The offering of an open Church building and an outward looking worshipping community, remain dominant signs on the cultural landscape, pointing to nothing less than the deep generosity and openness of God, who promises his people that ‘there are many rooms in my Father’s House’ – Martyn Percy
The Parish of St. Mary the Virgin in the Lace Market, Nottingham hopes to be a significant Place of Hospitality. A place where the hospitality of God can be encountered by all, regardless of gender, income, marital status, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, race or age.
For people who visit every day; people who may visit once in their lives; for the young and old; worshippers and pilgrims; historians and tourists… Welcome!
Booked on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th at times to be advised.
Booked on Thursday 21st from 9am to 11pm: guests will leave at 10pm and the church will be put back to 'as-found' state by 11pm
Church services on Wednesday (8.15am - 9.30am and 5.30 - 7pm) and on Thursday (1pm - 2pm) are not to be disrupted or disturbed. The church must be kept quiet during those times.
Booked on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th at times to be advised.
Booked on Thursday 21st from 9am to 11pm: guests will leave at 10pm and the church will be put back to 'as-found' state by 11pm
Church services on Wednesday (8.15am - 9.30am and 5.30 - 7pm) and on Thursday (1pm - 2pm) are not to be disrupted or disturbed. The church must be kept quiet during those times.
Booked on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th at times to be advised.
Booked on Thursday 21st from 9am to 11pm: guests will leave at 10pm and the church will be put back to 'as-found' state by 11pm
Church services on Wednesday (8.15am - 9.30am and 5.30 - 7pm) and on Thursday (1pm - 2pm) are not to be disrupted or disturbed. The church must be kept quiet during those times.
As someone new not just to St Mary’s, but to Nottingham and the East Midlands, I’d like to thank everyone for the amazing welcome we’ve received. Joanna and I are loving the bustle of the city and meeting lots of people. There is a real feeling of energy and I can’t wait to see how things develop.
We have an amazing opportunity at St Mary’s. With over 50,000 students in the city, and some already part of the church, I believe many will come, with us, to discover something of the stability and inspiration God brings into our lives – as happened to me when I was a student.
You’ll find the worship traditional, it’s all quite formal and we have a brilliant choir. We aim to allow you space to experience God’s presence in a stunningly beautiful space. I base all my sermons on the Bible, praying that God’s Holy Spirit will speak into the reality of each of our worlds.
I’d love to see the church filled with people praying together in both lament and hope as we engage with the realities of our world, near and far. I’m a hands on person, believing that, just as Jesus did, central to being a Christian is friendship with all people, especially those on the edges of life. And there’s nothing better than getting together for food, especially when it’s home made.
I feel that our strapline should be, “Nottingham is not complete without visiting St Mary’s” It’s been at the heart of the city for many centuries. You can see the big tower with a flag on the top from lots of points in the city. Did you know Robin Hood was arrested in it? You get in through the side door (Robin used a tunnel from the law courts) and with underfloor heating, it’s always warm.
Do come to a Service and please make sure you say hello – I’m easy to identify with my robes on!
Christianity reached the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia in the mid seventh century and St. Mary’s was probably founded shortly afterwards. The original building was most likely to have been a wooden construction on the present site, close to the centre of old Nottingham.
At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, Nottingham was a royal borough and St. Mary’s, as the only church, had royal status.
The present building is the third known to have stood here. It was constructed in stages during the 1300s and 1400s. It reflects the prosperity that Nottingham enjoyed during that period. Its magnificent architecture, huge windows and many monuments all bear witness to the funds poured into its construction by the guilds, merchants and gentry of Nottingham society. Such people were eager to ensure the safety of their souls after death -but also to demonstrate their growing status within the borough in a visible and impressive fashion.
The Reformation during the 1500s and the Civil Wars of 1642 – 1651 stripped the church of much of its original splendour -but not of its importance to Nottingham. Having survived desecrations, storms, riots and incendiary bombs, St. Mary’s has been restored many times and its present beauty owes much to the skills and sensitivity of the architects, artists and craftsmen of the last 200 years.
