St Mary
South Stoneham, Hampshire
St Mary's is a beautiful Grade I listed church and is one of only two medieval churches that remain in Southampton, and it was even mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.
The Church of the Ascension is a beautiful gothic style grade II listed Anglican church in Southampton. Built between 1924-6, by Sir Charles Nicholson to replace the original Church of Ascension (built in 1899) in response to the growing needs of the area.
The church offers a truly spectacular set of stained glass windows. The East Rose window (by A.K. Nicholson and G.E.R. Smith) was completed at the consecration in 1926 and the remaining windows were added later – each one given by Lady Milner White of “Deepdene” in the parish in memory of her husband Sir Henry. The windows are one of the finest series of modern stained glass in the country and we encourage visitors throughout the year to take a tour of them.
The squat west tower is another interesting feature as it was originally intended to be taller, it was added later in 1957 when a peal of eight bells were hung. these were then augmented to twelve bells in May 2008 and are thought to be the lightest set of twelve bells in the world.
In 2010 the church was redeveloped and reordered to provide a community space and café alongside the worship area. Today we open throughout the week to host toddler groups, youth groups, dementia cafes, clothing banks and much much more.