St. Mary's Church, Southampton
Encyclopedia
St. Mary's Church, Southampton is the largest church in the city of Southampton
, England and can trace its origins to the first Saxon settlements of the 7th century. In 1917, the sound of the church bell
s inspired the writing of the song, "The Bells of St. Mary's"
, later sung by Bing Crosby
in the film of the same name
.
to the north and east, in a quiet oasis of green surrounded by large trees which from a distance hide all but the spire.
arrived at the port on his mission to re-convert England to its former Christian faith. About this time, the first small church of St. Mary was built on the present site. During the Viking
raids of 994, Olaf I of Norway
is believed to have worshipped at the church while camped at Woolston
prior to his return to Norway.
The first recorded priest and holder of the benefice was named as Richerius (1086). In the Domesday Book
, it is stated that the church is "held by Richerius thd(sic) Clerk, with two other churches near Southampton, dependent on it as the mother-church, and Richerius owns in right of his benefice all the tithes of the town of Southampton and also of Kingsland".
The Saxon town survived many invasions and ravages by the Danes but eventually fell into decline and in the time of King Canute in the 11th century the population moved to the safety of the Norman
medieval settlement to the west, with St. Michael's Church
being first built in 1070. However, St. Mary's continued to be of significant importance as the Mother Church, with its claims to tithes, burial rights and privileges reflecting its status. A document of 1281 appears to confirm the status of St. Mary's as a collegiate church
and as the principal church of Southampton.
), on account of its poor and inadequate state. This, the second church, known as "The great church of Our Lady Blessed Mary", served for four hundred years and was the principal place of worship despite being outside the walled town. Writing in 1546, the historian John Leland confirmed the 12th century rebuilding of the ancient church of St. Mary.
Shortly after Leland's visit to Southampton, the church was destroyed, probably as a punitive measure against the then Rector
, Dr. William Capon
, because of his disagreement with a decision by Government commissioners to confiscate the Chantry
lands. The interior of the church, including woodwork and marble tombs, was demolished, the bells removed and the steeple weakened so that it later had to be taken down.
The Court Leet
of 30 April 1549 ordered that "so much of the rubbish of St. Mary's Church should be carted away as would serve to make the highway from Bargate
and all East Street down to the turning of the Chantry"; all that remained was the chancel
.
lands and tithe
s were all leased out to a merchant and ship-owner, Robert Reniger, at one time Sheriff of Southampton. One condition of the lease, which later passed to the Lambert family, was that the Rector of St. Mary's should receive eighteen pounds a year from the income of the lands.
From time to time the Lambert family paid towards the repair of the chancel, where services were still held. However, after the Civil War
, during which all the tithes and properties of St. Mary's had been sequestrated and handed over to the Corporation, it is recorded that the "chapel" or church of St. Mary's was "much in decay". The town authorised the under-tenant at that time, a Mr. Barber, to get the chapel repaired, and he would be reimbursed from the rent he paid for the lands "provided always he does not disburse above shillings". Unsurprisingly, the little church continued to be in a sad state.
After the Restoration, the leases were returned to the church of St. Mary and by 1662, Doctor Clutterbuck, the Rector, was in possession of the church and its lands.
In the Eighteenth Century, St. Mary's was well outside the built-up area around the walled town to the east, but following the rapid growth and spread of the town around 1800, the church had been much enlarged with aisles and galleries, during the time when Francis North was Rector, who had the church re-consecrated in 1833.
In 1850, Philip Brannon wrote in his Picture of Southampton:
sought advice from the eminent architect G. E. Street
, who condemned the building.
, was destined to become his memorial. In August 1878, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII
) laid the dedication stone, and the new church was consecrated in June 1879 and completed in 1884, with the exception of the tower and spire which were finished in 1912-1914, incorporating eight bells, with two more being added in 1934.
During the blitz
of 30 November 1940, incendiary bombs destroyed the church leaving a damaged tower, bells and Baptistery
. At the end of the War, Canon Spencer Leeson
and the church council took the decision to restore the bells—"thus giving encouragement and visible witness of the determination to rebuild once again", with the work being completed by June 1948.
The decision to complete the rebuilding of the entire church was not made until the early 1950s. The town was in ruins and this was not deemed to be a priority as worship was being maintained in the nearby Chantry Hall. An offer from the town council to allocate a new site for a town church in East Park Terrace had been turned down in 1946 and the diocese had reservations about the viability of such a large building, and money was being directed towards the construction of new churches in growing outlying areas of the town.
