Church of St. Mary, Burton
St. Mary’s Church is situated in the north of the parish and sited on a small hill looking over Burton and dates from 1290. Incumbents date back to 1305 and the manor and advowson of Netelington belonged to Glastonbury Abbey until the dissolution. It is now in the Bybrook benefice and part of the Bristol Diocese.
The nave and aisle walls date from the 14th century and work was carried out in 1460 on re-roofing and the building of the chancel. The north and south porches were also added around this time. The perpendicular tower was built in the 15th century and now holds six bells which were restored in 1982. One bell is over 500 years old. The dates of the bells are 1889, 1754, 1652, 1653, 1830 and 1400. The tenor bell of 1400 has an unusual decorative border made up of ornamental foliage and arabesques which sit between the words, rare for a medieval bell. The tower doorway has a porch made of a stone hood.
The nave and aisle walls date from the 14th century and work was carried out in 1460 on re-roofing and the building of the chancel. The north and south porches were also added around this time. The perpendicular tower was built in the 15th century and now holds six bells which were restored in 1982. One bell is over 500 years old. The dates of the bells are 1889, 1754, 1652, 1653, 1830 and 1400. The tenor bell of 1400 has an unusual decorative border made up of ornamental foliage and arabesques which sit between the words, rare for a medieval bell. The tower doorway has a porch made of a stone hood.
The north porch is vaulted and has a parapet as well as a cornice under which are gargoyles to the water running off the roof clear of the walls. The door is original, including the ironmongery, and has a Banbury lock, the earliest form of church lock. There is a well worn ‘stoup’ inside the porch. The south door and porch have a canopied niche over the apex with buttresses either side and these include two carved figures. In the north wall is a priest’s door leading into the chancel and this also has a small projecting hood. The chancel is topped by a stone bell turret with panelled sides and a short spiralet with a foliated finial. The roof is tiled in Cotswold stone.
The font is Norman and circular with a scallop capital and fish scale ornament. The north aisle has Georgian box pews and has arches resting on round columns with sculptured capitals all of differing designs. Many are figures and faces of human form and some are corbels which help support the roof. Other early stone pieces include a bench table dating from the 13th century, set on the inside of the north wall.
Most of the glass was destroyed by Cromwell and his men but some heraldic forms survive in the north aisle windows. Royal Arms, Scrope, Badlesmere, Dunstanville and Paulet are among these fragments. These were families that were all associated with the nearby Manor of Castle Combe.
The font is Norman and circular with a scallop capital and fish scale ornament. The north aisle has Georgian box pews and has arches resting on round columns with sculptured capitals all of differing designs. Many are figures and faces of human form and some are corbels which help support the roof. Other early stone pieces include a bench table dating from the 13th century, set on the inside of the north wall.
Most of the glass was destroyed by Cromwell and his men but some heraldic forms survive in the north aisle windows. Royal Arms, Scrope, Badlesmere, Dunstanville and Paulet are among these fragments. These were families that were all associated with the nearby Manor of Castle Combe.
The original 14th century aisle was lengthened and the three light tracery windows reconstructed in the 15th century east wall. Other windows were inserted in the north and south walls. The royal arms over the chancel arch are in the style used by George I, II and III until 1801.
The stone pulpit has 15th century carving and 600 year old steps. The altar has a ‘reredos’, a decorative treatment of the wall at the back of an altar, in this case a Doulton terracotta panel of the Last Supper by George Tinworth. The altar rails are 17th century with symmetrical balusters and a heraldic wall monument to Samuel Arnold, a 19th century rector, sits alongside the altar.
Restoration was carried out in 1900 and again in the 1970s when a fire destroyed much of the work just completed. In 2009 the pews and pew platform were removed in the west end of the church and a new stone floor was laid over the earth. This showed up one of the beams supporting the new platform as a hand carved and partly painted piece of wood; possibly suggesting that it was part of the rood screen before the reformation.
Treasures that the church holds include a flagon, chalice, paten and paten cover, most of these dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The stone pulpit has 15th century carving and 600 year old steps. The altar has a ‘reredos’, a decorative treatment of the wall at the back of an altar, in this case a Doulton terracotta panel of the Last Supper by George Tinworth. The altar rails are 17th century with symmetrical balusters and a heraldic wall monument to Samuel Arnold, a 19th century rector, sits alongside the altar.
Restoration was carried out in 1900 and again in the 1970s when a fire destroyed much of the work just completed. In 2009 the pews and pew platform were removed in the west end of the church and a new stone floor was laid over the earth. This showed up one of the beams supporting the new platform as a hand carved and partly painted piece of wood; possibly suggesting that it was part of the rood screen before the reformation.
Treasures that the church holds include a flagon, chalice, paten and paten cover, most of these dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The First World War memorial commemorates seven men from the village and there are Rolls of Honour for the parish and Nettleton School. The Second World War memorial names five men. There are also 24 listed monuments in the churchyard. The church currently holds messy church sessions with art and craft activities for all, including messy refreshments and messy worship. It also has a Parent and Toddler group, a library service and a Lunch Club.