St Mary's Church Ripple

The Parish Church of St Mary’s, Ripple lies close to the mighty River Severn between Tewkesbury and Worcester. It is said to be the biggest medieval parish church in the county, with a rich history dating back to 680AD when a charter granted land for the building of a minster. The present church was built in 1180 and remains much the same.

Among its many wonders is the grave of Robert Reeve, the Ripple Giant. He died of a heart attack in 1626 at the age of 56 having mown Uckinghall meadow single-handed in a day, for a wager. He was said to be 7’ 4” tall. His epitaph reads “As you passe by behold my length but never glory in your strength”.

As well as being a beautiful old building, St Mary’s Church, Ripple is listed Grade 1 by Historic England, among only 2.5% of all listed buildings. It is considered to be of “outstanding architectural or historic interest”. Among its many treasures is one of Britain’s finest examples of misericords, sixteen seats used by monks, intricately carved in the late 15th century and each telling a story about English rural life.

There is an extremely rare copy of the “She” Bible printed in 1613 and so called because of a typographical error that used the word she in place of he. Other known copies are at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Exeter, Salisbury and Durham Cathedrals and one other fortunate parish church.

The village of Ripple is celebrated for its English Civil War Battle of Ripple Field in April of 1643.

Timings & Tours

Saturday 13 September:

1000-1600

Sunday 14 September:

1000-1600

Location & directions

St Mary's Church, The Cross, Ripple, Tewkesbury, Worcestershire, gl206ha

Directions:

What three words – vitals.refrained.occupiers

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

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