700th Anniversary

History

St Mary’s Church was consecrated on 29th October 1311. We were therefore proud to be celebrating the 700th anniversary of our church last year. The church has a history of more than a thousand years, commencing with a 9th Century Saxon Minster which remained until 1121. It was replaced at that time with a Norman Augustinian Priory - which became one of the leading monastic houses in the South West of England and remained until 1539 when the Priory buildings were destroyed. The remains of the old Priory can be found adjacent to St Mary’s Church and are being carefully looked after by the Plympton Civic Society.

The church has many outstanding features, including a large granite tower, several stained glass windows and many other artefacts. In St Katherine’s Chapel, which is the oldest part of the building, there is a tomb of Richard Strode who was a Plympton MP in the 1500s and was famous for introducing a bill to curb the mining of tin on Dartmoor. There is a large memorial plaque on the north wall of the church, dedicated to the Strode family. In the late thirteenth century, the river came up to the church tower and pilgrims about to embark for Santiago de Compostela in Spain were given refuge in the church. The Courtenay Chapel has a memorial to Philip Courtenay whose daughter married William Strode. Another famous local family with strong connections to St Mary’s Church were the Parkers of Saltram. There are many artefacts in the church dedicated to them.

Through the generations, the people of Plympton St. Mary have come to this church to worship God, rejoice in times of joy and seek comfort in times of sorrow.

In order to celebrate the 700th Anniversary of St Mary’s Church, we are in the process of holding a series of special events from the time of our Patronal Festival in August 2011 when there was a Songs of Praise led by Pam Rhodes and a Flower Festival, until August 2012 when there will be a closing service led by Bishop Martin Shaw and a bell ringing festival. Various special services are being held during the year, including a Dedication Service which took place on 29th October 2011. There will be an historical play in the church, a Schools Week and an Arts and Crafts Fair. We hope that all of these events will be attended by our friends throughout the local community and far beyond.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL

As the year of celebrations to commemorate our 700th Anniversary draws to a close, we are holding an Arts and Crafts Festival from Friday 13th July to Sunday 15th July. We want to hear from all local artists or craftsmen, or those from further away, who would like to take part. Just put a call through to Marcia, the organiser on 01752 335541, who will be delighted to hear from you, will provide all the information you need and will book a place for you. Exhibits will be on display in the church.

CALLING ALL BELL RINGERS

As a grand finale to our celebrations, we are holding a bell ringing experience which we would like others to be part of by joining us in the tower at St Mary's Church this year on 11th August. It is hoped that as many towers as possible can join us so that we can ring for a period of 7 hours without stopping, with a peel of 3322 (derived from the years 1311 and 2011 added to make up this number!) If any tower is interested, a full detailed pack can be sent via e-mail on request. If we can get 14 teams then each team will ring for just 30 minutes. However, the timing will be arranged according to the number of teams taking part. Anyone interested is asked to make contact before 31st May so that we can make plans in advance: please e-mail [email protected].

Captain of the Tower: Mary Nicholls, e-mail [email protected]

Many thanks to everyone making a call.

BROCHURE

For more information, see our brochure which sets out everything anybody would want to know about our 700th Anniversary celebrations. Copies are on sale for only £2 in the Church and Church Hall and at the Underwood Corner Shop.

BANNERS

Many people have expressed their delight about the wonderful banners which have adorned the church throughout our 700th Anniversary celebrations. These were designed and made by gifted and talented students from all years in the Art Department of Ridgeway School under the leadership of Maria Romanski. The students found out about the history of the church and used this information in planning and creating their amazing art work. A description of each banner has been placed beside it in the church. Our grateful thanks are due to these young people who are a credit to their school.

PAST EVENTS

We made a brilliant start to the year with a lovely Songs of Praise featuring the wonderful Pam Rhodes who had everyone spellbound in leading the event on Sunday 14th August and interviewing members of our church community who had great stories to tell. The large congregation gave lusty voice to many well known hymns and everybody went home happy!

A huge thank you is due to everyone who contributed to the success of the amazing Flower Festival at the end of August. All the flower arrangers were at their brilliant best and the vast number of visitors all gave great praise to their wonderful work. So many members of the church were involved and willingly gave up their time in stewarding, serving refreshments, playing music, selling raffle tickets and merchandise and helping to make this such a memorable event. We were truly grateful to John Boulden, his friends and the Devon Records Office for providing all the fascinating historical items.

Our Church proudly took part in the Heritage "Open Days" on 10th and 11th September when English Heritage celebrated the wonderful history of England's architecture and culture by arranging for buildings and places of interest countrywide to be opened to the public. It was a warm and friendly occasion and we had a steady flow of visitors who enjoyed their short stay. John Boulden provided a memorable occasion for visitors to the Priory Site with its fascinating remnants.

Our Harvest Festival weekend (24-25 September) took on a special meaning in this important year in our history and both the supper and service were well-attended.

