History

The parish Church of St. Mary, is dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin
Mother of Jesus and celebrates its Patronal festival on the 7th
September each year. It is situated near Yate (derived from Ye-Gate)
town centre, where its tower forms a prominent landmark dating back
to Norman times. Lying at what was once once the entrance to the old
Royal Forest lands of Kings Wood. (now Kingswood), it is mentioned
in the Doomsday Book of 1086 and there are even earlier records
from the 8th century of a church on its site.

Although there may have been a Saxon church here; no trace of one
remains; many of the Saxon churches were replaced by Norman
buildings after the conquest in 1066 and it was during that time that St.
Mary's was begun. It was much rebuilt in the 14th and 15th Centuries
though suffered, like many churches, at the hands of Cromwell's troops.
Originally having a central tower, it collapsed after an evening service
on a Sunday night in 1546, having been built on inadequate
foundations which gave way and destroyed the centre of the Church.
This explains the larger arches, different ceilings and traces of the
buttresses that still exist about the Chancel arch.

It is likely that the tower fell to the west, also accounting for the
reconstruction of the two adjoining bays of the nave. The dates are
approximate and architectural styles of the periods flow into each
other.

St. Mary’s has remains of Norman and Early English work and was
extensively rebuilt during the reign of Henry VIII. It was extensively
restored in the 19th Century with more restoration work taking place in
the 1970's.

Inside are the remains of an old wall painting and many fine memorial
brasses, one of which depicts Alexander Staples (d. 1590) his two
wives and eleven children. Some fragments of glass in a north window
are a reminder of the Civil War skirmishes and the Lych Gate and
Parnall Memorial are in memory of those who died during two World
Wars. The Churchyard also has a large number of chest tombs.

The peal of 6 bells in the tower is regularly rung, the treble bell being a
gift from Robert Stanshawe. The tenor bell weighs 20cwt and a total
weight of bells is just over 3 tons. The oldest dated bell is 1600 but
some might be older.

In the early 1800’s, the Poor House and a two-roomed school were
located outside of the churchyard wall. The Poor House was
demolished and the National School built, later to become St Mary’s C
of E School.

This very brief history was compiled from a variety of sources, in
particular drawing on the booklet The History of Yate Church, started
by the late Frank Walter, a member of the church and Verger for 5
years. It was completed in his memory by his family, with the help of his
many friends within the Church.