), with a fine new west window designed by Gerald Smith, depicting six local landmarks.
In their 1967 Architectural Guide to Hampshire & The Isle of Wight
, Pevsner
and Lloyd were rather scathing about the main building and what they saw as a squandered opportunity "to build a new mother church worthy of a great city which had played such a significant part in the war in which it had so much suffered". They praised Street’s tower and spire as making externally "a splendid composition, one of he finest Victorian steeples in England ... wonderfully impressive when seen from a medium distance".
On the left is an archway which leads to the small Baptistery, which is the oldest part of the present church and largely survived the bombing in 1940. It's currently used for small services and for private prayer. The nave is large, with two side aisles, and is also used for art exhibitions. At the head of the nave is the nave altar, backed by the steps into the chancel, containing the choir stalls, with the organ console above them on the left, and most of the pipes on the right. At the far east end is the sanctuary with the high altar enclosed by altar rails. The transepts are level with the nave altar, and the north transept also houses the Seafarers' Chapel, commemorating the seafaring history of the port of Southampton. At the entrance to the chapel are hung many flags.
was first installed in 1914. Cast at John Taylor's Foundry in Loughborough
, they were given by Mary Ann Wingrove in memory of her late husband, Robert, in 1913, and brought to St. Mary's from Southampton Docks railway station in a horse-drawn procession. A further two bells were added in 1934.
Following the destruction of much of the church in November 1940, the damaged bells were taken away for safe-keeping. However, ten new bells were recast from the metal of the originals in 1945, again by Taylor's, and rang again in 1948.
In 1914, Australian composer A. Emmett Adams and British lyricist Douglas Furber
were in Southampton when they heard the recently installed bells ringing across the town, inspiring them to write the song, "The Bells Of St. Mary's
". The song was later made famous by Bing Crosby
in the film of the same name
and has since been recorded by many other artistes.
, and designed in consultation with D. Cecil Williams, organist at the church. It was completed in 1956, and incorporates some "Father Willis" pipework from the former Albert Hall organ in Stirling
.
This is a major and impressive instrument in the Willis III tradition. It has remained virtually unaltered since 1956, though the Great, Choir and Pedal organs were overhauled following a roof leak in 1994. The electrics are completely original although at least two stops, the Gedackt
and the Cymbel Mixture, are replacement stops, for a Clarabella and a Vox Humana
, respectively.
in 1894
. After they won the Southern League title in 1896–97, the club became a limited company and changed their name to "Southampton F.C.
" which has maintained its ecclesiastical connection via its nick-name "The Saints".
From 1887 to 1896, the church was the club's landlord
, being the owners of their first permanent home at the Antelope Ground
, situated at the northern end of St. Mary's Road.
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England and can trace its origins to the first Saxon settlements of the 7th century. In 1917, the sound of the church bell
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
s inspired the writing of the song, "The Bells of St. Mary's"
The Bells of St. Mary's (song)
"The Bells of St. Mary's" is a popular song.The music was written by A. Emmett Adams, the lyrics by Douglas Furber, following a visit to St. Mary's Church, Southampton, England. The song was published in 1917....
, later sung by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
in the film of the same name
The Bells of St. Mary's
The Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American film which tells the story of a priest and a nun at a school who set out, despite their good-natured rivalry, to save the school from being shut down. It stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman...
.
Location
The church stands at the southern end of St. Mary Street, on the east side at the corner of Chapel Road, with the buildings of Southampton City CollegeSouthampton City College
Southampton City College is a further education college located in Southampton, Hampshire, England.The college has around 1700 full time and 5000 part time students, and offers a wide choice of full-time vocational courses including art & design, beauty, hairdressing, media, catering, IT,...
to the north and east, in a quiet oasis of green surrounded by large trees which from a distance hide all but the spire.
