Church of St. Mary is a Grade II* listed building in the West Berkshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 6 April 1967. Church. 1 related planning application.

Church of St. Mary

WRENN ID
noble-tin-wren
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
West Berkshire
Constituency
Newbury MP: Mr Lee Dillon (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
6 April 1967
Type
Church
Address
Church of St. Mary, Church Gate, Thatcham
OS grid reference
SU 516 672
Coordinates
51.40174, -1.2589
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St. Mary is a church that dates back to the 12th century and includes later additions, such as a 13th-century arcade and a 15th-century north aisle. The church was rebuilt in 1857 by Thomas Hellyer in the Decorated style, featuring a plinth, hood moulds, and parapetted gables. It is constructed of flint with Bath stone dressings, and some coursed rubble is present in the tower and north aisle, topped with tiled roofs. The layout includes a west tower, nave, north aisle, south aisle with a chapel to the east, a south porch, chancel, and vestry.

The west tower has two stages with diagonal buttresses and a newel turret on the southwest corner. It features a string course with gargoyles and an embattled parapet. The bell chamber openings are three-light with panelled tracery, and there is a 19th-century west doorway.

The south aisle consists of three bays with two-light windows. The Danvers chapel to the east has three bays and two-light windows with panelled tracery, along with a three-light window at the eastern end. A 12th-century south doorway has three orders with scalloped capitals and chevron ornament on the arch, while the 19th-century gabled south porch has angle buttresses.

The north aisle also has three bays with two-light windows featuring panelled tracery. There is a square-headed door between the first and second bays from the west, and a three-light window with panelled tracery at the east end, topped by a small cusped one-light opening in the gable above. The chancel has one lancet window to the south and a door with a hood mould to the right, along with a three-light east window with panelled tracery.

Inside, there are three-bay north and south nave arcades with square piers and chamfered arches. The north aisle windows have chamfered rear arches, and the shafts have moulded bases and capitals. A large 19th-century Norman style chancel arch is present. The south aisle chapel features a 15th-century flat panelled roof, while all other roofs are from the 19th century. All fittings within the church date to the 19th century.

Notable monuments include a stone chest tomb with trefoiled panels dedicated to Sir William Danvers, who died in 1504, located in the south aisle chapel, and an alabaster wall tablet with kneeling figures commemorating Nicholas Fuller, who died in 1620, situated in the chancel.

Local climate

Church of St. Mary receives an average of 750 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 70% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 61% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 36 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 63% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 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.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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