History

The parish of St Mary’s was formed from the larger parish of St Mark, Tollington Park, about 1859.  The site was presented to the parish by a Mr Warlters, a local property owner, the foundation stone being laid by a banker, R.C.L. Bevan, on 29th June 1860.  The church building was opened almost exactly a year later, and consecrated by the Bishop of London.  This was followed by a lunch for 200 people.

The building was designed by the architect A.D.Gough, and remains substantially as it was built, with typical Victorian Gothic details; in particular there is a dominant and well-proportioned tower and spire, all in Kentish ragstone.  The window tracery is in the Decorated style.

There have been several extensions and alterations over the years - primarily the tower and spire added in 1868. In 1883-4 porches were added on the south and west sides, together with transept aisles, polished stone columns and a west gallery.  The west porch was extended and rebuilt in 1895.  A hall was built on the north side in 1878, and extended in 1932.  The church was listed Grade II in 1988.

Nicholas Pevsner, in the ‘Buildings of England’ series, comments on the “busy interior with polished columns…and much carving.  Some panelling brought from Teulon’s St Paul, Hampstead.”  There is some notable stained glass: for instance, an excellent east window of c1881 by Lavers & Barraud, and a west window by Lavers, Barraud & Westlake, c1870 (a Tree of Jesse).  A stained glass window in the south aisle commemorates the Turner family, who owned Stapleton Hall in the 1880s, before moving to Womersley House. There is a fine angel lectern, believed to be one of only three or four in the UK.

One sadly notable event, commemorated in the stained glass window in the south transept, is that of the churchwarden James Thomas and his family, who were drowned when the S.S. London sank in 1866 on a voyage to Australia.

As might be expected, the interior has been re-ordered several times over the years.  The most recent was 1989 to 1993, at a cost of over £0.25 million, when the pews and organ were removed, and a large flexible space was provided in the nave.  A glass screen was inserted across the nave to create a separate space for those attending services; the altar was moved westwards, and the interior was repainted by the congregation.  Recently, the kitchen and toilets have been extensively refurbished and an audio-visual system has been installed to facilitate on-line streaming of services.

Vicars:

1860      R. Gunnery

1881      W.S. Lewis

1900      T. George

1905      J.C. Elliott

1916      C.H. Maxwell

1921      R.H. Grey

1927      H.L. Stevens              

1941      R.S. Perfect

1958      Donald Smith

1962      Peter Bustin

1970      Alan Brown

1976      Peter Trendall

1985      Malcolm Colmer

1997      Steve Cox

2012      Tamsin Merchant