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St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in the village of Newbold Astbury, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and its architecture has been praised by a number of writers. It is possible that a church was present on the site in the Saxon era, although the earliest fabric in the church is Norman. The present ground plan was established in the 13th and 14th centuries, from which time the church's external appearance dates, apart from a major rebuilding in the later part of the 15th century, when the range of high windows or clerestory was added. All styles of English Gothic architecture, are represented in the church: Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular. During the civil war, a group of Roundheads stabled their horses in the church. In the 19th century the interior of the church was restored by George Gilbert Scott; some wall paintings were revealed, and stained glass was added. The church has a number of special features. These include its exceptionally wide nave for a village church, and its trapezoidal shape. The tower is separate from the body of the church, joined to it by a passage with a porch. There are two other porches: the three-storey west porch and the two-storey south porch. Inside the church are medieval fittings and furniture and many memorials. The churchyard contains numerous gravestones from the 17th century and five listed structures, including a canopied tomb. St Mary's continues to be an active church in the centre of its village. It provides the usual services of an Anglican church and runs a number of organisations catering for children and adults. ==History== The origins of the church are unclear. The Domesday survey of 1086 records the presence of a priest at Astbury, but not a church. The discovery nearby of fragments of stone with apparent Saxon decoration, coffin lids, and the lower stages of a cross – all of which might date from before the Norman conquest – suggest that an earlier church may have been on the site. The earliest fabric in the present church is a round-arched doorway. Architectural historian Andor Gomme dates this from about the middle of the 12th century and states that at that time the church would have been a simple rectangular building, and mainly timber-framed.〔 Gomme suggests further that in the middle of the 13th century the east end of the church would have been rebuilt in stone, with a chancel and sanctuary. Subsequently the rest of the body of the church was built, consisting of the nave and north and south aisles; the work was completed in the 14th century. The tower was built towards the end of the 13th century, not in the usual position at the west end of the church but to the north of the west bay of the north aisle, separated from it by a distance of . During the 14th century the south porch, with its priest's room or treasury in the top storey, was added. It is not known whether the tower's spire was built in the 14th or the 15th century. Major rebuilding work took place in the later part of the 15th century. It is thought that it began with the south arcade, followed by the north arcade and the addition of a clerestory. The rebuilding was probably complete by about 1525, although the north aisle may not have been completely re-roofed until the early 17th century. The west porch was probably started in the 14th century, and the upper two storeys added in the following century. The nave roof was repaired in 1615.〔 During the civil war, while nearby Biddulph Hall was under siege, Sir William Brereton's Roundheads stabled their horses in the church. They damaged the medieval glass windows and removed some of the church furniture, including the organ. There have been few significant changes since that time. The church was restored during the 19th century by Anthony Salvin,〔 and later, in about 1857, by George Gilbert Scott, who removed plaster from the walls and built a small gallery. During the Victorian era, the reredos and most of the stained glass were added.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St Mary's Church, Astbury」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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