The West Berkshire Historic Environment Record (HER) is the primary index of the physical remains of past human activity in the unitary authority of West Berkshire Council. Limited elements of the West Berkshire HER are available online via the Heritage Gateway, therefore it is not suitable for use in desk-based studies associated with development, planning and land-use changes, and does not meet the requirements of paragraph 194 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021: 56). Please read
the important guidance on the use of the West Berkshire HER data. For these purposes and all other commercial enquiries, please contact the Archaeology team and complete our
online HER enquiry form.
| HER Number | MWB16419 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|
| Name | Site of St Mary's Church, Speenhamland |
|---|
Summary
Church built in 1830 as a chapel of ease for population of Speen, altered and extended twice, and demolished in 1976
Other Statuses and Cross-References
- Old Listed Building Ref (pre 1984): ø 2/66 Church of St. Mary
Demolished
Built 1829-31 by Mr. Savage, Architect. In Gothic style of C.14 in stone.
Monument Type(s):
- CHAPEL OF EASE (19th century to Late 20th century - 1830 AD to 1976 AD)
Full Description
Gray's History <1> refers to an 'elegant Chapel of Ease' called St Mary's, built between 1829 and 1831 by an architect named Savage. It was a stone building in a 14th century Gothic style <6>. Although the portico was 'deservedly admired', the architectural beauty was compromised by the building's 'low and unfavourable situation' <1>. Pevsner notes that Street added a chancel in 1876-9, and in 1911 his son replaced the church by a new and larger one <2> <5>. More information about the church's development is contained in records deposited in the Berkshire Record Office <7>. The Ordnance Survey Town Plan shows the internal divisions of the church including the Vestry and the position of the font, and notes that it has 'seats for 789' <11>.
Despite being a listed building <6>, the church was demolished in 1976 and its site developed as flats <3>.
The name of the church has subsequently been attached to No 40 London Road, Newbury, which was listed as St Mary's Vicarage, although it was a much earlier building which may not have become the vicarage until the early 20th century.
West Berkshire Museum has photographs showing the building in the late 19th or early 20th century <15>.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Gray, E W (ed)?. pre 1839. The History and Antiquities of Newbury and its Environs. p168. [Monograph / SWB11182]
https://archive.org/details/historyandantiq00unkngoog (Accessed 16/07/2019) |
| <02> | Pevsner, N. 1966. The Buildings of England (Berkshire). p181. [Monograph / SWB10024] |
| <03> | Hopson, S. 1988. Newbury Then and Now. No 10 & 10A. [Monograph / SWB13973] |
| <04> | Money, W. 1905 & 1972. A Popular History of Newbury (also Walter Money's History of Newbury). p151. [Monograph / SWB11278] |
| <05> | Elliott, J & Pritchard, J (eds). 1998. George Edmund Street - A Victorian Architect in Berkshire. p103-5. [Monograph / SWB147212] |
| <06> | 1950-83. Buildings included in the statutory list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest, pre Review. WBC Network. Map Newbury 2/66. [Unpublished document / SWB10875] |
| <07> | Berkshire Record Office. 1971-2. Twenty-fourth Annual Report of the County Archivist. [Article in serial / SWB13324] |
| <08> | Money, W. 1892. Collections for the History of the Parish of Speen. online. p102. [Monograph / SWB11824]
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=JokLAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PR8&hl=en_GB (Accessed on 09/08/2024) |
| <09> | Church Plans On-Line Project Team. 2001-. Church Plans On-line. ICBS 10772 - Plan. [Website / SWB148102]
https://images.lambethpalacelibrary.org.uk/luna/servlet (Accessed 08/11/2023) |
| <10> | Dils, J and Yates, M (ed). 2012. An Historical Atlas of Berkshire (2nd Edition). p116-117 Anglican church building in nineteenth century Berkshire. [Monograph / SWB148708] |
| <11> | Landmark. 1880-81. Digital OS Mapping Epoch 1, 1:500 - Newbury Town Plan. Digital. 1:500. Marked 'St Mary's Church'. [Map / SWB146990] |
| <12> | Berkshire Archaeological Society. 1952-3. Berkshire Archaeological Journal 1952-53 53. 53. In ADS Journals. 10.5284/1000017. p5-6 in The Church Bells of Berkshire. [Article in serial / SWB9631]
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/berks_bas_2007/journal.cfm?volume=53 (Accessed 17/08/2016) |
| <13> | Berkshire Archaeological Society. 1954-5. Berkshire Archaeological Journal 1954-55 54. 54. In ADS Journals. 10.5284/1000017. p68 in The Rebuilding and Repair of Berkshire Churches .... [Article in serial / SWB6840]
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/berks_bas_2007/journal.cfm?volume=54 (Accessed 31/08/2016) |
| <14> | Davis, Cornelius. 1849. Davis' Ten Miles round Newbury, 1849. Ref No 35 'St Mary's Chapel'. [Map / SWB13949] |
| <15> | Museum Curator. Newbury Museum Accession Records (West Berkshire Museum since 1998). WBC Network. NEBYM:1987.82.2.6; 1987.89.6. [Unpublished document / SWB14452] |
| <16> | 1854-1926. The Building News - generic record for the weekly architectural journal. Volume May 30, 1879. [Article in serial / SWB149830]
https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=buildingnewseng (Accessed 21/12/2020) |
| <17> | 1997-present. Archiseek. https://archiseek.com. [Website / SWB149831]
https://archiseek.com (Accessed 21/12/2020) |
Related Monuments
| MWB19619 | 54-56 Oxford Road, Newbury (formerly Speenhamland Vicarage) (Building) |
| MWB21273 | Site of St Mary's Mixed National School, Newbury (Monument) |
| MWB16478 | Speenhamland School, Newbury (formerly St Mary's Infants' School) (Building) |
| MWB19478 | St Mary's House, 40 London Road, Newbury (formerly Speenhamland) (Building) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
None recordedIf you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.
Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.