St Mary's Priory Church, Deerhurst

Priory church of St Mary, Deerhurst
The church seen from the southwest
Priory church of St Mary, Deerhurst is located in Gloucestershire
Priory church of St Mary, Deerhurst
Priory church of St Mary, Deerhurst
51°58′04″N 2°11′25″W / 51.967871°N 2.190197°W / 51.967871; -2.190197
OS grid referenceSO87032995
LocationDeerhurst, Gloucestershire
CountryEngland, UK
DenominationChurch of England
Previous denominationRoman Catholic
WebsiteWelcome to the parishes of Severnside and Twyning
History
Statusparish church
DedicationSt Mary
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade I listed
Designated4 July 1960
StyleAnglo-Saxon, Early English, Decorated Gothic, Perpendicular Gothic
Years built8th, 9th, 10th, 13th centuries
Specifications
Materialsrubble masonry
Bells6
Tenor bell weight10 long tons 3 cwt 22 qr (23,350 lb or 10.59 t)
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DioceseDiocese of Gloucester
ArchdeaconryCheltenham
DeaneryDeanery of Tewkesbury and Winchcombe
ParishDeerhurst with Apperley

St Mary's Priory Church, Deerhurst, is the Church of England parish church of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, England. Much of the church is Anglo-Saxon. It was built in the 8th century, when Deerhurst was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. It is contemporary with the Carolingian Renaissance on mainland Europe, which may have influenced it.

The church was restored and altered in the 10th century after the Viking invasion of England. It was enlarged early in the 13th century and altered in the 14th and 15th centuries. The church has been described as "an Anglo-Saxon monument of the first order".[1] It is a Grade I listed building.[2]

From the Anglo-Saxon era until the Dissolution of the Monasteries St Mary's was the church of a Benedictine priory.

Deerhurst has a second Anglo-Saxon place of worship, the 11th-century Odda's Chapel, about 200 yards southwest of the church.

  1. ^ Verey 1970, p. 16.
  2. ^ Historic England. "The Church of St Mary (Grade I) (1151998)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 April 2018.