St Mary the Virgin's Church, Chessington is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building, in Church Lane,

Chessington Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. Th ...

, in the

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Eng ...

within

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. It is in the

Diocese of Guildford __NOTOC__ The Diocese of Guildford is a Church of England diocese covering eight and half of the eleven districts in Surrey, much of north-east Hampshire and a parish in Greater London. The cathedral is Guildford Cathedral and the bishop is the ...

. It became a separate parish from St. John the Baptist,

Old Malden Old Malden is a ward of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London, south west of Charing Cross. Malden Manor is an alternative name for part of Old Malden, popularised by the railway company that made up this name for its st ...

, in 1939.

History

The oldest part of the church is the Chancel and north wall, which dates from the twelfth century. The original

Chapel of Ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

in Chissendon is first mentioned in the

Merton Priory Merton Priory was an English Augustinian priory founded in 1114 by Gilbert Norman, Sheriff of Surrey under King Henry I (1100–1135). It was situated within the manor of Merton in the county of Surrey, in what is today the Colliers Wood area ...

Records of 1174 to 1189. The building was restored by Hesketh and re-opened in 1854. It was lengthened to create the west end, the shingle spire was added and the exterior covered with undressed flint. During the restoration, the date 1636 was found when the plaster ceiling was removed exposing the old chestnut roof. The Chancel Arch was built and the vestry added to the north. The square woodened framed windows were filled in and the early English arches and Early English lancet windows were restored. The south aisle was added in 1870 by Jackson. The beams in the chancel are probably medieval, while those in the nave are nineteenth century apart from the four nearest the chancel which are seventeenth century. The doorway in the north wall leading to the vestry is probably original and is fitted with a 14th-century wooden door that originally came from

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

. There are small crosses scratched into the stonework in the chancel by the priest's door and on the south wall, possibly by crusaders. Also in the chancel is a

Nottingham alabaster Nottingham alabaster is a term used to refer to the English sculpture industry, mostly of relatively small religious carvings, which flourished from the fourteenth century until the early sixteenth century. Alabaster carvers were at work in Lo ...

Annunciation panel (c 1376), probably part of three panels. The moulded base of the font is 13th century. There are eight bells in the spire, cast by

John Warner & Sons John Warner and Sons was a metalworks and bellfoundry based in various locations in the UK, established in 1739 and dissolved in 1949. Previous businesses A company was founded by Jacob Warner, a Quaker, in 1739 and originally produced water pu ...

in 1894.

Stained-glass windows

There are two windows by C. E. Kempe & Co. from the period when the company was under the chairmanship of Kempe's younger distant cousin, Walter Earnest Tower (1873–1955); they bear the "signature" of a small black tower. On the north side of the Nave the narrow lancet window is original and the stained glass is by Kempe dated 1912. The two-light "George Chancellor" memorial window on the west end is also by Kempe (1923). There are two windows by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

. On the south side of the Nave the three lights window c1900. In the chancel on the south side, the "Good Shepherd" window is dated 1861. South window "Faith, Charity, Hope" is by William Morris & Co. (c 1918), designed by Dearle from designs by Burne-Jones. It is dedicated to Arthur de Vere Vere who died in 1916 (although the inscription has the date 1917) and who is buried in the churchyard. There are antique stained-glass medallions in the West window (1854); the two quatrefoils are 17th century Dutch glass, the others are 16th century Flemish glass. The maker of the window in the nave, west end south side, is unknown.

Monuments

There is a monument to the playwright

Samuel Crisp Samuel Crisp (1707 – 24 April 1783) was an English dramatist. He is known for the play ''Virginia'', produced at Drury Lane in 1754. Life He was baptised on 14 November 1707. His father Samuel Crisp, a London merchant, was a grandson of the the ...

(1707–1783) who lived at Chessington Hall, which was sold in 1913 and later demolished. He was a friend of the 18th-century novelist and diarist

Fanny Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

who wrote the epitaph. The angel lectern "Phoebe" (1898) in the south aisle was given in memory of Gordon Wyatt Clark (1822–1897),

High Sheriff of Surrey The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066. At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex (1229–1231, 1232–1240, 1242–1567, 1571–1635). 1066–1228 (High Sheriffs of Surrey only) 1229– ...

in 1873 and Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey in 1890. There is a small Elizabethan silver Communion Chalice, one of the smallest in the country, being only 9 centimetres high. It bears the date 1568 and the mark of its London maker. It is currently exhibited in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. The churchyard contains the graves of 9 war dead.

Gallery

File:Chessington, St Mary the Virgin's church, entrance.jpg, St Mary the Virgin's church File:Chessington, St Mary the Virgin's church, the chancel.jpg, Chancel File:Chessington, St Mary the Virgin's church, Stained-glass window, west end.jpg, Window by Kempe File:Chessington, St Mary the Virgin's church, the priest's door, detail.jpg, The Priest's door File:Chessington, St Mary the Virgin's church, Samuel Crisp memorial.jpg, Samuel Crisp monument

References

External links

St Mary the Virgin Chessington Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Mary the Virgin's church, Chessington Church of England church buildings in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Diocese of Guildford