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The misericords and history of Whalley,
St Mary.
St Mary’s has 18, 15th century & four modern misericords.
Click to launch a description of the misericords of St Mary, Whalley
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History of St Mary’s church, Whalley, Lancashire
Three Anglo-Saxon crosses in the churchyard indicate that there has been a church since pre-conquest times and their celtic style my prove that there was a visit from the mission on Iona, however, the first written record is in the Doomsday Book of 1086. Towards the end of the 11th century, a Norman, stone church replaced the earlier wooden structure.
The present church appears to have been built piecemeal from about 1200 onwards. Most of the chancel’s masonry appears to be 13th century. The priest’s door is also 13th century and has a brass knocker which was probably used for the right of sanctuary. Although the columns on the north side of the nave are round, and the southern are octagonal there are suggestions that they may both date from the late 13th century, this seems unlikely, but may be the result of the aisles being added over a small time interval, and by different sponsors.
The oak roof, with its beautiful carved bosses was covered with plaster from 1764 to 1834, but is now fully restored to its former glory.
The magnificent choir stalls with their misericords, described by Pevsner as “One of the most rewarding sets in the country” date from between 1418 and 1434 and are known to have originated in Whalley Abbey, having been acquired by St Mary’s after the dissolution. What is most unusual is that the name of the carver is known - a man called Eatough, which is still a common surname in Lancashire.
The Official St Mary’s Whalley website.