Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building in the Buckinghamshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 21 December 1967. A Medieval Church.

Church of St Mary

WRENN ID
noble-joist-quill
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Buckinghamshire
Constituency
Aylesbury MP: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
21 December 1967
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St Mary, Church Path, Hardwick
OS grid reference
SP 806 189
Coordinates
51.86361, -0.83011
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Church of St Mary is a parish church with a history spanning several centuries. The nave likely originates from the late Pre-Conquest period, with the addition of a west tower and a south aisle in the mid 14th century. The chancel was substantially rebuilt between 1872 and 1873, incorporating some older stonework, and a north vestry and south porch were added at this time, along with restoration of the remaining structure.

The church is constructed of coursed rubble stone, while the tower and south clerestory are rendered. The nave and tower have lead roofs, the chancel is tiled, and the south aisle features 20th-century pantiles. The two-stage west tower has a plinth, a battlemented parapet, angle buttresses, and a square stair turret with a parapet at the southwest corner. The bell chamber has a two-light traceried opening, a small lancet window to the south, a two-light traceried window, and a clock on the west side. The north wall of the nave features a moulded parapet, an offset buttress, and a 11th-century window with a semi-circular head and double splayed sides. A carved doorway is flanked by 15th-century traceried three-light windows. The south side of the nave has a clerestory of three 15th-century cusped three-light windows with flat heads; the window in the east bay has a hoodmould, and a small quatrefoil window is located between the east bays. The south aisle has a 19th-century moulded cornice and three two-light traceried windows, two of which are 14th-century with ogee tracery and arched heads, while the window in the west bay is later with a flat head. A traceried round window in the east wall has been rebuilt in the 20th century. The moulded south doorway has some carved foliage ornament. The chancel has a moulded plinth and sill course, with two two-light traceried windows and a small door on the south side, a similar window to the north, and a three-light window to the east.

Inside, the church features a triple-chamfered arch to the tower, a five-bay south arcade with double-chamfered arches on shaped quatrefoil piers with flattened lobes and moulded capitals, and blocked openings to the rood-loft stairs. It has a 15th to 16th-century roof with chamfered and hollow-chamfered beams. The south aisle contains a piscina with a triangular head and a four-centred arch over the reveal of the southwest window. A 19th-century chancel arch separates the nave from the chancel. The chancel has an arch to the organ in the north wall, a cusped piscina, and a window seat sedilia on the south side. The church contains a small 17th-century chest, a painted stone and glazed tile reredos dated 1899, 19th-century glass, and other fittings. There are monuments, including a painted stone and marble monument to Sir Robert Lee and family (1616), featuring a relief of figures at a reading desk with the family behind, flanked by Doric piers with entablature blocks and obelisks. The base of a monument to John Wood is also present, along with marble tablets commemorating Richard Harris (1613), William Barker (1669), John Dummer (1694), and James Fussell (1760) in the south aisle.

Local climate

Church of St Mary receives an average of 740 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 75% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 83% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 55% 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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