St. Mary's Church is

Protestant church Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

located in the

Pune Cantonment Pune Cantt, also known as Camp, is a military cantonment located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1817 for accommodating troops of the British Indian Army, Indian Army. The cantonment houses many military establishments. It is a ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

state, India. It is the oldest church in the Deccan region and thus is known as the "mother church of the Deccan". The church was built to meet the spiritual needs of the British soldiers stationed in and around Pune. Inspired by the St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the church was designed by Lieutenant Nash of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

's Engineers. The foundations of the building were laid by Bishop

Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglican bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich lando ...

, the Bishop of Calcutta, in 1825. He described the church to be a large building but in bad architectural taste. A 1,500-member congregation worships there every Sunday, and the church currently is under the jurisdiction of the

Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the Protestant churches working in northern India. It is a province of the worldwide Anglica ...

Burials and memorials

Being a garrison church, St. Mary's contains many memorials of the British soldiers who served in various wars and battles. The stones and plaques commemorate many figures; prominent amongst them is the memorial of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel and Major

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

of Fishleigh,

Hatherleigh Hatherleigh is a small market town in west Devon, England. It hosts an arts festival in July, and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs. The Walruses meet on New Year's Day to jump into the River Lew to raise money for ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, one of the few survivors from the

battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russian Empire, Russia's principal naval base on the Bl ...

. The church also houses the remains of

Sir Robert Grant Sir Robert Grant GCH (1779 – 9 July 1838) was a British lawyer and politician. He was born in Bombay, India in 1779. Grant , his older brother and father moved to England in 1790. In 1807, after studying law at Magdalene College, Cambridge, ...

, one of the queen's Most Honourable Privy Councillors and the Governor of Bombay. He was the author of a volume of sacred poems that contains some hymns which have found their way into modern hymnals. His most well-known hymn, "O Worship the King", based on Psalm 104, is regularly sung at the church and is an anthem during the church's anniversary. The church also houses the remains of Sir Edward West, the Chief Justice of Supreme Court at Bombay, which was established in 1823 by the East India Company. Beside the memorials and plaques, the colors of the 25th Bombay Infantry are laid to rest there.

References

Buildings and structures in Pune district Churches in Pune {{india-church-stub