St Mary's Church, Bottesford

St Mary's facing east

The History of the Church

By Bob Sparham

St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford, Leicestershire

St Mary's often called 'The Lady of the Vale'. St Mary's is one of the largest village churches in England and it contains a wonderful collection of the tombs of The Earls of Rutland. Because of its long association with the families of the lords of Belvoir Castle, St Mary's is very important historically. Looking around the Church, there is a tendency to think that as all the parts, such as the nave, chancel, aisles and clerestory are so well proportioned and. fit together so well they must all have been planned and built at the same time. This impression, though natural, is misleading. St Mary's has in fact been changed and developed radically over the centuries. Our website guide hopes to help you to make sense of these developments as well as to describe some of the lives, events and ideas which shaped its evolution. We therefore are going to divide the history of the church into five phases which should provide a framework for a visit to our church developments as well as to describe some of the lives events and ideas which shaped its evolution.

Romanesque

Decorated

Perpendicular

The Early Tudors

Reformation