St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford

St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford
St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford, from the southeast
St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford Location in Leicestershire
Coordinates: 52°56′37″N 0°48′00″W / 52.9435°N 0.8001°W / 52.9435; -0.8001
OS grid reference	SK 807 391
Location	Bottesford, Leicestershire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Mary, Bottesford
History
Dedication	Saint Mary the Virgin
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	1 January 1968
Architect(s)	Sharpe and Paley (1847–48 restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic
Administration
Parish	Bottesford
Deanery	Framland
Archdeaconry	Leicester
Diocese	Leicester
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd F. P. R. J. Connell

St Mary the Virgin's Church is in the village of Bottesford, Leicestershire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Framland, the archdeaconry of Leicester and the diocese of Leicester. Its benefice is united with those of eight local parishes. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

Sometimes known as the "Lady of the Vale", it is a large church which has the 2nd highest spire in Leicestershire (at 212 feet). The oldest part of the church dates from the 12th century, with additions and alterations made during the following three centuries, including the nave and spire in the 15th century. The chancel was rebuilt in the 17th century to accommodate the monuments of the Manners family, earls (later dukes) of Rutland, which completely fill it. The monuments include work by Caius Gabriel Cibber and Gerard Johnson the elder. One of the Rutland tombs is famous for its inscription, which attributes a death to witchcraft by the Witches of Belvoir.

A number of restorations were carried out during the 19th century. The restoration in 1847–48 was carried out by the Lancaster partnership of Sharpe and Paley. This involved restoring the nave, aisles, and transepts, replacing the seating and the roofs of the aisles, removing the gallery, inserting the tower screen, adding new pinnacles, reflooring the church and replacing windows. This cost £2,235 (equivalent to £200,000 in 2015), towards which the Duke of Rutland gave £600, the Revd F. J. Norman gave £550, and a grant of £110 was received from the Incorporated Church Building Society.