Church of St Mary de Castro, Leicester
Church in Leicester Castle, England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St Mary de Castro is an ancient, Grade I listed church in Leicester, England, located within the bailey of Leicester Castle. Today it acts as a Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Leicester. "St Mary de Castro" is Latin for "St Mary of the Castle"; a name chosen to differentiate from nearby "St Mary de Pratis": "St. Mary of the Meadows".[1]
| St Mary de Castro, Leicester | |
|---|---|
 North facade from Castle View showing Norman chancel and Gothic north nave, north aisle and St Anne's Chapel | |
 | |
| 52.6323°N 1.1404°W | |
| Location | Leicester Castle |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Catholic Church |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Mary de Castro "St Mary of the Castle" |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Leicester |
| Archdeaconry | Leicester |
| Parish | St Mary de Castro |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Rt Revd Norman Banks SSC (AEO) |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 1950 |
| Reference no. | 1074070 |
The building was closed in 2011 to the public after the spire was found to be unsafe but as of April 2015 is open again. The spire has been taken down, and funds are currently insufficient to replace it and repair the tower beneath.[2]
It is believed to have been the first church in the UK to be viewable online using Google Street View, having been photographed in August 2012.[3]
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The foundation of the first church on the site dates to the year 918 and the reconquest of Danish occupied Leicester by Anglo Saxon forces under Ethelfleda, Lady of the Mercians, and Edward the Elder, both children of Alfred the Great. They were responsible for the reconstruction of the towns walls, the restoration of St Nicholas, and the first church on the site of Leicester Castle.[4][5] It became a collegiate church by 1107 after Henry I of England granted the lands and castle to Robert de Beaumont,[6] although the chronicler Henry Knighton implies that an Anglo-Saxon college of St Mary had already existed at the church before and that Robert merely refurbished it.[6] Robert established it within the castle bailey as a college served by a Dean and 12 Canons in honour of the Virgin Mary and All Souls and as a chantry chapel for the souls of him, his family and the first three Norman kings.[6] He endowed this and four other churches with £6 of his income and land in or near the city.[6] However, in 1143 these endowments were all transferred by his son Robert le Bossu, 2nd Earl of Leicester, to his own new Augustinian foundation of Leicester Abbey. The collegiate church retained, or had restored to it a dean, six clerks and a chaplain, along with Robert de Beaumont's grant of 20 shillings for lamps. It also retained parish offerings and most of the tithes.[6] The collegiate nature of the church lasted until the college was disbanded in 1548 under the Chantry Act of Edward VI.[6]
The early-12th-century church had no aisles, and various parts of these walls survive.[7] It underwent a major expansion in the 1160, with a north aisle, doorways to north and west, and an extension to the chancel. The two doorways provide striking external Norman zigzag decoration, but it is the sedilia and piscina in the Chancel extension that Pevsner describes as "the finest piece of Norman decoration in the county".[7] Thirteenth-century alterations culminated in a major reworking of transepts and south aisle, to create an aisle wider than the nave, providing much more space for local parishioners.[7] Also the huge east window of the south aisle, with ingenious tracery, was created around 1300.[7] The tower was built inside the south aisle, apparently as an afterthought, rising to a quatrefoil frieze, four decorated pinnacles, and the needlelike spire rising from the battlements.[7] The spire was completely rebuilt in 1783, but retained its crockets and three tiers of lucarnes.[7] The interior was worked on by George Gilbert Scott throughout the 1860s.
It is rumoured that here, around 1366, Geoffrey Chaucer married Philippa (de) Roet (a lady-in-waiting to Edward III's queen, Philippa of Hainault, and a sister of Katherine Swynford who later (c. 1396) became the third wife of Chaucer's friend and patron, John of Gaunt).[citation needed]
The infant king Henry VI was knighted in the church at Whitsuntide 1426 by his uncle, John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, the Regent of France (whilst the Parliament of Bats was being held at the Castle). Henry then proceeded to himself dub a further 44 knights on the same occasion, the first of whom was Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York.[8]
William Bickerstaffe, a charitable local schoolmaster and antiquarian, was baptised, buried and held a seven-year curacy at the church.[9]
The church was closed when the spire was found to be unsafe. The 14th-century octagonal spire, having been rebuilt in 1783, had developed six-metre-long cracks in four of its faces in September 2013. After inspections by structural engineers, it was deemed at risk of collapse. The severe condition of the spire meant it had to be demolished, at an estimated cost of £200,000, in 2014.[10] Over £358,000 has been raised since 2011; however, there are currently insufficient funds to rebuild the spire and repair the tower.[2]
The church contains a three manual pipe organ which was originally installed in 1860 by Forster and Andrews. It has been the subject of modifications and restorations in 1880 by Joshua Porritt, and R. J. Winn in 1960. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[11]
Organists
- Henry Bramley Ellis organist 1878–1910
- Benjamin Burrows 1910–?
- William Snow, father of C. P. Snow 1930 – c. 1950
- John M. Bence 1962 - 2020
- Andrew Green 2020 -
- Norman stonework
Norman chancel extern north facade (note grotesque corbels and arches)
Norman chancel extern south facade (note grotesque corbels and arches)
Chancel sedilia
Close up of sedilia mouldings
West Door
North Door
- Stained glass
Chancel East Windows North Arch (Crucifixion)
Chancel East Windows North Arch (Burial)
Chancel East Windows South Arch (Resurrection)
Chancel East Windows South Arch (Ascension)
Nave west window (patriarchs and prophets)
Nave west window (Eve)
Nave west window (Banishment from Eden)
Nave west window (Annunciation)
Nave west window (Baptism of Christ)
100m
110yds
110yds
south gates
9
Magazine
8
'lost' Church of the Newarke (site of)
7
Newarke Houses
6
Trinity Hospital
5
Turret gateway
4
St Mary de Castro
3
Castle gateway
2
Castle Hall
1
Leicester Castle and The Newarke precinct, showing the Motte and bailey (green), boundary walls of The Newarke (blue), and the southern side of the town wall (red).
The historic sites include:-
The historic sites include:-
1
Leicester Castle2
Castle gateway3
Church of St Mary de Castro4
Turret gateway5
Trinity House - former Trinity Hospital6
Newarke Houses Museum7
site of Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke, now includes DMU heritage centre8
Magazine Gateway9
South gates
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