Built in the 12th century, this rural church lies in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. St Mary's church is Grade I-listed and made of local Cotswold stone, giving it a rather lovely look in keeping with seemingly every other building in the picture-postcard village.

Sasha Taylor

August 20, 2020

A Grade I Listed Building in Upper Swell, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Parish church. C12 origins and fabric. Early C13 chancel; C15 and early C16

remodelling of nave. Chancel rubble built, the rest largely ashlar on a plinth;

Cotswold stone roof, coped gable. Plain rectangular 3-bay nave with 2 bay chancel and gabled south porch; bellcote (2 bells) to west gable. Round head lancets to chancel, lowside window to south; 3-light lancet type east window; nave has 3-light flat head c.1500 window to south with moulded surround and label. Early C15 porch with diagonal buttresses and original trussed rafter roof shelters Norman doorway with chevron outer order and flat, keeled roll, tympanum (defaced), volute caps to nook shafts. Interior: Arch braced collar trusses to nave C15; plastered walls with wall shafts (?); Norman chancel arch with outer order of hollow chevron and inner order on scalloped corbel caps. Pillar piscina to chancel linked to sedile, aumbry in east wall; east window (restored?) with rere-arcade and Purbeck shafts.

Marble wall monument to the Rev Henry Brown, died 1795, by C Peart of London, oval cartouche with urn and drapes. Font: Octagonal C15 chalice type with tracery

panelling. BOE(Verey) : Gloucestershire, The Cotswold (1970)

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Elevation 200 m

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Location: Swell, Cotswold, Gloucestershire, South West England, England, United Kingdom

St Mary's Church, Upper Swell

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