History
The present church is the sixth on the site of the Saxon town of Hamwic (Hamtun).First church
The first church at Hamwic is thought to have been built around AD 634 when Saint BirinusBirinus
Birinus , venerated as a saint, was the first Bishop of Dorchester, and the "Apostle to the West Saxons".-Life and ministry:After Augustine of Canterbury performed initial conversions in England, Birinus, a Frank, came to the kingdoms of Wessex in 634, landing at the port of "Hamwic", now in the...
arrived at the port on his mission to re-convert England to its former Christian faith. About this time, the first small church of St. Mary was built on the present site. During the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raids of 994, Olaf I of Norway
Olaf I of Norway
Olaf Tryggvason was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken , and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway.Olaf played an important part in the often forcible, on pain of torture or death, conversion of the...
is believed to have worshipped at the church while camped at Woolston
Woolston, Southampton
Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Hampshire, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.The area is rich in maritime and aviation history...
prior to his return to Norway.
The first recorded priest and holder of the benefice was named as Richerius (1086). In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, it is stated that the church is "held by Richerius thd(sic) Clerk, with two other churches near Southampton, dependent on it as the mother-church, and Richerius owns in right of his benefice all the tithes of the town of Southampton and also of Kingsland".
The Saxon town survived many invasions and ravages by the Danes but eventually fell into decline and in the time of King Canute in the 11th century the population moved to the safety of the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
medieval settlement to the west, with St. Michael's Church
St. Michael's Church, Southampton
St. Michael's Church is the oldest building still in use in the city of Southampton, England, having been founded in 1070, and is the only church still active of the five originally in the medieval walled town. The church is a Grade I Listed building....
being first built in 1070. However, St. Mary's continued to be of significant importance as the Mother Church, with its claims to tithes, burial rights and privileges reflecting its status. A document of 1281 appears to confirm the status of St. Mary's as a collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
and as the principal church of Southampton.
Second church
In the 12th century, the church was rebuilt on the instruction of Queen Matilda (the wife of King Henry IHenry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
), on account of its poor and inadequate state. This, the second church, known as "The great church of Our Lady Blessed Mary", served for four hundred years and was the principal place of worship despite being outside the walled town. Writing in 1546, the historian John Leland confirmed the 12th century rebuilding of the ancient church of St. Mary.
Shortly after Leland's visit to Southampton, the church was destroyed, probably as a punitive measure against the then Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
, Dr. William Capon
William Capon
William Capon was an English churchman and scholar.-Life:He was born at Salcott, near Colchester in Essex in 1480. He was educated at Cambridge University, earning his B.A. degree in 1499 and his M.A. in 1502 . In 1516 he became a Master of Jesus College, Cambridge and in 1526, aged 46, he was...
, because of his disagreement with a decision by Government commissioners to confiscate the Chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
lands. The interior of the church, including woodwork and marble tombs, was demolished, the bells removed and the steeple weakened so that it later had to be taken down.
The Court Leet
Court leet
The court leet was a historical court baron of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts.-History:...
of 30 April 1549 ordered that "so much of the rubbish of St. Mary's Church should be carted away as would serve to make the highway from Bargate
Bargate
The Bargate is a building in the city centre of Southampton, England. Constructed in Norman times as part of the fortified walled city, the Bargate was the main point of entry and exit to and from the north. Since Southampton is on the south coast, this made the Bargate the main gateway to the city...
and all East Street down to the turning of the Chantry"; all that remained was the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
.
Third church
In October 1551, the church, chantry, glebeGlebe
Glebe Glebe Glebe (also known as Church furlong or parson's closes is an area of land within a manor and parish used to support a parish priest.-Medieval origins:...
lands and tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s were all leased out to a merchant and ship-owner, Robert Reniger, at one time Sheriff of Southampton. One condition of the lease, which later passed to the Lambert family, was that the Rector of St. Mary's should receive eighteen pounds a year from the income of the lands.
From time to time the Lambert family paid towards the repair of the chancel, where services were still held. However, after the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, during which all the tithes and properties of St. Mary's had been sequestrated and handed over to the Corporation, it is recorded that the "chapel" or church of St. Mary's was "much in decay". The town authorised the under-tenant at that time, a Mr. Barber, to get the chapel repaired, and he would be reimbursed from the rent he paid for the lands "provided always he does not disburse above shillings". Unsurprisingly, the little church continued to be in a sad state.
After the Restoration, the leases were returned to the church of St. Mary and by 1662, Doctor Clutterbuck, the Rector, was in possession of the church and its lands.
