Stephen Nunn unravels history of St Mary's Church in Maldon

Maldon is no exception – particularly when it comes to the ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin.

That it is an early foundation is beyond doubt, but its true origins are quite difficult to unpick.

Not only that, but during the intervening years, from foundation to present day, successive generations of parishioners have (for good or ill) left their mark.

Parts of the building have been demolished, other parts added.

There have been internal alterations, memorials have been installed, fixtures and fittings have changed to meet trends and the demands of the age – all resulting in a unique make-up and fascinating story.

To understand St Mary’s evolution, we must begin our tale during the Dark Ages.

The history books tell us that the Christian message in this part of the land of the East Saxons goes back to the 7th Century.

The missionary, St Cedd, came to these parts and, in 654, established his cathedral church at 'Ythanchester', the Saxon name for Bradwell.

The Venerable Bede, in his History of the English People, says Cedd also built a church at “Tilaburg” (Tilbury) and, rather frustratingly, in several “other places”.

Circumstantial evidence suggests that one of those “other places” was Maldon – on high ground overlooking the river and (just like Bradwell) within Roman ruins.

In 1886, when underfloor heating was being installed in St Mary’s nave, Roman pottery was found at a depth of 6ft.

In addition, if you look closely at the outside walls you will spot quantities of re-used Roman brick. Tradition has it that St Cedd’s Maldon church was destroyed in the aftermath of the Battle of Maldon in 991.

That may, or may not, be true, but our first piece of hard, historical fact is a document dated 1056, granting St Mary’s to St Martin-le-Grand, in London.

The architecture of the current building, possibly the third church on the site, is slightly later and dates, in its earliest parts, from 1130.

It forms the present-day core – the north wall of the nave and the single slit window in the north-west corner.

Originally it would have had a contemporary, much longer chancel attached to the east, with a tall and wide arch.

Since those 12th Century days, the building has evolved with subsequent alterations and additions.

The arch to the Norman chancel collapsed, or was partly stopped up, in the 14th Century.

The church as it is today (Image: Stephen Nunn)

The original tower in the west (once with a wide opening into the nave) was built in the 'Decorated' style around 1300 (the flint lower section survives).

The north door was also inserted at that time, using re-used Norman material.

The porch was added in 1420. The niches in the north wall are Medieval and were re-discovered in 1886. Today, they hold statues of Our Lady (1929) and St George (1933).

The windows in the north wall are 15th Century. A rood loft was constructed in the 1450s, but only the staircase and responds survived the Reformation.

The tower arch was closed up in the 1550s.

The tower squint (also of 1550) may indicate that a priest once lived on site and had a direct view of the altar from his chamber.

In 1605, disaster struck when the upper part of the tower collapsed into the nave. However, unlike other tower collapses (including Heybridge), St Mary’s was re-built by royal decree in 1636, as it doubled as a lighthouse for shipping on the river.

The spire on top of the tower was added in 1740 and a ring of six bells was completed in 1799.

Major restoration and extension work took place in 1886/87, under the direction of the architect Frederick Chancellor.

It included the Baltic timber roof, the south aisle, the vestry, a heating system and the attractive pine pews.

Alterations and additions continued – the 1991 window in the south aisle by Mark Angus is a nod to the church’s possible destruction after the Battle of Maldon.

The octagon was added in 1992 and a 'new' (some might say outsized for a parish church) organ was installed in 2021.

There have also been 'old' additions – include the Victorian rood figures and angel bosses (moved here from Plaistow) and the Jacobean pulpit (from Mashbury).

Some things have been removed – not least the font (a special example of Perpendicular stem and Renaissance bowl).

But there remains surviving evidence of the people that knew and were christened at that missing font.

There is a plaque to local lad John Soffe, who died of enteric fever at Bloemfontein during the Boer War, another to the flower of the parish who fell during the Great War – represented by the roll of honour and the window, memorials to Edward Arthur Fitch, mayor, historian and churchwarden, and another to John Fenne (albeit minus its brass), a merchant of Calais who died in 1486.

And there are others – wall plaques and slabs. They and present-day supporters of St Mary’s are part of a rich, local Christian story that, for possibly over 1300 years, has centred on this most special of places.

St Mary’s is having a fete on Sunday, June 9, 2024, from 3.30pm. Why not go along and explore the building for yourselves?

The church is holding a Summer Celebration in June (Image: N/A)