St Mary's Church, Nottingham

St Mary's pioneered Sunday School education for those children unable to attend a day school. Pupils were taught reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as religious knowledge. The first Sunday School was opened in 1751, 35 years before the generally acknowledged first Sunday School was founded in Gloucester by Robert Raikes.[13][14]

• 1822: St Paul's Church, George Street, Nottingham, built as a chapel of ease
• 1841: Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Square
• 1844: St John the Baptist's Church, Leenside (destroyed by enemy action in May 1941)
• 1856: St Mark's Church, Nottingham
• 1856: St Matthew's Church, Talbot Street
• 1863: St Ann's Church, Nottingham, with St Andrew's created out of this parish, in 1871
• 1863: St Luke's Church, Nottingham
• 1863: St Saviour's, Arkwright Street
• 1864: All Saints', Raleigh Street, as a chapel of ease (now merged again with St Mary's following the unification with St Peter's and All Saints')
• 1881: Emmanuel Church, Woodborough Road, in 1885
• 1888: St Catharine's, St Ann's Well Road, out of the parishes of St Mary, St Mark, St Luke and St Paul
• 1903: St Bartholomew's Church, Blue Bell Hill Road

The high altar with the reredos by George Frederick Bodley

• 1762: West front rebuilt by William Hiorne of Warwick in the Classical style.[15]
• c1818–20: South aisle restored and crossing vault replaced by William Stretton.[16]
• 1843: Tower saved from collapse by Lewis Nockalls Cottingham.[17]
• 1844–1848: Five-year restoration of roofs and west front returned to gothic style by George Gilbert Scott (church closed) at a cost of £9,000 (equivalent to £961,340 in 2021),[18]
• 1848–1860s: Internal restoration by George Gilbert Scott and William Bonython Moffatt.[19]
• 1872: Chancel reroofed by George Gilbert Scott.
• 1890: The Chapter House was built by George Frederick Bodley.
• 1912: The Lady Chapel added by Temple Lushington Moore.[20]
• 1935: Tower ringing room floor concreted and new bell frame
• 1940: The Simpson memorial choir vestry added.
• 1992–93: Exterior fabric restored and cleaned.
• 2008: New kitchens and toilet facilities.
• 2013: Removal of the wooden flooring platforms, installation of underfloor heating and new stone floor.

The chantry door is considered to be the oldest surviving door in Nottingham, dating from the 1370s or 1380s. it contains an example of iron work from the medieval period in the locking mechanism.[21]

The chantry room has latterly been used as a bonehouse, a coal store, and a chair store. It now contains a toilet for wheelchair users.

The survival of the door is likely to be due to the fact that it has not been heavily used, and is internal within the church.

• 
  View of the old exterior of the Chantry door
• 
  View of the Chantry door from the north aisle

Source:[22]

It was at St Mary's that the practice of laying on of hands by the Bishop during a confirmation service was first observed ca. 1760 and documented by Thomas Newton, Bishop of Bristol.[23] It was performed by John Gilbert, Archbishop of York.

The south porch doors are by the architect Henry Wilson. A complex work in bronze, the door contains 10 panels with New Testament scenes, and two door handles with cherubic heads. A further eight heads are on the cross pieces. Above, Christ and angel with doves.

The bronze doors were designed in 1904 by Henry Wilson in memory of his father-in-law, Rev. Francis Morse.

The intention of the design of the doors is to illustrate the Life of Our Lord in its relation with the Holy Mother to whom the church is dedicated and by the general treatment to suggest the idea of pity.

In the tympanum enclosed within a vesica the Holy Mother supports and cherishes the body of Christ, while in the spandrels, on either side, the gates of Death and Life are suggested: the Dove, typifying the spirit, enters weary into the one and issues strong-winged from the other, thus symbolising the unending round of Death and Life.

The dedicatory inscription "In loving memory of Francis Morse, 1818–1886, Father, Pastor, Friend" in the form of a pierced cresting, divides the tympanum from the doors themselves. These are formed into panels by mouldings of beaten bronze, with angel bosses at the intersections.

On each leaf of the door are five panels, in relief, illustrating the Life of Our Lord, the subjects on the left leaf being “The Annunciation,” with Gabriel appearing at the Virgin's window in the early morning; “The Visitation,” with the Virgin running to meet her kinswoman. Below these come “The Nativity,” followed by “The Epiphany,” and the lowest panel shows the Salvator Mundi on a Cross of branching vine. At the foot of the Cross stand Adam and Eve, conscious of the fall, while the doves of peace and pardon hover overhead.

The subjects of the panels on the right door of the leaf are “The flight into Egypt”; “The Baptism in the Jordan”; “The entry into Jerusalem”; The three Maries at the Sepulchre”; and “The Resurrection.” In this panel the Saviour is shown emerging from the tomb and while still bound with the grave clothes, the Spirit of Life, in the form of a Dove, flies to His breast, and overhead the birds sing at the coming of a new Dawn.

The church has a fine collection of late Victorian stained glass windows by many famous makers, including Kempe, Burlison and Grylls and Hardman & Co.[24] The reredos above the altar is by the artist Charles Edgar Buckeridge.

It is also known for its octagonal mediaeval font with a palindromic Greek inscription ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ (Wash my transgressions, not only my face),[25] and a rather battered alabaster tomb fragment which portrays a lily crucifix[26] and a Nottingham alabaster panel depicting Archbishop Thomas Becket.[27]

There are three choral services a week – Wednesday Evensong, Sunday Eucharist and Sunday Evensong. Under the leadership of John Keys, the Choir of St Mary's is highly regarded. Renowned for its versatility and wide repertoire it performs music from plainsong through to world premieres, performs regularly in concert on its own and with St Mary's resident orchestra, The Orchestra of the Restoration. Organ and Choral Scholarships[37] are available to students in full-time higher education.

The organ is by Marcussen & Søn of Denmark and is a fine example of a neo-classical style instrument. It was installed in 1973 by the organist of the time, David Butterworth. It has 25 speaking stops and is a small organ for a church of this size. Nevertheless, it is an instrument of the highest quality which adequately gives musical support to choir and congregation as well as serving as a solo instrument.[38]

There are records of organs in the church in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, but no record of any of the organists from this period has been found.[39]

• David Gostick: 1997–1998 (now director of music of Wimborne Minster)
• Alistair Kirk: 1998
• Richard Leach: 1999–2000
• Simon Williams: 2000–2003
• Christopher Burton: 2003–2004
• Jamal Sutton: 2004–2005
• Nicola Harrington: 2005
• Ben Lewis-Smith: 2006–2007
• Simon Williams: 2007–2009
• Max Puller: 2009–2010
• Dominic Wong: 2010–2011
• Edward Byrne: 2019–2021