Patrick Comerford
Saint Mary’s Church in the centre of Luton is one of the largest churches in Bedfordshire and is a fine example of mediaeval architecture. Saint Mary’s is over 900 years old but there has been a church on the same site for over 1,000 years, and the church has been rebuilt and refurbished constantly over the centuries.
In her recent history of Saint Mary’s Church (2000), Katheryne Rogers describes the church as ‘Luton’s Medieval Jewel’ and tells ‘the stories behind the chequered walls’. It has been said that Saint Mary’s is a ‘medieval oasis surrounded by roundabouts, and sandwiched between the Arndale mall and University of Bedfordshire.’
The first church on the site was built ca 930 by King Athelstan in thanksgiving for his victory over the Danes. The land was owned by the king in Saxon and early Norman times and the church was richly endowed. The castle may have stood where the university is now and beside the River Lea.
The present church was first built in 1121 by Robert FitzRoy (1090-1147), 1st Earl of Gloucester, and it was consecrated in 1137. The church was first built in a cruciform shape without aisles. But with the increases in population of Luton, the north and south aisles were added within 40 years of each other at the start of the 13th century.
As the church continued to be extended, a tower was built, and the transepts were extended, with twin arches opening into the new chapels on the east sides of the transepts. A vaulted sacristy with an upper room was built north of the chancel and a new font was given a canopy of richly carved stone in an octagonal shape.
Further restoration and rebuilding work was carried out in this time, the Someries chapel was extended, the sacristy was rebuilt further east, the west tower was made taller and most of the windows were renewed.
All this work was carried out with the help of John Wenlock (ca 1400/1404-1471) of Someries Castle, MP for the Bedfordshire, Speaker of Parliament and Baron Wenlock. His family had been connected with the church since 1389, and the chapel was renamed the Wenlock Chapel in 1461.
Wenlock switched sides five times between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians during the Wars of the Roses and has been called ‘the prince of turncoats’. Some historians suggest this behaviour was commonplace during the Wars of the Roses; others say that even when Wenlock was not actually changing sides, he was engaged in ‘fence sitting par excellence’. He was killed on the battlefield at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, allegedly by his own commander, the Duke of Somerset, who blamed Wenlock’s indecisiveness for the defeat of the Lancastrians.
The other chapels in Saint Mary’s Church include the Hoo Chapel and the Barnard Chantry chapel and the church also has monuments to the Rotheram family.
The 14th-century octagonal baptistery in the western bay was a gift from Queen Philippa, wife of Edward III, to the people of Luton to encourage their spirits following the Black Death. It has a bowl-shaped Purbeck marble font and is the only Baptistry in England with a walk-in stone canopy surrounding it.
The south door (1530) is known as the Wolsey Door, after Cardinal Wolsey, a patron of the church.
The architecture of Saint Mary’s is varied as the church has been renovated and rebuilt many times. The basic layout is a cruciform shape, with north and south aisles and many chapels and extensions in various directions heading off the main church. The total length of the church is 53 metres (174 ft), the total width is 17 metres (56 ft), and the height is 27 metres (89 ft).
The outside of the church is clad in a distinctive flint and stone chequer, which makes the church stand out in the town. The chequerwork pattern of dark flint and light stone is characteristic of the north Chilterns.
The church is Grade I listed and the only one to be a Grade I listed building in Luton.
The church underwent a major and sympathetic restoration in 1865-1885 led by the Victorian architect George Edmund Street (1824-1881), when the Revd James O’Neill was the Vicar of Luton (1862-1895). The distinctive flint and stone chequer was extended to cover most of the church. Giles Gilbert Scott supervised repairs to the Wenlock Chapel in 1904-1905, and the tower was restored in 1906.
The parish hall and offices and vestries were built as a block in the chequered style at the east end of the church in 1968-1969 to provide more space. At the time, they aroused much controversy, with one critic suggesting ‘they look like a public toilet and bear no architectural relationship to the church’.
The Magnificat Window in the south transept was installed in 1979, replacing a window damaged by vandalism. The abstract stained glass window was designed by Alan Younger (1933-2004), one of the most important stained-glass artists in post-war Britain. The window represents the Virgin Mary’s emotional explosion of happiness and outpouring of gratitude during her visit to her cousin Elizabeth when she was pregnant with the Christ Church. Alan Younger also designed the Great West Window installed in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, in 1975.
The church has also installed projection screens, moved the pulpit to its former position and replaced the Victorian heating system.
The clock was installed in 1901, and faced west across the town. Described as a Cambridge quarter clock with an eight-day movement, it was built by JW Benson at. The quarters were chimed on the second, third, fourth and seventh bells, and the hours struck on the tenor bell.
However, after two overhauls in 1909 and 1949 and the installation of a new bell, the clock’s mechanism’s seized and gave up in 1979. The bell was not heard for 28 years, until the University of Bedfordshire, offered to help restore the clock in time for the new year and the millennium. The clock was officially reopened on Armistice Day 11 November 1999.
The graveyard surrounding the church is no longer used. Power Court, the area next to Saint Mary’s Church, has been due to be renovated for years. Currently Luton Town Football Club proposes to develop the site with a stadium, apartment blocks, retail and other facilities.
Saint Mary’s Church is in the Diocese of Saint Albans and stands in the Open Evangelical tradition. It is known for its youth work in the town and its pioneering peace and reconciliation ministry. The Vicar of Luton is Canon Mike Jones, and the ministry team includes the Revd Andy Pike, the Rev Joseph Adewale and the Rev Chris Adams. Saint Mary’s is open on Tuesday to Thursday, from 9 am to 1 pm, and on Sundays from 9 am to 12 noon.
• The Sunday services are at 9 am and 10:30 am. The 9 am service is quiet and reflective with Holy Communion and hymns, followed by tea and coffee. The 10:30 service alternates between All-Age worship and Holy Communion. A Shona-language service on the third Sunday afternoon each month is designed for the Zimbabwean community.
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