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Church of St Mary

Cottam, GB

Church of St Mary

St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in Cowlam, a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in England. The church was built in the 12th century. It was largely rebuilt in 1852, part of a group of churches with work funded by Tatton Sykes. Uniquely, it was designed by his daughter, Mary Sykes. The b

uilding was grade II listed in 1966. It was long thought to date entirely from the 19th century, but in 2004 the discovery of a fragment of a mediaeval wall painting suggested it had instead been substantially altered. Access to the church is through a working farm and in 2017 it was threatened with closure. By 2026 it was in need of major repairs, but still hosted a monthly church service. The church is built of sandstone with a Welsh slate roof. It consists of a nave, a south porch and a chancel with a north vestry. At the west end are angle buttresses, and a lancet window with a moulded hood mould, above which is a quatrefoil, and on the gable is a bellcote with ogeed trefoil openings, surmounted by a cross. Inside, there is a Norman tub font with rich but crude carving, and a marble wall tablet carved by Francis Leggatt Chantrey.

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