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St Dunstan's Church stands in Cranford Park, adjacent to the stable block of Cranford House. The oldest surviving part is its 15th-century tower.
There was a priest at Cranford in 1086, when he held 1 virgate of land, so the Victoria County History states there was presumably a church. The benefice us a rectory – no secular church tithe appropriation ever took place in return for chancel upkeep, by an improprietor, which gives rise to the need to have a vicar. The advowson (right to appoint the priest) was medievally for over a century held by two religious orders, the Knights Templars and the Hospitallers The tower and the nave survived a fire in 1710, and the repairs were paid for by Elizabeth, Dowager Countess of Berkeley in 1716.
Notable monuments in the church include a large wall monument to Sir Roger Aston (d. 1612) and his wife Mary (d. 1606), sculpted by William Cure I; another to Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley (d. 1635), with a marble effigy by Nicholas Stone (both these monuments are listed by Historic England); and a mural tablet to Thomas Fuller (d.1661), author of the Worthies of England, who was rector of
- Type:
- Place of Worship