St Mary Magdalene Newark

About

Open:  Monday – Saturday 8.30am – 12.00 &, 1.30pm - 4.00pm, Sunday 12.00 – 4.00pm

Newark's medieval parish church with its magnificent spire is one of the largest and finest parish churches in the country.

There is a hole visible in the spire marking the spot where the shot from a Parliamentarian cannon is said to have struck the church in 1664 during the Civil War.

The present building is the third to stand on the site. The first was a Saxon church which was replaced in 1180. In 1310 plans were drawn up to rebuild the whole church with the exception of the tower.

The work took nearly 200 years to complete. At one time the town's trade guilds each had a chapel in the church creating 16 altars as well as the high altar. Most were swept away during the Reformation.

There are now three chapels behind the High Altar. St George's Chapel was established as a war memorial after the First World War and contains the colours of the Sherwood Foresters and the Magnus Grammar School roll of honour.

The crypt, entered by the Lady Chapel, was originally used as a burying place. The bones here interred were moved and the crypt now houses the Treasury. It is the oldest part of the church and is used to display 16th Century chalices, flagons and alms dishes.
One of the church's treasures is an early 16th Century painted panel showing a dancing skeleton and a well- dressed man with his hand on his purse - warning that nobody can escape death despite their wealth.

The church library is in a room over the south porch. It contains books - many of them in Latin - bequeathed to the church by Bishop Thomas White who was Vicar of Newark between 1660 and 1665 and later became Bishop of Peterborough.

The most interesting church monument is the Fleming brass in the north choir aisle which dates from 1363 and is one of the largest brasses in England measuring 2.8m by 1.7m.  It commemorates the life of Newark wool merchant Alan Fleming who died in 1361.