St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden

St Mary the Virgin
St Mary the Virgin
	Steeple of St Mary the Virgin
Country	England, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Website	Official website
History
Dedication	Saint Mary the Virgin
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I listed building
Designated	1951
Style	Perpendicular
Specifications
Length	183ft (56m)
Height	193ft (59m)
Bells	12
Tenor bell weight	22-2-24 (1154kg) in D
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Chelmsford
Parish	Saffron Walden
Clergy
Rector	Rev. Jeremy Trew
Laity
Organist(s)	Oli King

St Mary the Virgin is the parish church of Saffron Walden, Essex. It is the largest non-cathedral church in Essex with an overall length of 183 feet (56 m) and a spire 193 feet (59 m) high, which is the tallest in Essex. It was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1951.^[1]^[2]

A Norman church was recorded in 1130, which in turn had replaced an earlier wooden structure. The building as it currently stands dates predominantly from a rebuilding between 1250 and 1258, with a further rebuilding in the Perpendicular style begun in about 1450, the latter stages supervised by John Wastell, the master mason who was building King's College Chapel in the nearby city of Cambridge.^[3]

In 1769 the church was damaged by lightning. The repairs, carried out in the 1790s removed many medieval features but saved the building which was in a dilapidated state. The spire was added in 1832 to replace an older "lantern" tower to a design of Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson.^[3]

Thomas Cornell, progenitor of the American family bearing his name, was baptized in the church around 1592.

The Conservative politician Rab Butler (1902–82) is buried in the churchyard. He promulgated the Education Act 1944.