The church of St. Mary the Virgin is the parish church of Winchfield. The parish of Winchfield is part of the benefice of Hartley Wintney with Elvetham, Winchfield and Dogmersfield, in the Deanery of Odiham within the Diocese of Winchester.
It is not known when St Mary's was built, but it would appear by its architecture to have been originally completed in about 1150 and it is a remarkable example of the solid beauty of Norman stone work – the original parts being the Nave, Chancel and Tower. It is believed that the same masons were used to build St Mary's and St Cross Church in Winchester since they share many distinctive features of carving and design.
The Chancel Arch is the glory of this Church. It consists of a group of semi-circular arches carved with chevron (dog's tooth) and other Norman ornamentation. The arch is mentioned in Pevsner and although rude and not highly finished it is is nonetheless very beautiful.
There is a service in the church every Sunday with coffee served afterwards and all are most welcome. Service times are 11am on the first, second and fourth Sunday, 9.30 am on the third. Our lovely Evensong is held on the fifth Sunday at 4pm.
St Mary's also runs a very popular activity led children's group called The Ark which is held at Winchfield village hall, on the first Sunday of the month at 3pm.
Being a small rural church, St Mary's is unattended during most of the
week. However if you do wish to view the church we can normally arrange
for someone to be at St Mary's to open it up for you. Please phone either the
churchwarden on 01256 227861 or the Treasurer on 01252 844100 and we
will endeavour to help. Having said that in August the church will be open for visitors every Sunday afternoon
from 2.30 to 4.30 pm, except for the Sunday 30th August when we have an
Evensong service at 4 o'clock.
