St Mary's Church, Lutterworth

The church building is 13th-century, with 14th- and 15th-century alterations. The church contains some surviving 15th-century wall paintings with the Lutterworth Doom appearing over the chancel arch and a depiction of the Three Living and the Three dead.^[3]

The spire on the church was blown down in 1703 and rebuilt in 1761. Sir George Gilbert Scott restored the building in 1866–1869.^[4]

The Irish statesman Robert le Poer was parish priest here c.1318.

The translator John Wycliffe was rector of the church between 1374 and 1384.^[1] It was in the Lutterworth rectory that he is traditionally believed to have produced the first translation of the Bible from Latin into English (see Wycliffe's Bible).^[6] His translation of the Bible into English started the Lollard movement.^[4]

In spite of the significance of the church for early English Protestantism the church is home to a remarkable set of surviving pre-reformation murals. Painted during the 15th century (1400s) they consist of a large Doom over the chancel arch, with figures rising out of tombs and large seated Christ in majesty surrounded by angels, and a remarkably fine example of the Three Living and the Three Dead around the north aisle door. The paintings were uncovered and restored by Eve Baker in the 1980s.