Church of St Mary the Virgin, Wellingborough

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Church of England parish church in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. The church is a Grade I listed building.[1]

Church of St Mary the Virgin
Interior of St Mary's Church
LocationKnox Road, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN8 1PX
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipTraditional Catholic
History
StatusActive
DedicationSt Mary the Virgin
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Heritage designationGrade I listed
Architect(s)Sir Ninian Comper
Architectural typePerpendicular Gothic
Administration
ParishSt Mary the Virgin Wellingborough
DeaneryWellingborough
ArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of Northampton
DioceseDiocese of Peterborough
Clergy
Bishop(s)The Rt Revd Norman Banks, SSC (AEO)
Vicar(s)Fr Robert Farmer, SSC

History

The church was built from 1908 to 1930, and was designed by Sir Ninian Comper.[1] It is in the Perpendicular Gothic style.[1] The design and interior of the church was influenced by the Oxford Movement and the Victorian revival of ritualism[2] Financing of the work was largely due to the Misses Sharman of Wellingborough.

On 9 June 1970, St Mary's Church was designated a Grade I listed building.[1] It is one of only a few Grade I listed buildings built in the 20th century.

Present day
Baptistry

The parish of St Mary the Virgin Wellingborough is in the Archdeaconry of Northampton in the Diocese of Peterborough.[3]

St Mary's stands in the Traditional Catholic tradition of the Church of England.[3] As the parish has passed resolutions to reject the ordination of women, it receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Richborough (currently Norman Banks).[4] It is also affiliated with Forward in Faith and The Society.[5][6]

Notable clergy
  • Michael Bent, later Archdeacon of Taranaki in New Zealand and Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Fiji, served his curacy here from 1955 to 1960.[7][8]

List of vicars
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
  • 1952–1966: Fr Raymond Brown
  • 1967–1988: Fr Thomas Finch
  • 1990–1994: Fr Alan Robinson (priest in charge) (now Rector of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Maiden Lane - the Diocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament for the Diocese of Westminster)
  • 1996–present: Fr Robert Farmer, SSC (priest in charge, 1996–2000)

References
  1. Historic England. "Church of St Mary the Virgin (1371787)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  2. Howse, Christopher (14 October 2006). "On the altar of function and beauty". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  3. "St Mary The Virgin, Wellingborough". A Church Near You. Archbishops' Council. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  4. "St Mary". See of Richborough. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  5. "Our parishes". Forward in Faith Peterborough. Forward in Faith. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  6. "Diocese of Peterborough: Parishes of the Society". The Society. Forward in Faith. 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  7. "Michael Charles Bent". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  8. Birch, Mark (22 March 2016). "Priestly Man of Action". Taranaki Cathedral. Retrieved 15 March 2017.

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