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St Mary the Virgin, Beverston, Gloucestershire

Location
(51°38′40″N, 2°12′3″W)
Beverston
ST 862 940
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Gloucestershire
now Gloucestershire
medieval Worcester
now Gloucester
  • John Wand
20 Jun 2017

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Description

Beverston is a hamlet about 2 miles W of Tetbury with the ruins of a 13th-c castle adjacent to the church. The church, which is built of random coursed rubble, is of Norman origin, possibly built on a Saxon site, and was extended in 1225, and again in 1361. It consists of a W tower, a nave with S aisle and 14th-c N (Berkeley) chapel, and a 14th-c chancel. There is a squint passage between the N chapel and chancel. The building was restored in 1844 by Vulliamy, who designed the intricate nave roof. The S doorway and arcade are Romanesque.

History

It was at Beverston that Earl Godwin assembled his forces in 1051 for a confrontation with Edward the Confessor. The manor was held by the king in 1086 as a berewick of Berkeley. By 1225 the manor was held by Maurice de Gaunt who extended the church and rebuilt the castle. The Berkeley family subsequently held the manor, and Thomas, Lord Berkeley was responsible for the 1361 extension of the church and further rebuilding of the castle.

Features

Exterior Features

Doorways

Windows

Exterior Decoration

Interior Features

Arcades

Nave
Comments/Opinions

The plain octagonal font has been dated by Bryant (2012), 133-34, to the second half of the 10thc.

Bibliography

Anon., St Mary's Church, Beverston, n.d.

F. Arnold-Forster, Studies in Church Dedications: or, England’s Patron Saints, Vol. 3, London 1899, 50.

J. N. Bromehead, Beverston, its Church and its Castle, London 1905.

R. Bryant, Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture, Vol. X: the Western Midlands, London 2012, 133-34.

Historic England, National Heritage List for England No. 1153025.

D. Verey and A. Brooks, The Buildings of England, Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds, 3rd Edition, London 1999, 163-64.

A. Williams and G.H. Martin (eds), Domesday Book: A Complete Translation, London 2003, 448.