St. Mary, Hurley, Berkshire

Description

The church of St. Mary, anciently attached to the priory, is a structure of flint and chalk, partly in the Norman style; it was rededicated about 1086 by Osmund the Good, Bishop of Sarum and Chancellor of England, and consists of chancel, nave, and a turret containing 3 bells; it was restored in 1852 at a cost of £1,493, when the original windows on the north side, formerly closed, were re-opened, those on the south side restored and a vestry added: the chancel retains a Decorated window of the 14th century: there are several monuments in the church and chancel, including one to the Lovelace family, of Hurley; Editha, sister to King Edward the Confessor, was also buried here: two of the Norman windows on the north side of the nave were filled with stained glass in December, 1876, as memorials to the Rev. Florence James Wethered, six years curate and twenty-nine years vicar of Hurley, and to Mrs. Wharton, late of the Malt House, Hurley; on the south side of the nave is another erected as a thank offering for peace on the termination of the war in South Africa in 1902: the church affords 261 sittings: the churchyard is neatly kept and has several handsome marble and granite crosses.

Church Records

The register dates from the year 1560.