Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

St Marys Church (Melton Mowbray)

St. Mary's, the parish church of Melton Mowbray, is the most magnificent in Leicestershire, and might be mistaken for a cathedral.

Dating from the 13th century, St. Mary's has a fine range of stained glass windows and a superb clerestory.

Sir Malcolm Sargent, the famous conductor, who was born not far away at Stamford, was as a young man organist and choirmaster at St. Mary's.

The pleasant buildings around the church give it the air of a cathedral close, and adjoining this is the lovely park known as Play Close.

The vestry was built using stones from the former Leper Hospital (the largest in England) which was situated at the nearby village of Burton Lazars.

Beside the church, in this fascinating market town famous for foxhunting, pork pies and Stilton cheese, is the lovely ironstone Anne of Cleves House, given to his ex-Queen by Henry VIII.