St Mary and St Martin's Church, Blyth

St Mary and St. Martin's Church, Blyth
53°22′50.38″N 01°3′42.82″W
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
History
Dedication	St Mary & St Martin
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Specifications
Bells	6
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham
Deanery	Bassetlaw & Bawtry
Parish	Blyth, Nottinghamshire
Laity
Reader(s)	Graham Robinson,(Shared with other churches in the parish)

St. Mary and St. Martin's Church, Blyth, is a Grade I listed parish church in Blyth, Nottinghamshire, England.[1]

Priory

For main article, see Blyth Priory.

Double height clerestory

The priory of St. Mary and St. Martin is one of the oldest examples of Norman architecture in the country. It was part of a Benedictine monastery founded in 1088. This priory was founded by Roger de Builli of Tickhill Castle, one of William the Conqueror's followers.

The founder and later benefactors endowed Blyth with lands, money and churches. It was staffed at first by monks from the Mother House, Holy Trinity Priory at Rouen France. In 1286 Thomas Russel had to be returned to Rouen because of his intolerable conduct and also John de Belleville, as the climate did not suit him. There are other records of the unruly conduct of French monks.

During a visitation of the priory in 1536 it was alleged that five of the monks were guilty of grave offences and it was surrendered. George Dalton, the Prior, received a pension of twenty marks, and this seems to have been the only pension awarded. The net annual income at the date of the surrender was £180. (equivalent to £130,000 as of 2023),[2]

Parish Church

The nave and chancel

After the Dissolution the east part of the church was demolished and a tower built at the west end of the nave.

There was a restoration in 1885 by C. Hodgson Fowler, the contractor being Thomas Woolston of Stamford.

Organ

A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[3]

Viral video

The church gained notoriety after a video of a flash mob wedding held in the church was posted on YouTube on 21 June 2013.[4][5]

See also

• Grade I listed buildings in Nottinghamshire
• Listed buildings in Blyth, Nottinghamshire

References

1. The Buildings of England. Nottinghamshire. Nikolaus Pevsner
2. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
3. "The National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) V2.15". Npro.org.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
4. "Gary and Tracy Richardson's Wedding Flash Mob 15/06/2013". YouTube. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
5. "Church of England flashmob wedding video goes viral". Episcopaldigitalnetwork.com. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2016.