University Church of St Mary the Virgin
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is the largest of Oxford's parish churches [citation needed] and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew. It is situated on the north side of the High Street, and is surrounded by university and college buildings.
St Mary's has one of the most beautiful spires in England and an eccentric baroque porch, designed by Nicholas Stone, facing High Street.[1] Radcliffe Square lies to the north and to the east is Catte Street, pedestrianised since 1973. The 13th century tower is open to the public for a fee and provides good views across the heart of the historic university city, especially Radcliffe Square, the Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose College and All Souls College.
History
A church was established on this site, at the centre of the old walled city, in Anglo Saxon times, records of 1086 note the church as previously belonging to an estate held by Aubrey de Coucy, likely Iffley, and the parish including part of Littlemore.[2] The oldest part of the present church is the tower, which dates from around 1280 and the decorated spire was added in the 1320s.
In the early days of Oxford University, the church was adopted as the first building of the university, congregation met there from at least 1252,[2] and by the early 13th century it was the seat of university government and was used for lectures and the award of degrees. Around 1320 a two storey building was added to the north side of the chancel — the ground floor (now the Vaults cafe) became the "convocation" house used by university parliament, and the upper storey housed books bequeathed by Thomas Cobham, bishop of Worcester, which formed the first university library.[2]
In the later 15th and early 16th century the main body of the church was substantially rebuilt in the "Perpendicular" style that we see today.
Later, St Mary's was the site of the 1555 trial of the Oxford Martyrs, when the bishops Latimer and Ridley, and the Archbishop Cranmer, were tried for heresy. The martyrs were imprisoned at the former Bocardo Prison near St Michael at the Northgate in Cornmarket Street and subsequently burnt at the stake just outside the city walls to the north (now Broad Street — a cross set into the road marks the location). The Martyrs' Memorial at the south end of St Giles' in Oxford, commemorates the events.
Today's church
The current vicar of St Mary's is Brian Mountford. Charlotte Bannister-Parker is the Assistant Curate. Gulliver Ralston is the Director of Music and the organist is Nick Wearne. The main Sunday service is at 10.30am, and during university term services are enhanced by the choir of the University Church and by many notable visiting preachers.
Organ
The church has a splendid classical organ built by the Swiss firm of Metzler Orgelbau in 1986, one of only two by this esteemed maker in Great Britain. (The other is in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge.) This instrument was inspired by a previous instrument, originally built for the church by the famed organ builder "Father" Smith in 1676. Much altered over the years, the last remains of this original organ (besides some fragments of ornamental casework and, possibly, part of one stop) were destroyed by a fire shortly after World War II. The Metzler organ replaced this instrument's successor — an organ by J.W. Walker & Sons that was contained in the restored old case, originally by Smith but extensively rebuilt in a 'gothic' style in 1827 by Plowman. The pipework and case of this organ are now in the church of St Mary, Penzance, Cornwall.
The unstained oak case of the Metzler organ is based on the original Smith design and incorporates a few carved wooden pipe shades that remained after the 1827 case rebuild and later fire. It still lacks certain decorative carvings from the original design by Bernhardt Edskes, most notably the large scrolls beneath the pedal towers on the four corners. It is hoped that these will one day be provided.
References
- ^ Sherwood, Jennifer, A guide to the Churches of Oxfordshire p. 149,150 (publ. Robert Dugdale in association with Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust 1989) ISBN 0-946976-03
- ^ a b c Crossley, Alan (editor), 'Churches', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 4: The City of Oxford (1979) — Oxford University Press British History Online ISBN 0-19-722714-7