St Mary's Church Heritage
St Mary’s Church, Wymeswold, is a place of Christian worship which has been used for over 800 years. The church is situated on Far Street, the main road through the village, on a small rise above the brook called the River Mantle. The building we see today is largely medieval in construction, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The church’s importance, for which it has received Grade I listed status, is a result of its extensive reordering in 1844-46 under the Reverend Henry Alford (later Dean of Canterbury), by A.W.N. Pugin, a leading architect of the English Gothic revival. St Mary’s Church was one of only a small number of Anglican parish churches to be restored by Pugin and it remains a near-intact example of his work.
The 20th century saw ongoing repairs to the church. Pinnacles were replaced in 1909. Electric lighting was installed in 1927. There were major repairs to the roof and refurbishments to the interior, in the mid-1950s, 1980s,1990s and early 2000s. In 2025, the nave roof underwent extensive repairs thanks to a generous National Lottery Heritage Fund grant for the project ‘Restoring A.W.N. Pugin’s Church’. We continue in the tradition of our predecessors.
There is a downloadable short guide to St Mary’s Church: Brief Guide and Walking Tour of St Mary’s Church.
The Brief guide can be downloaded here: Brief Guide
A children's quiz guide can be downloaded here: Children's guide
Some of the historical and architectural terms used in this guide are specialist vocabulary. To help with this, a Glossary can be downloaded here:
