St Mary’s Church, Avington
Location
OS Ref: SU 532 322
Last Visited: 2016

St Mary's Church from the South
Set in the perimeter wall of the park, St Mary’s Church, Avington is accessible from the park via the North Door, or from the village along a path made up of old tombstones, via the South Door.
The unrestored red-bricked Georgian church was built between 1768-71 for the Marchioness of Carnarvon who unfortunately did not live to see it completed. She died in 1768 aged just 34 years old.

The Nave
The Spanish mahogany for the great box pews, the reredos and the pulpit is said to come from a ship captured in the Armada by the "Duke of Effingham".
Presumably this is a reference to Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham and 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham, the Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I. He was a cousin of Anne Boleyn.
It is now one of the four Itchen Valley Churches, grouped with Easton (St Mary's), Itchen Abbas (St John the Baptist), and Martyr Worthy (St Swithun's). For details of services, please see the parish web site.
External Links and References
External Links
- St Mary’s Church Avington
More on the church from the Hampshire History web site.
http://www.hampshire-history.com/st-marys-church-avington/ - St. Mary’s, Avington
The official parish web site, with a history and details of services.
https://itchenvalleychurches.org.uk/churches/st-marys-avington/
- St Mary’s Church Avington