St Mary Magdalene, Taunton: A Parish Church and Minster
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Modern
- Civilizations
- British, English
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page8 sections
History
Foundation and medieval development
St Mary Magdalene, Taunton, is a Church of England church in Taunton, United Kingdom. Dedicated to Mary Magdalene, it was probably founded around 1180 during the town’s reorganization under Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen. The church’s sandstone building was completed in 1508 in the Early Tudor Perpendicular Gothic style, an English late-medieval form characterized by strong vertical lines.
Until 1308, the church depended on Taunton Priory, an Augustinian religious community following the Rule of St Augustine. It then became the town church. A new chapel was consecrated in 1437, and the tower was built around 1503. Prosperity from the wool trade helped fund the tower.
Clergy and later changes
Joseph Alleine, a Puritan minister and author, served as curate in the 1660s and was buried in the churchyard. John Boswell, a Tory and High Church writer, became vicar in 1727 and remained in the post until his death in 1757; he was also buried in the churchyard.
Weathering prompted repeated appeals for repairs. After two pinnacles fell through the roof, an appeal sought funds to repair the tower’s stonework. In 1858–1862, the architects Sir George Gilbert Scott and Benjamin Ferrey rebuilt the tower as a replica. In 2009, vandals damaged some church windows, although the stained glass was unharmed.
Minster and present role
The church’s historic evangelical low-church tradition, which places less emphasis on formal ritual, has more recently moved toward central churchmanship, a position between low- and high-church practice. It is Grade I listed, the highest category of listed-building designation in England.
On 13 March 2022, the church became Taunton Minster. In England, a minster designation indicates a church with a wider ecclesiastical or civic role; it does not make the church a cathedral. St Mary Magdalene shares a combined benefice with the Church of St John the Evangelist, Taunton, meaning the churches share pastoral ministry. They belong to the Diocese of Bath and Wells, an area overseen by a bishop, within the Archdeaconry of Taunton and Taunton Deanery, administrative subdivisions of the Church of England, and the Province of Canterbury.
Remains
The church is built of sandstone and has a painted interior. Its tower, windows, bells, and memorials are among its notable physical features.
Tower
The tower was reconstructed using Otter sandstone from Sir Alexander Hood’s quarry at Williton, together with some igneous diorite from Hestercombe. It reaches 40 metres to the roof and 48 metres to the tips of its pinnacles, and serves as a local landmark.
Bells and clock
The tower contains a clock mechanism and 15 bells. Twelve are hung for full-circle ringing, in which each bell swings through a complete circle. The heaviest, the tenor, weighs 1,405 kilograms and is tuned to D. A flat sixth, pitched lower than the usual sixth, allows bells 2–9 to be rung as a lighter eight-bell set. The ringing bells and two additional bells form a chime, sometimes called a carillon, though that label is technically inaccurate. Two clock hammers no longer strike. Taylors of Loughborough cast the present ring in 2016; an older display bell was cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1922. Other bell founders associated with the church include Thomas Bilbie, Taylors, Eayre & Smith, and members of the Mears and Stainbank families.
Interior, windows, and memorials
Most of the church’s statues and stained glass date from the Victorian restoration, while the glass also incorporates medieval fragments. Wire mesh protects the windows. The interior contains memorials and tablets, including war memorials to Somerset soldiers and the Somerset Light Infantry. A Latin inscription commemorates John Boswell.
