St Mary's Church, Chute Forest

St Mary's Church
Location	Chute Forest, Wiltshire, England
Coordinates	51°16′01″N 1°33′30″W
Built	1870-1871
Architect	John Loughborough Pearson
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Church of St Mary
Designated	8 May 1972[1]
Reference no.	1364574
Location of St Mary's Church in Wiltshire

St Mary's Church in Chute Forest, Wiltshire, England, was built between 1870 and 1871 and consecrated in 1875.[2] It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building,[1] and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[3] It was declared redundant on 23 August 1972, and was vested in the Trust on 26 March 1974.[4]

The church was built of knapped flint, brick and tile with a pyramid spire, by John Loughborough Pearson for the Fowle family.[3] At the time there were 188 parishioners.[5] It was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury on 15 August 1872.[6] The nave and aisles are spanned by a single roof.[3] There are encaustic tiles on the raised floor of the chancel.[1]

The roof is of open trussed timber rafters.[2][1] There is a three-stage tower topped with the spire which is a highly visible from the surrounding area.[1][7] The church had six bells cast in 1871 by Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel Bell Foundry. In 1976 these were removed and rehung in the Church of St Nicholas in Chute.[2][8] The west window includes stained glass by Clayton and Bell a partnership of John Richard Clayton (London, 1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (Silton, Dorset, 1832–95).[9] The west window has glass also from 1914 but in a different style.[1] There is a wall tablet to Frank G. Fowle who died in 1942.[1]

The parish was merged with that of Chute in 1954. The Chute Forest church closed in 1972.[2] An annual service is still held at the church.[10]

See also

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Southwest England
• List of new ecclesiastical buildings by J. L. Pearson

References

1. Historic England. "Church of St Mary, Chute Forest (1364574)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
2. Baggs, A. P.; Freeman, J.; Smith, C.; Stevenson, J. H.; Williamson, E. (1999). "Chute Forest". In Crowley, D. A. (ed.). A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 16. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 120–126. Retrieved 13 October 2023 – via British History Online.
3. St Mary's Church, Chute Forest, Wiltshire. Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
4. Diocese of Salisbury: All Schemes (PDF). Church Commissioners/Statistics. Church of England. 2011. p. 3. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
5. "Survey and Appraisal of Chute and Chute Forest Parishes. 1984" (PDF). The Chutes. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
6. "Ecclesiastical Intelligence - St Mary's Chute Forest" (PDF). Wiltshire Online Parish Clerks. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
7. "The Chutes Village Design Statement" (PDF). Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
8. Baggs, A.P.; Freeman, J.; Stevenson, J.H.; Williamson, E. "Chute In: A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 16, Kinwardstone Hundred". British History Online. Victoria County History. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
9. Brown, Sarah (1994). Stained Glass – an Illustrated History. Bracken Books. p. 132. ISBN 1-85891-157-5.
10. "Closed Churches". Savernake Team. Retrieved 20 May 2020.