The church has the status of
collegiate church as it had a college of secular canons. In governance and religious observance it was similar to a cathedral (although not the seat of a bishop and without diocesan responsibilities). There is a Bishop of Warwick, but this is an
episcopal title used by a
suffragan bishop of the
Diocese of Coventry.
History
Foundation and early years
The church foundations date back nine hundred years, being created by
Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick, in 1123.[1] In addition to founding the church, de Beaumont established the college of dean and canons at the church. The only surviving part of the
Norman church which de
Beaumont had built is the
crypt.
The college was dissolved in 1546, and the church was granted by the Crown to the burgesses of Warwick.[2] Before their destruction in the
Civil War,
Wenceslaus Hollar copied many of the stained glass windows in the Beauchamp Chapel, showing heraldry of the Beauchamp family.
The church, along with much of Warwick, was devastated by the
Great Fire of Warwick in 1693. The nave and tower of the building were completely destroyed. In 1704, the rebuilt church was completed in a Gothic design by
William Wilson
(appointed by the Crown Commissioners).[5] Sir
Christopher Wren is also said to have contributed to the design, but that is disputed.[1][2] The tower rises to the height of 130 feet (40 m).[4] The design was described by
John Summerson as being "as remarkable for its success as for its independence in style from other
seventeenth-centuryEnglish Gothic".[6]
The church has been undergoing significant maintenance for renovation since early 2023 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2023. At a cost of £1.4 million, the renovation was planned after a piece of masonry fell from the church's tower.[7]
Deans of the College
Robert Plesset, 1282
Thomas de Sodynton, 1290
William de Apperley, 1297
Robert Tankard, 1306
Richard de Alcester, 1313
Robert de Geryn, 1314
Robert de Lee, 1321
Thomas Lench, 1338
Robert de Endredeby, 1340
Nicholas Southam, 1361
Thomas Yonge, 1395
John Porter, 1432
Robert Cherbury, 1443
William Berkswell, 14
John Southwell, 1469
Edmund Albone, M.D., 1481
Richard Brackenburgh, 1485
William Stokedale, 1498
Edward Haseley, 1498
Ralph Colingwode, 1507
John Allestre, 1510
John Carvanell, 1515
John Knightley, 1542
Music
Organs
There are two organs in St. Mary's, the transept organ and one at the west end. The specifications of both organs can be found on the
National Pipe
Organ Register.[8][9]
^E-mail from 2023-08-03, 17:06 : "Thank you for your enquiry about St. Mary's. ...
The following information about the pre-1694 church may help:
1. The church tower was Norman, built about 1150.
2. The nave and transepts were rebuilt at the same time as the chancel, so between 1370 and 1394 (approximately).
3. The transepts were slightly shorter and slightly narrower than the present ones.
4. The nave was the same width as the present church, but was a little shorter. The tower sat slightly to the east of the present one.
5. The nave and transepts had a wooden roof. I assume it was of the hammer beam (open truss) type; it is too late to have been a barrel vault.
6. The nave had clerestory windows, so a typical design for English churches of the time; it was not a hall church.
7. A drawing was made after the 1694 fire which gives a likeness of the old church. You can see a copy at Universal Viewer - Digital Bodleian (ox.ac.uk)
I hope that you find this useful, and we look forward to welcoming you to St. Mary's one day.