St Mary Magdalene's Church, Croome D'Abitot

The first record of a church at Croome D'Abitot is in 1283, when its dedication was to Saint James the Apostle. The precise position of that church is not known, but it is thought it was near the present site of Croome Court. In the 1750s George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry decided to demolish the Jacobean house he had inherited and replace it with another church on higher land. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown to design the new house, together with a church, and to landscape the surrounding garden and grounds. He appointed Robert Adam to design the interior of the house and the church, and also to design some structures in the grounds. The church was consecrated and dedicated…

The arcades are carried on quatrefoil piers, and the ceilings are plastered and coved. The roofs of the aisles are flat. The nave ceiling is an elliptical vault, with a moulded plaster centrepiece. The church is floored with limestone slabs, decorated with inserts of black slate. The chancel takes up a greater proportion of the church than would normally be expected. This is because it acts as a mausoleum to the Coventry family, their monuments having been brought from the previous church. To the right side of the altar is a black and white marble memorial to Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry, who died in 1640 and who had been Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. His effigy is shown reclining…