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St Mary the Virgin's Church,
off Preston Lane,
Preston on Stour, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

This Church has (or had) a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded before 1272, and we understand it is still open.

Kelly's Directory of 1923 describes Preston-on-Stour as a village and parish on the Warwickshire border, on the west bank of the river Stour, and 3 miles south-east from Milcote station on the Honeybourne and Stratford branch of the Great Western railway; 3½ miles south from Stratford on Avon and 36 north-east from Gloucester. The church of St Mary is "a plain building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave and an embattled western tower, with pinnacles, containing 3 bells". The chancel was restored by James Roberts-West esq. in 1904.

There is a fine monument to the Kemp family, 1624, and several to the West family, including one to James Roberts-West esq. 1882, and others to William Mariett, 1719, and John Mariett, 1709. There are four stained windows, including the east window, presented by James West in 1754. In 1885 about a quarter of an acre of ground was given by James Roberts-West esq. as an addition to the churchyard, the old portion of which is closed. The parish records date from 1540.

The living was then a vicarage, united in 1917 with the living of Whitchurch, in the gift of Capt. H.C.J. Alston-Roberts-West R.N. and had been held since 1922 by the Rev. Dudley Westerman Lee M.A. of St Catherine's College, Cambridge, who lived at Whitchurch Rectory. Alscot Park House, "a noble Gothic structure in a well-wooded deer park of 200 acres" was then the seat of the aforementioned Capt. Alston-Roberts-West, who was also lord of the manor, and principal landowner.

The Victoria County History series: A History of the County of Gloucester, Volume 8: Cleeve, Deerhurst and Tibblestone, and the lower divisions of Tewkesbury and Westminster (1968), pp.81-89 (Preston on Stour) reports that the earliest mention of a church is in 1272, when the advowson belonged to Deerhurst Priory. It notes also its dedication as St Mary the Virgin, but anciently (in the mid-15th century) as St Peter the Apostle.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Preston on Stour is now in Warwickshire. It was transferred from Gloucestershire in 1931, and now belongs to the Deanery of Shipston [on Stour]. See also Preston on Stour Village website.

Note: Whitchurch may be considered a "lost village", as it was cleared for sheep farming in the 16th century but its church of St Mary has survived. There are photographs showing that it Stands Alone on the Geograph website.

Denomination

Now or formerly Church of England.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church is located at OS grid reference SP2033849929. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• St Mary the Virgin's Church, Preston on Stour shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Preston on Stour shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Preston on Stour, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• The Victoria County History series: A History of the County of Gloucester, Volume 8: Cleeve, Deerhurst and Tibblestone, and the lower divisions of Tewkesbury and Westminster (null) (verified 2018-11-06)
• “One of the most unspoilt in the country” - Preston on Stour (null) (verified 2018-11-26)
• You may like to see photograph(s) of Stands Alone on the Geograph website.

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.