Fourth church
In 1711, Archdeacon Brideoak instigated the building of a new church by adding a nave at a cost of £920, but eventually in 1723 the chancel was also rebuilt (for £400).In the Eighteenth Century, St. Mary's was well outside the built-up area around the walled town to the east, but following the rapid growth and spread of the town around 1800, the church had been much enlarged with aisles and galleries, during the time when Francis North was Rector, who had the church re-consecrated in 1833.
In 1850, Philip Brannon wrote in his Picture of Southampton:
It has been recently enlarged by the addition of two wings; and is now in tolerable repair, but more remarkable for its bold defiance of all architectural propriety, than for any other characteristic: tall clustered columns being carried from the floor to support a horizontal beam or entablature close to the ceiling, whilst plain round windows contrast the pointed arch of the ancient chancel.By the 1870s, the poor construction of the 1833 church alterations revealed considerable deterioration, and in the 1870s Bishop Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce was an English bishop in the Church of England, third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his time and place...
sought advice from the eminent architect G. E. Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
, who condemned the building.
Fifth church
On the death of the Bishop in 1873, the subsequent re-building under the Rectorship of his son, Canon Basil WilberforceAlbert Basil Orme Wilberforce
The Ven Albert Basil Orme Wilberforce, DD was an Anglican priest and author in the second half of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th...
, was destined to become his memorial. In August 1878, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
) laid the dedication stone, and the new church was consecrated in June 1879 and completed in 1884, with the exception of the tower and spire which were finished in 1912-1914, incorporating eight bells, with two more being added in 1934.
During the blitz
Southampton Blitz
The Southampton Blitz was the heavy bombing of Southampton by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during World War II. It was targeted mainly in the first phase of the Blitz....
of 30 November 1940, incendiary bombs destroyed the church leaving a damaged tower, bells and Baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
. At the end of the War, Canon Spencer Leeson
Spencer Leeson
The Rt Rev Spencer Leeson, born Spencer Stottesbury Gwatkin Leeson, was an eminentHeadmaster and Anglican Bishop in the mid 20th century. He was born on 9 October 1892 and educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford. After World War I service with the Middlesex Regiment he was Assistant...
and the church council took the decision to restore the bells—"thus giving encouragement and visible witness of the determination to rebuild once again", with the work being completed by June 1948.
The decision to complete the rebuilding of the entire church was not made until the early 1950s. The town was in ruins and this was not deemed to be a priority as worship was being maintained in the nearby Chantry Hall. An offer from the town council to allocate a new site for a town church in East Park Terrace had been turned down in 1946 and the diocese had reservations about the viability of such a large building, and money was being directed towards the construction of new churches in growing outlying areas of the town.
Sixth church
The rebuilding of the sixth church was finally begun in February 1954 and completed and consecrated in June 1956. The new church was built by Romilly Craze, who retained Street's 200 ft high steeple, the general ground plan and some of the outside walls, made of Purbeck stone (with the interior of Bath stoneBath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
), with a fine new west window designed by Gerald Smith, depicting six local landmarks.
In their 1967 Architectural Guide to Hampshire & The Isle of Wight
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
, Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
and Lloyd were rather scathing about the main building and what they saw as a squandered opportunity "to build a new mother church worthy of a great city which had played such a significant part in the war in which it had so much suffered". They praised Street’s tower and spire as making externally "a splendid composition, one of he finest Victorian steeples in England ... wonderfully impressive when seen from a medium distance".
Listed building
The church is a Grade II listed building. The listed building order describes the church thus:Massive church built 1878-84 to the designs of G E Street on the site of a major collegiate church of the middle ages. But gutted in the Second World War and rebuilt in 1954-6, retaining Street's steeple and some outside walls. Built of ashlar C20 nave with buttresses, clerestry with plain modern lancets and slate roof. Large tower in 3 stages circa 1880, having broached spire with lucarnes erected in 1914 but to Street's design. The Baptistery of circa 1880 survives and has stained glass by Clayton and Bell. The reredos depicting the Nativity by Earp also remains. Included for fine tower and steeple which are also a local landmark.
