History in Structure

Church of St Mary the Virgin

A Grade II* Listed Building in Bletsoe, Bedford

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Coordinates

Latitude: 52.2137 / 52°12'49"N

Longitude: -0.5035 / 0°30'12"W

OS Eastings: 502341

OS Northings: 258330

OS Grid: TL023583

Mapcode National: GBR G14.5JD

Mapcode Global: VHFPV.7M5B

Plus Code: 9C4X6F7W+FH

Entry Name: Church of St Mary the Virgin

Listing Date: 13 July 1964

Grade: II*

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1158715

English Heritage Legacy ID: 36821

ID on this website: 101158715

Location: St Mary's Church, Bletsoe, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44

County: Bedford

Civil Parish: Bletsoe

Traditional County: Bedfordshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Bedfordshire

Church of England Parish: Bletsoe

Church of England Diocese: St.Albans

Tagged with: Church building

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Description


BLETSOE THE AVENUE
TL 05NW (East Side)

6/35 Church of St Mary the
Virgin
13.7.64
- II*

Medieval parish church, much restored in mid C19. Coursed limestone rubble.
Irregular cruciform plan with central tower, whose form suggests Saxo-Norman
origins, though details at top, corner gargoyles and double trefoiled lights
in each side, are C14. The chancel is a C19 restoration of a C14 rebuilding.
It has two arched tomb recesses and is derelict, being bricked off from the
tower. The roofless vestry to the north is a C19 rebuilding. The north
transept overlaps both tower and chancel: approached from the tower, it is a
C19 renovation of the St John Chapel, and contains a wall memorial to Frances
Countess Bolingbroke d. 1678. The south transept, C14 restored, is slightly
askew to the axis of the tower. The aisleless nave, heavily restored but
probably of late C13 origins, now contains the Sir John St John (d. 1559)
memorial, moved in 1978 from the north transept. It is in alabaster and shows
his family under a canopy supported by columns. There is a C19 rebuilt porch
to the south of the nave, which has diagonal corner buttresses at its west
end. The octagonal font is C15.


Listing NGR: TL0234158330

External Links

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