Church of St Mary the Virgin
CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, THE AVENUE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1158715
- Date first listed:
- 13-Jul-1964
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Mary the Virgin
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, THE AVENUE
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2003-12-16
- Reference:
- IOE01/11162/24
- Rights:
- © Mr Derek E. Wharton. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1158715
- Date first listed:
- 13-Jul-1964
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Mary the Virgin
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, THE AVENUE
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 ST MARY THE VIRGIN, THE AVENUE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Bedford (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Bletsoe
- National Grid Reference:
- TL 02341 58330
Details
BLETSOE THE AVENUE TL 05NW (East Side)
6/35 Church of St Mary the Virgin 13.7.64 - II*
Medieval parish church, much restored in mid C19. Coursed limestone rubble. Irregular cruciform plan with central tower, whose form suggests Saxo-Norman origins, though details at top, corner gargoyles and double trefoiled lights in each side, are C14. The chancel is a C19 restoration of a C14 rebuilding. It has two arched tomb recesses and is derelict, being bricked off from the tower. The roofless vestry to the north is a C19 rebuilding. The north transept overlaps both tower and chancel: approached from the tower, it is a C19 renovation of the St John Chapel, and contains a wall memorial to Frances Countess Bolingbroke d. 1678. The south transept, C14 restored, is slightly askew to the axis of the tower. The aisleless nave, heavily restored but probably of late C13 origins, now contains the Sir John St John (d. 1559) memorial, moved in 1978 from the north transept. It is in alabaster and shows his family under a canopy supported by columns. There is a C19 rebuilt porch to the south of the nave, which has diagonal corner buttresses at its west end. The octagonal font is C15.
Listing NGR: TL0234158330
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 36821
- 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 04:18:33.
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