On 6th October, we took the opportunity to turn our attention to another anniversary - it was exactly 400 years since the King James Bible was published. Throughout the day the whole of the Gospel according to St John was diligently read by several people in turn. Everyone present found it to be a moving occasion as we remembered the wonderful work of the amazing scholar, William Tyndale, whose own translation formed most of the final Authorised Version approved by King James I. We ended the day with Holy Communion based on the book of Common Prayer with setting by Merbecke.

The most important event in our year of celebrations was the Dedication Day on Saturday 29th October when we marked the exact date of our 700th Anniversary with a Festival Eucharist and Service of Thanksgiving. We were honoured by the presence of the Lord Bishop Of Exeter, The Right Reverend Michael Langrish, as Celebrant and Preacher. The service was attended by the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, the Stannator of Plympton, our local MP, representatives of Plympton Community Council and Civic Society, representatives of the Earl and Countess of Morley, local Councillors, past and present clergy from our church and representatives from other faiths in the local community. This moving and memorable service was an occasion when the church was completely full and everyone was able to reflect on the long and varied history of our magnificent church, beginning with its association with Plympton Priory which was re-founded as an Augustinian House by Bishop William Warelwas in 1121.

The flavour of St Mary's 700 years was to be found at the highly successful annual Christmas Fayre on 3rd December with its Victorian theme. Everyone had a jolly good time!

A large congregation on the 4th Sunday of Advent, 18th December, was enchanted by a wonderful and moving presentation by St Mary's Sunday Club on the Christmas traditions over the 700 years of the church's existence. They started by depicting Christmas in the Middle Ages with its Gregorian chants then took us through Christmas in Tudor times with the famous wassailing custom and ended with Christmas in Victorian times with more familiar carols including the lovely Away in a Manger. The children, leaders and other adults who took part are to be congratulated on a splendid performance which really summed up what our anniversary year is all about.

We were very grateful to Alan Street for organising a successful Antiques Evening on 13th January with auctioneer Eric Distin providing valuations of curios and antiques brought along by supporters of this event.

We were delighted to host a magnificent concert by the award-winning Plymouth Area Police Choir on 3rd February. Their splendid rendition of a wide range of lovely musical compositions had the large audience enthralled and the only disappointment was that the show had to end at 9.30 pm in order to allow everyone to get home before the forecast blizzard arrived! Our grateful thanks are due to this wonderful choir and we wish them every success in their competitions this year.

How appropriate it was that, in this our 700th anniversary year, we should be honoured by the presence of our Mother Church on Mothering Sunday, 18th March, when the Boys and Men of Exeter Cathedral Choir under Director Andrew Millington led us in choral evensong. What an uplifting occasion it was with their magnificent singing of the introit and anthem and the wonderful setting by Stanford of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis! The church resonated with the sound of their beautiful voices and it was hard to resist bursting into applause. How lovely it would be if they could join us every Sunday.

LATEST NEWS

There are two Anniversary events in April. On Sunday 22nd April we are pleased to be hosting the Scouts' District St George's Day Parade and Service. This is one of the most important events in the annual calendar for Scouts throughout the world and it is good that in our 700th year we shall be honoured by their presence.

Following the recent success of the wonderful concert by the Plymouth Area Police Choir, we are delighted to be welcoming another famous choir on Saturday 28th April when the Mousehole Male Voice Choir will be performing. This choir celebrated its centenary in 2009 and has produced many recordings and travelled widely throughout England and abroad, performing as far away as San Francisco! They have taken part in many musical festivals, gaining a wealth of honours and awards. Its members come from all parts of West Cornwall but it has retained a strong family quality durings its history with sons following fathers and grandfathers into the choir. They gave a concert here in 2010 to help us prepare for our 700th Anniversary Year and we are grateful and delighted to welcome them back.

Calendar of Events

Sunday 8th April 2012: Easter Day

Sunday 22nd April 2012: St George’s Day Parade by District Scouts

Saturday 28th April 2012: Concert by Mousehole Male Voice Choir

Saturday 12th May 2012: Plympton May Fair - Augustinian procession by members of St Mary’s Church

Thursday 17th May 2012: Ascension Day

Sunday 27th May 2012: Pentecost - 10 am, Rt Rev Richard Hawkins to preach 

Sunday 3rd June 2012: Trinity Sunday - 6.30 pm, Loyal Evensong, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Friday 15th June 2012: 7.30 pm - Historical play in Church, "Underwood Under Threat 1832"

Monday 25th - Friday 29th June 2012: Schools Week - activities in church and tours of the Priory

Wednesday 27th June 2012: Anniversary Strawberry Tea

Sunday 1st July 2012: Feast of Saints Peter & Paul – 6 pm, Evensong with refreshments and Open Air Compline

Friday 13th - Sunday 15th July 2012: Arts and Crafts Festival

Saturday 11th August  2012: Bell Ringing Festival

Sunday 12th August 2012: Eucharistic Closing Service led by Bishop Martin Shaw followed by Parish Lunch