St Mary the Virgin is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, built in the 12th century but with notable

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

modifications and additions in the mid-Victorian period to the designs of

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

and his son John Oldrid Scott. It is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. In its present form, this church is a hall church with an aisled nave of three vessels of similar heights under three parallel roofs

Location

The Church is located in what is known as ‘ Old Hayes’, a suburb of

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

. The arrival of the railway from

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

in the 1860s divided the village in two, the church being where historically the Village was first founded.

History

The church was established more than eight hundred years ago and underwent considerable alterations in the Victorian era. The north aisle was added in 1856 and the tower modified in 1861, with the south aisle and Organ transept following in 1879. The expansions were overseen and carried out by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

and his son John Oldrid Scott and remained faithful to the barn-style architecture of the medieval period. Arches from the 13th century are still found along the north and south walls. It was during this time much of the medieval furnishings were removed, however the 15th century timber roof beams and a small lancet window in the west end of the nave survived. In 2005 a meeting room was erected to the rear of the Church and is used by many clubs and societies in the locality. St Mary's was the local Parish church for two British Prime Ministers,

William Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

and

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

, the latter of whom was christened here and are remembered by a wall memorial funded by Parliament. They lived opposite the church in a country house called Hayes Place, which was also the home of

Everard Hambro Sir Everard Alexander Hambro (11 April 1842 – 26 February 1925) was a British banker and philanthropist. Early life Everard Hambro was born 11 April 1842 in Willesden, London. Charles Mosley (ed.), ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'', Crans, ...

. Sir

Vicary Gibbs Vicary Gibbs may refer to: * Vicary Gibbs (judge) (1751–1820), English barrister, judge and politician * Vicary Gibbs, 6th Baron Aldenham (born 1948), British peer * Vicary Gibbs (St Albans MP) Vicary Gibbs (12 May 1853 – 13 January 1932) w ...

was also a Parishioner and is buried in the Churchyard: within the church is a monument detailing his life. The churchyard is also the final resting place of John Panis ''(where

panis This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern p ...

was the general term for an enslaved Native American)'', being brought over here as a slave, he died in 1763.

References

External links

Official St Mary's Bromley website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary the Virgin Bromley

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Ha ...

19th-century Church of England church buildings Diocese of Rochester Grade II listed churches in London Gothic Revival church buildings in London