Interior
The main entrance door is on the west front; on entering the church you can see straight ahead all the way to the chancel and the High Altar, with the Nave Altar and the chancel steps in between.On the left is an archway which leads to the small Baptistery, which is the oldest part of the present church and largely survived the bombing in 1940. It's currently used for small services and for private prayer. The nave is large, with two side aisles, and is also used for art exhibitions. At the head of the nave is the nave altar, backed by the steps into the chancel, containing the choir stalls, with the organ console above them on the left, and most of the pipes on the right. At the far east end is the sanctuary with the high altar enclosed by altar rails. The transepts are level with the nave altar, and the north transept also houses the Seafarers' Chapel, commemorating the seafaring history of the port of Southampton. At the entrance to the chapel are hung many flags.
Bells
A ring of eight bellsRing of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
was first installed in 1914. Cast at John Taylor's Foundry in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, they were given by Mary Ann Wingrove in memory of her late husband, Robert, in 1913, and brought to St. Mary's from Southampton Docks railway station in a horse-drawn procession. A further two bells were added in 1934.
Following the destruction of much of the church in November 1940, the damaged bells were taken away for safe-keeping. However, ten new bells were recast from the metal of the originals in 1945, again by Taylor's, and rang again in 1948.
In 1914, Australian composer A. Emmett Adams and British lyricist Douglas Furber
Douglas Furber
Douglas Furber was a British lyricist and playwright.Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song The Lambeth Walk and the libretto to the musical Me and My Girl, composed by Noel Gay, from which it came. This show made broadcasting history when in 1939 it became the first full length...
were in Southampton when they heard the recently installed bells ringing across the town, inspiring them to write the song, "The Bells Of St. Mary's
The Bells of St. Mary's (song)
"The Bells of St. Mary's" is a popular song.The music was written by A. Emmett Adams, the lyrics by Douglas Furber, following a visit to St. Mary's Church, Southampton, England. The song was published in 1917....
". The song was later made famous by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
in the film of the same name
The Bells of St. Mary's
The Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American film which tells the story of a priest and a nun at a school who set out, despite their good-natured rivalry, to save the school from being shut down. It stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman...
and has since been recorded by many other artistes.
Organ
The organ in St. Mary's Church, is among the largest church organs in the south of England. The instrument was built by Henry Willis & SonsHenry Willis & Sons
thumb|250px|St Bees Priory organ, the last major instrument to be personally supervised by "Father" Henry Willis, 1899Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845 in Liverpool. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other...
, and designed in consultation with D. Cecil Williams, organist at the church. It was completed in 1956, and incorporates some "Father Willis" pipework from the former Albert Hall organ in Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
.
This is a major and impressive instrument in the Willis III tradition. It has remained virtually unaltered since 1956, though the Great, Choir and Pedal organs were overhauled following a roof leak in 1994. The electrics are completely original although at least two stops, the Gedackt
Gedackt
Gedackt is the name of a family of stops in pipe organ building. They are one of the most common types of organ flue pipe. The name is a German word, meaning "capped" or "covered".- History :...
and the Cymbel Mixture, are replacement stops, for a Clarabella and a Vox Humana
Vox humana
The Vox Humana is a short-resonator reed stop on the pipe organ, so named because of its supposed resemblance to the human voice. As a rule, the stop is used with a tremulant, which undulates the wind supply, causing a vibrato effect...
, respectively.
Southampton St. Mary's Football Club
In 1880, the St. Mary's church football team, founded by the church curate, Rev. Arthur Baron Sole, began playing on the Deanery field, behind the present vicarage. In November 1885, the Deanery club and a club founded by members of the St. Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association merged to form "St. Mary's Young Men's Association F.C."; this became simply "St. Mary's F.C." in 1887–88, before adopting the name "Southampton St. Mary's F.C." when the club joined the Southern LeagueSouthern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
in 1894
1894 in football (soccer)
The following are the association football events of the year 1894 throughout the world.-Clubs founded in 1894:*BV Veendam*Dumbarton Harp F.C.*FC La Chaux-de-Fonds*First Vienna FC*GAIS*Hastings United F.C.*K.F.C...
. After they won the Southern League title in 1896–97, the club became a limited company and changed their name to "Southampton F.C.
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
" which has maintained its ecclesiastical connection via its nick-name "The Saints".
From 1887 to 1896, the church was the club's landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
, being the owners of their first permanent home at the Antelope Ground
Antelope Ground
The Antelope Ground, Southampton was a sports ground that was the first home of both Hampshire County Cricket Club, who played there prior to 1884, and of Southampton Football Club, who played there from 1887 to 1896 as "Southampton St...
, situated at the northern end of St. Mary's Road.