vestry was demolished. Beginning in 1903, and finishing in 1954, multiple stained glass windows were created as memorials, beginning with the Halson Memorial Window in the north transept. Windows were added in 1903, 1909, 1911, 1921, 1924, and 1954.
St George's Chapel In 1920, a new chapel was created in the Sealy Chapel to commemorate the dead of the First World War, and was dedicated to Saint George. It was consecrated on 11 November 1920 by the then Bishop of Bath and Wells, George Kennion. The reredos was carved by Mr Taylorson of London, and the general carving and fitting of the altar, reredos and panels were done by Messrs Dart and Francis, Ecclesiastical woodworkers of Crediton, Devon. The figures in the middle of the reredos show Christ on the cross watched by the Virgin Mary and Saint John. The figure on the left is Saint George with the dragon. The figure on the right is Saint Louis of France with the banner of Saint Denis. The chapel has a series of panels on the east and south walls naming the war dead. A supplementary panel was added later listing the dead of World War 2, and the Korean and Falklands wars. The main Bridgwater War Memorial, is in King Square. It was unveiled by General the Earl of Cavan (then Chief of the Imperial General Staff) on 25 September 1924.
Reordering of the east end followed in 1937. The floor tiles installed in 1878 were removed and the floor was lowered. The east window was blocked to make the painting of the Descent of the Cross more prominent, and the walls were plastered. The tower and spire were also repaired as part of this work. The tower and spire would be repaired again from 1993-1994 when scaffolding was erected the full height of the structure.
21st century reordering
On 6 June 2016, the church closed for a £1 million restoration and reordering project. The work, which lasted thirteen months, was the most extensive in the church's history, and aimed to both modernise the space for the 21st century and to restore it, reversing many of the Victorian alterations in the 19th century. Following its closure in June, work to remove the flooring in the nave uncovered the tops of several burial chambers of varying designs, which resulted in the project cost rising by over £130,000.
A major aspect of the project was the cleaning of the nave's large hammerbeam roof, which had been covered in layers of wax, dirt, and unknown finishes. The scaffold to clean the roof was erected from August 2016. The oak roof was blast-cleaned with soda, a method normally used on smaller items of furniture but uncommon on such large areas of woodwork. The soda is a gentle abrasive that removes dirt without damaging the woodwork underneath. The cleaning of the roof was completed at the end of September, followed by the repainting of the walls, and then the removal of the internal scaffold in October.