St Mary's Church, Hendon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

St Mary's Church is the oldest (and
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
) parish church in
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
in the
London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in north London, England. Forming part of Outer London, the borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the ...
. The mother church of Christ Church, Brent Street, the two form one parish in the
Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...
.


History

The church may date to
Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or early medieval England covers the period from the end of Roman Empire, Roman imperial rule in Roman Britain, Britain in the 5th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066. Compared to modern England, the territory of the ...
. A spurious charter of "959" records the rectory as being owned by
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
, and a priest is mentioned in 1086 in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, 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. 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. In 1914-15 the church was extended with a larger nave designed by
Temple Moore Temple Lushington Moore (7 June 1856 – 30 June 1920) was an English architect who practised in London but whose work can be seen across England, particularly in the North. He is famous for a series of fine Gothic Revival churches built betwe ...
, living up to his name. His work was praised by
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
, 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". Since 1950, the church has had grade II* listing (statutory protection and recognition, in the mid category).


Memorials and churchyard

One of the most important memorials in the church is to
Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. Raffles ...
, the founder of
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, who lived locally at Highwood Hill, where he died in 1826. He is buried in the church. The
churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...
is a
Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation Site most often refers to: * Archaeological site * Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area * Construction site * Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere * Website, a set of related web pages, typical ...
together with the neighbouring
Sunny Hill Park Sunny Hill Park is a park in Hendon, in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a large hilly park, 22 hectares, mainly grassed, which has extensive views to the north and the west. Together with the neighbouring Hendon Churchyard, it is a S ...
. It contains the grave of
Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English Association football, football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful manage ...
, the pre-war manager of
Arsenal Football Club The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of ...
. Also in the churchyard are memorials to twenty Commonwealth service personnel, eleven from
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and nine from
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, most of whom are commemorated by a special memorial where graves could not be located.CWGC Cemetery Report, breakdown obtained from casualty record.
/ref>


The Church today

The parish is served by a vicar and a curate.


See also

*
St Mary's Churchyard, Hendon St Mary's Churchyard, Hendon or Hendon Churchyard is the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Hendon, St Mary's Church in Hendon in the London Borough of Barnet. It adjoins Sunny Hill Park, and it is part of the ''Sunny Hill Park and Hendon Churchyar ...
* List of church restorations and alterations by Temple Moore


References


External links


London Borough of Barnet, Hendon NW4, Church End
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church Hendon
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
Hendon, St Mary's Church Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Barnet Diocese of London Hendon History of the London Borough of Barnet