The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a church in South Luffenham, Rutland. It is a Grade II* listed building.[2]
| Church of St Mary the Virgin, South Luffenham | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Mary the Virgin |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Peterborough |
| Parish | South Luffenham, Rutland |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | John Saunders[1] |
History edit
The church consists of a chancel and a nave, which both have clerestories, south porch, south chapel, north and south aisles, tower and spire.[3][2][4]
The church was majorly rebuilt in the 14th century. In the 15th century the clerestory in the chancel was added.[3][5]
The font dates to the 14th century. Also dating from the 14th century, is a table tomb in the chancel of a man in civil costume. The family arms of Culpepper is on the western panel. The chancel was restored in 1850.[3][4]
G. E. Street restored the church in 1861, when the chancel floor was raised and the tower arch opened up.[3][4]
The chapel contains a slab to the daughter of Edward Boswell, a ‘King of the Gypsies’, Rose Boswell.[5] They set up a camp in the parish at Christmas 1793, and Rose became ill with tuberculosis. She died on 19 February 1794, aged 17, and is buried in the south aisle.[3]
Clergy edit
- Robert Cawdrey, compiler of one of the first dictionaries of the English language, the Table Alphabeticall, became rector in 1571 but was deprived in 1587 for his puritan sympathies.
- Owen Gwyn, Master of St John's College, Cambridge from 1612 and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1615–16, was instituted Rector 28 October 1611, remaining in office until his death in 1633.
- Robert Scott, (1811–1887) the co-editor with Henry George Liddell of a Greek-English Lexicon, the standard dictionary of Ancient Greek, was rector here for four years before he was elected Master of Balliol College, Oxford in 1854.[6] Balliol held the advowson from 1855 and many of the priests appointed were fellows of the college and noted scholars.
- James Stephen Hodson, who was rector 1877–81, is commemorated here along with his brother William Stephen Raikes Hodson (1821–1858), a soldier prominent in the Indian Mutiny - "Hodson of Hodson's Horse".
References edit
- ^ "St Mary the Virgin". www.achurchnearyou.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ a b Historic England. "Church of St Mary (Grade II*) (1073877)". National Heritage List for England.
- ^ a b c d e "South Luffenham Church | Leicestershire & Rutland Church Journal". www.leicestershirechurches.co.uk. 4 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Parishes: South Luffenham | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ a b "South Luffenham. The church of St Mary The Virgin". www.robschurches.moonfruit.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.