Church of St Mary de Castro, Leicester
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2013) |
| St Mary de Castro, Leicester | |
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 St Mary de Castro, Leicester |
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| 52°37′56″N 1°08′25″W / 52.6323°N 1.1404°WCoordinates: 52°37′56″N 1°08′25″W / 52.6323°N 1.1404°W | |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Mary de Castro "St Mary of the Castle" |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Leicester |
| Diocese | Leicester |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Mary de Castro is an ancient church in Leicester, England, located within the former bailey of Leicester Castle. Today it acts as a parish church in the Church of England's diocese of Leicester. "St Mary de Castro" is Latin for "St Mary of the Castle"; a name chosen to differentiate from nearby "St Mary de Pratis": "St. Mary of the Meadows".[1]
Architectural history
It dates its founding to 1107 when Henry I of England took the lands and castle from a rebellious owner and granted them instead to Robert de Beaumont, although some legends say that an Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary had existed before then [1] and Robert merely refurbished it.[citation needed] Whichever, he established it within the castle bailey as a college served by a Dean and 12 Canons (that is, a collegiate church) in honour of the Virgin Mary and All Souls and as a chantry chapel for the souls of him, his family and the first three Norman kings.[citation needed] He endowed this and 4 other churches with £6 of his income and land in or near the city.[citation needed] However, these endowments were all transferred soon after by his son Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester to his own new foundation of Leicester Abbey, although this was made up for by an annual grant from the Earl of 20 shillings for lamps and by restoring a Dean, six Clerks and a Chaplain to the church, which was by now a parish church too and so supported by tithes and offerings.[citation needed]
It was rebuilt in the 1180s, and has undergone alterations since, including the addition of a spire (1400).[citation needed]
The collegiate nature of the church lasted until the college was disbanded in 1548 by Henry VIII.[citation needed]
Famous events
It is rumoured that here, around 1366, Geoffrey Chaucer married Philippa (de) Roet (a lady-in-waiting to Edward III's queen, Philippa of Hainault, and a sister of Katherine Swynford who later (ca. 1396) became the third wife of Chaucer's friend and patron, John of Gaunt).[citation needed] King Henry VI was knighted in the church in 1426 when he was an infant (whilst the Parliament of Bats was being held at the Castle).[citation needed]
Philippa of Lancaster, the eldest daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and Blanche of Lancaster, was born in nearby Leicester Castle and was a Queen consort of Portugal, married in 1387 to King John I of Portugal during Anglo-Portuguese Alliance thus giving rise to extended name of the church (St. Mary de Castro) during one of its alterations.[citation needed]
References
- ^ BBC. "A Haunted History: St Mary de Castro". Leicester. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
External links
Media related to Church of St Mary de Castro, Leicester at Wikimedia Commons
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