St Mary Magdalene's Church (Boveney)

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St Mary Magdalene's Church in Boveney, view from the southeast

St Mary Magdalene's Church is a disused church building on the north bank of the Thames near Boveney in Buckinghamshire in England. It's about two miles west of Eton College . The structure was included on September 23, 1955 by English Heritage in Grade I in the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest . It is run by the Friends of Friendless Churches .

Early history

In the place where the building still exists today, there was a church before the Norman conquest of England , but the current building dates from the 12th century. The windows and the church tower were added in the 15th century. The church was mainly used by boatmen on the river, which is why there was also a mooring at the church. However, there are no more traces of this. The church was a branch church of St Peter's Church in Burnham . An attempt to turn the church into an independent parish church failed in 1737 because not enough money could be raised for the foundation .

architecture

St Mary Magdalene's is built from rubble of flint and chalk . Small fragments of flint were worked into the mortar ; this procedure has partly a functional meaning and is partly of decorative use. The church tower is covered with boards as weather protection; he rises on a timber frame construction . The entrance is on the south side. High up on the western wall is a small lancet window , probably from the 12th century. Inside the church some of the original stalls from the 15th century have been preserved. The rest of the interior is largely from the 18th and 19th centuries. In a container with a glazed front on the north side of the church are fragments of painted and gilded alabaster sculptures, which probably date from the 15th century; these represent biblical themes. The ringing consists of three bells. The largest dates from 1536 and was cast at a foundry in Reading , Berkshire , the other two were cast by Ellis I. Knight in 1631 and 1636.

Recent past and present

The church was declared redundant in 1975 and plans were then made to either demolish it or convert it for residential use. After a locally led campaign, the building became the property of the Friends of Friendless Churches in June 1983 . The church is still consecrated and has been used occasionally for church services since 1983. The church then had to be closed to the public because the steeple proved to be in danger of collapsing. After the 19th century plaster was removed from the base of the tower, it was discovered that the entablature was completely rotten. The repair cost was £ 200,000. Of this, around 70% was granted as a grant from English Heritage and the remainder was drawn from a variety of sources including the Sir John Smith and the Francis Coales Charitable Foundation and Eton College. The renovation of the church tower has been completed and work was carried out on the windows during 2010–2011. The restoration work on the church tower was awarded a prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects for conservation measures in 2005.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d Chapel Of St Mary Magdalene, Boveney ( English ) In: Heritage Gateway website . Heritage Gateway ( English Heritage , Institute of Historic Building Conservation and ALGAO: England ). 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Boveney St Mary Magdalene ( English ) Friends of Friendless Churches . Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 31, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g St Mary Magdalene, Boveney ( English ) Parish of Eton with Eton Wick and Boveney. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  4. ↑ Boveney, S Mary Magd ( English ) Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers . Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  5. ^ A b The Repair Campaign at Boveney ( English ) Friends of Friendless Churches . Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 31, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk
  6. ↑ a b Catherine Larner: Brought back from neglect and decay (English) . In: Church Times , June 15, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 

Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 25.1 ″  N , 0 ° 38 ′ 50.6 ″  W.