Church

St Mary, Fretherne

St Mary, Fretherne

St Mary the Virgin is a Grade II* parish church on Arlingham Road in Fretherne, Gloucestershire, in the Diocese of Gloucester.

Location
Fretherne, Gloucestershire
Country
England
County
Gloucestershire
City / town
Fretherne
Address
Arlingham Road, Fretherne, Gloucestershire, GL2 7JQ
Postcode
GL2 7JQ
Built
Rebuilt 1847 on a C13 site; enlarged 1857–59 and 1866
Architect
Francis Niblett; enlarged by J W Hugall
Denomination
Church of England
Dedication
Mary
Diocese
Gloucester
Parish
Fretherne St Mary the Virgin
Grade
II*
Style
Decorated Gothic Revival
Materials
Brown sandstone with pinkish ashlar limestone dressings; decorative fishscale tiled roofs
Grid reference
SO 734 092
Opening hours
Covid19 : Following the restrictions required by the Covid19 Regulations St Mary's is now open on Wednesdays and Sundays, 9 am to 4 pm. For your safety and the safety of others, please follow all guidelines published in the church. [Normally open : Weekends and bank holidays open from 10am to 4pm. Access at other times by arrangement.]
Access
Ramp or level access available on request. Level access to the main areas

Overview

Historic England records an Anglican church rebuilt in 1847 on the site of a thirteenth-century church by Francis Niblett, enlarged in 1857–59 by J. W. Hugall, and commissioned by the Darell family. The fabric is brown sandstone with pinkish ashlar limestone dressings; roofs are mainly decorative fishscale tiles with decorative ridge tiles, pierced parapets and crocketed corner pinnacles. The style is Decorated. The plan is a nave with aisles, a porch at the west corner of the north aisle with a tower over, two south chapels and a small south-east vestry.

The three-stage tower has stepped angle buttresses, a crocketed octagonal spire and flying buttresses to the pinnacles. The interior is highly decorative, with coloured and encaustic floor tiles, a painted roof, and painting and gilding on the stonework. The four-bay nave has arch-braced collar beams; the south arcade has piers all different. Two clerestory roof lights close to the chancel arch are jettied out as oriels. Glass is mainly by George Rogers of Worcester, 1859. The south-west chapel contains thirteenth-century coffin lids. Niblett, of Haresfield, was a follower of A. W. N. Pugin; Hugall added the south aisle and chapels.

Further Information