St Mary and St Martin's Church, Blyth

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

St Mary and St. Martin's Church, Blyth
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipBroad Church
History
DedicationSt Mary & St Martin
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade I listed
Specifications
Bells6
Administration
ParishBlyth, Nottinghamshire
DeaneryBassetlaw & Bawtry
DioceseDiocese of Southwell and Nottingham
ProvinceYork
Clergy
Vicar(s)The Rev'd Jackie McKenna
Laity
Reader(s)Mary Pryce, Graham Robinson,(Shared with other churches in the parish)

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 £110,000 as of 2019),[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]

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 2 February 2020.
  3. "The National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) V2.15". Npro.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  4. "Gary and Tracy Richardson's Wedding Flash Mob 15/06/2013". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  5. "Church of England flashmob wedding video goes viral". Episcopaldigitalnetwork.com. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
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