---
title: "St Mary the Virgin, Much Cowarne"
description: "Located in Much Cowarne, Herefordshire. Built Early C13 tower and nave; late C13 chancel and vestry; south aisle C14; restored 1873. Diocese of Hereford. Grade I. Early English and later medieval style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Herefordshire","Much Cowarne","Grade I","Early English"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/st-mary-virgin-much-cowarne"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T02:20:54.944Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T17:48:22.031Z"
location: "Much Cowarne, Herefordshire"
country: "England"
county: "Herefordshire"
town: "Much Cowarne"
address: "Much Cowarne, Herefordshire, HR7 4JQ"
postcode: "HR7 4JQ"
built: "Early C13 tower and nave; late C13 chancel and vestry; south aisle C14; restored 1873"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Mary"]
diocese: "Hereford"
grade: "I"
style: "Early English and later medieval"
materials: "Local sandstone; slate roofs"
website: "http://www.fromevalleychurches.org.uk/"
openingHours: "Open during daylight hours."
parish: "Much Cowarne"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1082241"
gridReference: "SO 618 471"
accessNotes: "Non-accessible toilets in church. Level access to the main areas"
---

# St Mary the Virgin, Much Cowarne

St Mary the Virgin at Much Cowarne, Herefordshire, is a Grade I parish church of the early thirteenth century and later, in the Diocese of Hereford.

## Overview

Historic England and the RCHME record fabric from the early thirteenth century: nave, chancel, west tower (Norman to Early English), south aisle, south porch and north vestry. The north arcade was blocked and the north aisle demolished, perhaps in the sixteenth century. The south aisle was probably rebuilt and widened in the fourteenth century; the late-thirteenth-century chancel has a late-fourteenth-century east window. A former spire was destroyed by lightning in 1840. The church was restored in 1873; the south porch is modern. Monuments include a thirteenth-century stone knight and two good early-seventeenth-century tombs. Walls are local sandstone with slate roofs. Listed Grade I on 9 June 1967 (NHLE 1082241); listing NGR SO6186747135. A churchyard cross southeast of the church is separately listed and scheduled.

## Further Information

- [Frome Valley churches](http://www.fromevalleychurches.org.uk/)
- [Historic England list entry 1082241](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1082241)
- [RCHME: Much Cowarne](https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/heref/vol2/pp58-60)