Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade II* listed building in the Bedford local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 July 1964. Church.
Church of St Mary the Virgin
- WRENN ID
- buried-plinth-elm
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Bedford
- Constituency
- North Bedfordshire MP: Richard Fuller (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 13 July 1964
- Type
- Church
- Address
- Church of St Mary the Virgin, the Avenue, Bletsoe
- OS grid reference
- TL 023 583
- Coordinates
- 52.2137, -0.50351
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a medieval parish church that has undergone significant restoration in the mid-19th century. It is constructed from coursed limestone rubble and features an irregular cruciform plan with a central tower. The tower's shape suggests Saxo-Norman origins, although its details, such as the corner gargoyles and double trefoiled lights on each side, date from the 14th century. The chancel is a 19th-century restoration of a 14th-century rebuilding and includes two arched tomb recesses; however, it is currently derelict and bricked off from the tower.
To the north, there is a roofless vestry that was rebuilt in the 19th century. The north transept, which overlaps both the tower and chancel, is a 19th-century renovation of the St John Chapel and contains a wall memorial to Frances Countess Bolingbroke, who died in 1678. The south transept, restored in the 14th century, is slightly askew to the tower's axis. The aisleless nave, heavily restored but likely originating from the late 13th century, houses the memorial of Sir John St John, who died in 1559. This alabaster memorial, depicting his family under a canopy supported by columns, was moved from the north transept in 1978. Additionally, there is a 19th-century rebuilt porch on the south side of the nave, featuring diagonal corner buttresses at its west end, and an octagonal font from the 15th century.
Local climate
Church of St Mary the Virgin sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 91% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 50% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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