Today, it is a much loved focus of religious life and symbolises, as the city’s finest surviving mediæval building, the enduring stature of a great city.
Click around to discover more about the many monuments to be found in today’s church and its various stained glass windows, along with a more detailed explanation of its history.
12:00 pm: Party to mark retirement of Rev. Stephen Morris
27th May 2018 –
After serving as Vicar of St. Mary's since 2000 (with a near-five year break whilst he was vicar at St. Mary Magdalene, Newark), we mark Rev. Stephen Morris' retirement with a party -celebrating the fact that he has served us so well for so long ...and deserves a break!
7:30 pm: Nottingham Bach Choir - Rossini Petite messe solennelle
16th June 2018 –
Gioachino Rossini'sPetite messe solennelle (Little solemn mass) was written in 1863, possibly at the request of Count Alexis Pillet-Will for his wife Louise to whom it is dedicated. The composer, who had retired from composing operas more than 30 years before, described it as "the last of my péchés de vieillesse" (sins of old age).
The mass is structured in several extended movements in the tradition of the missa solemnis, but the composer labeled it petite with a grain of irony. He wrote on the last page of the manuscript:
"Dear Lord, here it is finished, this poor little mass. Have I just written sacred music, or rather, sacrilegious music? I was born for opera buffa, as you well know. Not much technique, a little bit of heart, that’s all. Blessings to you and grant me Paradise."
The unusual scoring for voices, two pianos and harmonium is in the Neapolitan harpsichord tradition of the 18th century. Rossini specified, on the second page of his manuscript, twelve singers in all, noting on the title page: "Twelve singers of three sexes, men, women and castrati will suffice for its execution: that is, eight for the choir, four soloists, in all twelve cherubim".
Tickets
£16 (under 18s and registered full-time students £5).
Tickets are available from:
Nottingham Tourism Centre, Smithy Row (Tel: 0844 4775678);
The extended work is a missa solemnis, but Rossini labeled it, not without irony, petite (little). He scored it originally for twelve singers, four of them soloists, two pianos and harmonium. The mass was first performed on 14 March 1864 at the couple's new home in Paris. Rossini later produced an orchestra version, including an additional movement, a setting of the hymn "O salutaris Hostia" as a soprano aria. This version of the mass was not performed during his lifetime because he could not obtain permission to perform it with female singers in a church. It was first performed three months after his death, at the Salle Ventadour in Paris by the company of the Théâtre-Italien on 24 February 1869.
Booked on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th at times to be advised.
Booked on Thursday 21st from 9am to 11pm: guests will leave at 10pm and the church will be put back to 'as-found' state by 11pm
Church services on Wednesday (8.15am - 9.30am and 5.30 - 7pm) and on Thursday (1pm - 2pm) are not to be disrupted or disturbed. The church must be kept quiet during those times.
Booked on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th at times to be advised.
Booked on Thursday 21st from 9am to 11pm: guests will leave at 10pm and the church will be put back to 'as-found' state by 11pm
Church services on Wednesday (8.15am - 9.30am and 5.30 - 7pm) and on Thursday (1pm - 2pm) are not to be disrupted or disturbed. The church must be kept quiet during those times.
Booked on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th at times to be advised.
Booked on Thursday 21st from 9am to 11pm: guests will leave at 10pm and the church will be put back to 'as-found' state by 11pm
Church services on Wednesday (8.15am - 9.30am and 5.30 - 7pm) and on Thursday (1pm - 2pm) are not to be disrupted or disturbed. The church must be kept quiet during those times.
The offering of an open Church building and an outward looking worshipping community, remain dominant signs on the cultural landscape, pointing to nothing less than the deep generosity and openness of God, who promises his people that ‘there are many rooms in my Father’s House’ – Martyn Percy
