St. Mary’s Church

St. Mary’s Church can be found tucked away at the bottom of the High Street, at the rear of Hinds Meadow car park and The Bear pub. St Mary’s is still the Borough Church and as such is used for ceremonial services such as Remembrance Day, Battle of Britain Day, and the Mayor and Corporation come to church here on the first Sunday after the Mayor has taken up office each year. The Vicar is still the “Mayor’s Chaplain” and leads prayers at Council Meetings.

St Mary’s is the 4th church on the present site, and records show that there has been a church here back as far 1270.

The (third) church on this site had to be closed in 1961 as the building started to fall down around the congregation and was declared unsafe – and the current church (built by J.M. Jones Ltd of Maidenhead) was consecrated in 1965 – the fourth Church of St Andrew & St Mary Magdalene.

Note: it is facing the “wrong way round” as it faces West not East – but this makes for easier access to the church.

The spire is fibreglass and was hoisted into place by a crane with some difficulty. The stained glass windows on the West wall in the church were placed in memory of Ron Hill.