St Mary's church - Langham, Essex
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SMacB
N 51° 57.870 E 000° 57.580
31U E 359825 N 5759056
Anglican church of St Mary, Langham.
Waymark Code: WMZV7B
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/07/2019
Views: 0
"The medieval St Mary’s Church is approached via a private road along an avenue of lime trees through the Langham Hall Estate in the northern part of Langham. It has a remarkably beautiful setting in the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) overlooking the Vale itself. It is featured in a number of John Constable’s best-known paintings, most notably the several versions of “The Glebe Farm and Langham Church”.
The Grade I listed building, consisting of a chancel, nave and south aisle, is largely of pebble-rubble and pudding-stone construction of various dates from the 12th to 19th centuries. It was re-ordered in the 1860s and 1890s and now seats about 130 people. In the 1980s the exterior of the church was extensively restored and in 1994 a major renewal programme was initiated (see Section 6), of which the most obvious manifestations so far are the elegant gallery and fine organ at the west end and the baptistry in the south aisle.
The Hurlock Schoolroom
In the churchyard is a small building erected in 1832 by Dr James Thomas Hurlock, Rector. It was originally a girls’ school on weekdays and on Sundays a “resting place for the poor and infirm between services”.
In the 1950s it was used by the then Sunday School. After a period of neglect the building was renovated in 1980-81; a toilet and servery were added in 1992. It is now used for the children’s Sunday Group during the Eucharist and for refreshments after the 10 o’ clock service."
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