St Mary's Church, Hendon
St Mary's Church is the oldest (and Church of England) parish church in Hendon in the London Borough of Barnet. The mother church of Christ Church, Brent Street, the two form one parish in the Diocese of London.[1]
| St Mary's Church, Hendon | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church viewed from Church End | |
| Location | Church House, 49 Church End, Hendon, London NW4 4JT |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | in 1080 or before |
| Founder(s) | unknown |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architect(s) | various |
| Style | English Gothic |
| Years built | 1080, and two main further building phases |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | London |
| Episcopal area | Edmonton |
| Archdeaconry | Hampstead |
| Deanery | Barnet |
| Parish | St Mary and Christ Church, Hendon |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Bishop of Edmonton (London) & Bishop of London |
| Vicar(s) | Julie Gittoes |
| Curate(s) | Miriam Rinsler and Andrew Kwapong |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Richard Morrison |
| Churchwarden(s) | Jill Moore and David Peston (St Mary's) Andrew Worley and Peter Walker (Christ Church) |
History
The church may date to Anglo-Saxon England. A spurious charter of "959" records the rectory as being owned by Westminster Abbey, and a priest is mentioned in 1086 in the Domesday Book, strongly implying the existence of a church, which was separately documented six years earlier. Associated archaeology has found near-certain Anglo-Saxon burials. The first definite date is the church built around 1080, and a Norman font (pictured below right) is still in use.[2][3] The building has a thirteenth-century nave, chapel, north aisle and south arcade, together with traces of painting on the walls. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries saw further rebuilding – the tower and south arcade reflect this phase.[4]
In 1914-15 the church was extended with a larger nave designed by Temple Moore, living up to his name. His work was praised by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, a much-published and read critic, as "one of the rare cases in which a Gothic revival architect, by respecting old work and frankly adding new work to it, has considerably enhanced the original effect".[4]
Since 1950, the church has had grade II* listing (statutory protection and recognition, in the mid category).[5]
Memorials and churchyard
One of the most important memorials in the church is to Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, who lived locally at Highwood Hill, where he died in 1826. He is buried in the church. The churchyard is a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation together with the neighbouring Sunny Hill Park.[4] It contains the grave of Herbert Chapman, the pre-war manager of Arsenal Football Club. They are buried in the churchyard with twenty Commonwealth service personnel, eleven from World War I and nine from World War II, most of whom are commemorated by a special memorial where graves could not be located.[6]
The Church today
The parish is served by a vicar and a curate.
References
- The Parish of Mary and Christ Church, Hendon, home page
- Stephen Aleck; Andy Simpson. "Roman Hendon - Another Piece of the Jigsaw". Hendon & District Archaeological Society. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- "S 1293". Electronic Sawyer. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
- "St Mary's Churchyard, Hendon". London Parks & Gardens Trust. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- Historic England. "Parish Church Of St Mary (1359029)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- CWGC Cemetery Report, breakdown obtained from casualty record.
External links
