| About
The Church of St Mary The Virgin,
Staverton, Northamptonshire
Photo by Bob Giles
As
you approach Staverton from any direction, the beautiful and ancient
church of St Mary the Virgin, sitting proudly on top of one of the
highest points of the Northamptonshire Heights, is clearly visible.
This is not surprising, since it is said that if you were able to
travel eastwards maintaining the same altitude as that at the top
of the Church tower, you wouldn’t touch land again until you
were somewhere in the Urals!
A place of Christian worship has stood on the site of St Mary’s
for well over a thousand years, although the name of Staverton’s
first recorded vicar does not appear until records start in the
year 1220. A board inside the Church lists all subsequent vicars
up to our present incumbent, Reverend Liz Cowley. For hundreds of
years before this, possibly dating back to before 800 A.D., a burial
ground existed on the site - as evidenced by the raised churchyard.
The main structure we see today dates mainly from the 14th Century,
although traces of older architecture still remain, such as the
lancet window in the north-west corner for example which is from
the Norman period. The church houses an abundance of original architectural
and historic features, and is very well worth a visit. A small guide
book is available inside church (£1.50) which provides details
of its many fascinating facts and features.
The ‘new’ North Porch, used as the main entrance into
the Church.
This dates back a mere 600 years, whereas the south porch is 100
years older. The original door and roof timbers still remain.
Service Times
| Every Tuesday |
Evening
Prayer (spoken) 5.00pm |
| 1st Sunday
of the Month |
Family
Service 11.00am |
| 2nd Sunday
of the Month |
Holy Communion
11.00am |
| 3rd &
4th Sundays |
Holy Communion
9.30am |
| 5th Sunday |
Times vary.
Please see
notice board or Parish News |
Contacts
| Vicar,
Reverend Liz Cowley |
Tel. 01327 702466 |
| Churchwarden,
Patricia Wakeford |
Tel. 01327
300749 |
We are very grateful to Michael Green who hosts and manages the
Staverton Village website for allowing us to include a St Mary’s
Church page. If you have any comments on the Church Page, or feel
there is something else you would like to see here, we’d love
to hear from you.
Please telephone Alan Lacey on 01327 872280, or email him
at LaceyAM@btinternet.com.
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