Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, CHURCH ROAD, SHAPWICK
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1058962
- Date first listed:
- 29-Mar-1963
- List Entry Name:
- Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, CHURCH ROAD, SHAPWICK
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2003-04-17
- Reference:
- IOE01/08913/34
- Rights:
- © Mr Kevin White. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1058962
- Date first listed:
- 29-Mar-1963
- List Entry Name:
- Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, CHURCH ROAD, SHAPWICK
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, CHURCH ROAD, SHAPWICK
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Shapwick
- National Grid Reference:
- ST 41774 38244
Details
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 06/03/2012
ST43NW
2/17
29.3.63
SHAPWICK CP
CHURCH ROAD (North side)
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Formerly listed as Church of St Mary)
GV II*
Anglican Parish Church. Consecrated 1331, some C15 alteration, particularly to tower and West end; restored 1861 by
George Gilbert Scott. Coursed and squared rubble and some ashlar, freestone dressings, slate roofs with crested ridges,
coped verges with cruciform finials. Decorated and Perpendicular; restoration in a neo-Decorated style. Nave with a
heated North vestry, South porch, central tower, chancel. Embattled 2 stage tower, 2-light bell-chamber windows,
gargoyles; stair turret to North with embattled octagonal upper stage; South side with 2 further 2-light windows. Two
squat 2-stage buttresses on the North and South sides of tower at junction with nave and chancel. Two bay nave, 2 and
3-light windows; 5-light transomed West window, West door. Buttressed vestry with a 2-light window. Buttressed porch,
interior benched on flag floor; outer door opening with paired wrought-iron gates; inner door opening with paired plank
doors, E-shaped hinges. Two bay chancel, 2-light windows, plain 3-light East window; priests door with restored C15
hinges. Plastered interior on tile floors, marble around altar. Tower on squat double-chamfered arches continued in the
piers without interruption. Nave with restored C15 wagon roof; C19 coffered ceiling under tower; chancel with C19 wagon
roof. Two C14 piscinae to nave. C15 stone pulpit; C14/C15 style font. Part of detached remains of C17 altar rail,
turned balusters; Jacobean table in vestry. Two fine wall monuments of C17 to Bull family of Shapwick Manor (q.v.); to
Jane Bull of 1657 with a marble surround, open segmental pediment with achievement, flanking cherubs; to Henry Bull of
1691, broken segmental pediment with achievement, flanking pilasters with emblems of mortality. Five C18 monuments;
that to Thomas Strangways of 1766 with urn finial; 9 principal C19 monuments. Remainder of fittings of C19, including
pews, choir stalls, lectern, alter rail, ornamental oil lamps on sconces and decalogue plaques flanking tower arch.
Achievement on canvas plaque in nave. Much mid/late C19 stained glass, particularly in the chancel.
Listing NGR: ST4177438244
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 269245
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 07:02:41.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2026. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry