Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin
PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, CHURCH LANE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1114144
- Date first listed:
- 13-Jul-1964
- List Entry Name:
- Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin
- Statutory Address:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, CHURCH LANE
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:
- 2000-06-18
- Reference:
- IOE01/01826/12
- Rights:
- © Clive Jones. 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:
- 1114144
- Date first listed:
- 13-Jul-1964
- List Entry Name:
- Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin
- Statutory Address 1:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, CHURCH LANE
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:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, CHURCH LANE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Bedford (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Cardington
- National Grid Reference:
- TL 08646 47897
Details
TL 0847 CARDINGTON CHURCH LANE
9/9 Parish Church of Saint 13.7.64 Mary the Virgin
GV II
Parish Church. Mostly rebuilt 1897-1901 by George Highton the Diocesan Surveyor, for Samuel Whitbread, but retaining some original details. Original parts (chancel) of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar dressings, C19 work of grit stone from Tansley Moor, Derbyshire, with Ketton stone dressings. Chancel, N transept, 4-bay nave, N and S aisles and chapels, S porch, W tower. Chancel clerestory, 2-bay arcades, and E end with 5-light window are c.1500. N and S chapels have 5 Norman gargoyles reset below parapets. S doorways of nave and S chapel, and N windows of N chapel, are C15, the latter heavily restored. The S nave arcade reuses 2 C13 capitals. Tower arch has some re- tooled C12 voussoir stones. Otherwise, building dates mainly from 1897-1901 and is in C15 style with embattled parapets. Interior: E bay of both chancel arcades taken up by canopied C16 tombs with elaborate carving and archways to chapels. N one has brass to Sir William Gascoigne (controller of Wolsey's household) d,1540 and his 2 wives. S one, originally a Gascoigne tomb, was appropriated for, and has brass of 1638 to Sir Jarrate Hervey and his wife Dorothy. Both families were related by marriage and were successive inhabitants of Cardington Manor. N transept has monument to Whitbread family. W one to Ive Whitbread and ancestors, by Peter Scheemakers, after 1766, has inscription to base, supporting 2 busts and obelisk. N one to Samuel Whitbread d. 1796, by John Bacon R A, showing Whitbread lying on couch, supported by Faith, who points to heaven, whilst mourning woman kneels at feet. E one to Samuel Whitbread d. 1815, by H. Weekes (dated 1849), showing husband and wife kneeling. N. Chapel has plain wall monument to Henrietta Howard d.l765, with brief inscription to husband John Howard, philanthropist and prison reformer, d. 1790. Black basalt Wedgwood font on tapering square fluted pillar, given 1783 by Harriet Whitbread. J Pickford, A Short Guide to Cardington (unpubd) 1982; also numerous documents in Bedfordshire Record Office).
Listing NGR: TL0864647897
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 36646
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Pickford, C J, A Short Guide to Cardington, (1982)
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 13-Jun-2026 at 22:47:39.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.