Worship
Sunday worship is normally at 9:15am, with Communion or Morning Praise, and Morning Prayer is held on Wednesdays at 9:00am.
Welcome
About St Mary’s
An ancient parish church with a living Christian community, serving Staindrop and welcoming visitors from near and far.
A living Christian church
For more than a thousand years, people have gathered on this site in Staindrop to worship, pray, celebrate, mourn and mark the great moments of human life.
Today, St Mary’s Parish Church, Staindrop remains what it has always been at its heart: a living Christian church serving its parish and community. It is also one of County Durham’s most remarkable historic churches — a Grade I listed building whose walls tell a story stretching from the Anglo-Saxon period, through the great medieval families of the North, and into the life of the village today.
But St Mary’s is much more than an historic building. It is a place of faith, worship, friendship, music, prayer, hospitality and service. Whether you have worshipped here all your life, have recently moved to the area, are visiting Staindrop for the first time, are exploring Christianity, or simply want somewhere peaceful to sit for a while, you are very welcome.
The church began as an Anglo-Saxon foundation, originally dedicated to St Gregory. Historic England records surviving pre-Conquest fabric and early twelfth-century arcades; the building was repeatedly enlarged under the powerful Neville family of nearby Raby Castle and became collegiate in the early fifteenth century.
St Mary’s today
Open every day
Visitor information currently lists the church as open 9am–5pm in summer and 9am–4pm in winter.
Grade I heritage
Historic England lists St Mary’s at Grade I, recognising its exceptional architectural and historic importance.
Community
Coffee mornings, school collective worship, volunteering, bell ringing and parish events continue the church’s role in village life.
Authoritative information
Heritage information on this website is based principally on Historic England, the Church of England Church Heritage Record and the National Churches Trust. Current services and facilities are checked against St Mary’s entry on A Church Near You.
Historic England
National Heritage List entry 1338594.
Learn moreA Church Near You
Current parish services, events and facilities.
Learn moreNational Churches Trust
Visitor and heritage information for St Mary’s.
Learn more“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.”
1 Peter 2:5
St Mary’s
A Christian presence at the heart of Staindrop
St Mary’s stands in the centre of one of County Durham’s most beautiful villages, close to Raby Castle and surrounded by a landscape with which the church has been connected for centuries.
Generation after generation has entered through its doors. Children have been baptised here. Couples have made their marriage vows here. Families have gathered to give thanks for lives well lived. Communities have come together in times of celebration, uncertainty, grief and hope. That continuing story matters.
St Mary’s does not exist simply to preserve the past. Our Christian faith calls us to be present in the life of our community today — welcoming people, offering prayer and pastoral care, sharing the Gospel and serving our neighbours. At the centre of everything is the worship of God and the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
