St Mary's Churchyard, Hendon or Hendon Churchyard is the churchyard of St Mary's 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 ...

. It adjoins

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 ...

, and it is part of the ''Sunny Hill Park and Hendon Churchyard''

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 ...

. The churchyard is important archaeologically, as Roman artifacts have been found on the site and there is evidence of Anglo-Saxon settlement. A church may have existed on the site as early as the ninth century, and there is an eleventh-century font still in use in the existing building. Parts of it date back to the thirteenth century, but there were successive alterations until it was extended in 1914–15. It has a memorial to

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...

, 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 ...

. The churchyard is well maintained, and it has many tombs and memorials in the grass, which is kept long in parts. There are fine cedar and yew trees. A line of headstones on either side of the path lead to the church door, and they form part of the best collection of eighteenth century headstones in London. Burials go back seven to eight hundred years, and as a result the soil contains fragments of bone. Part of it is gravelled, which is unusual in Christian graveyards. It is still open for cremation burials. According to a history of Hendon published in 1890, the earliest surviving grave is that of Thomas Marsh dated 1624. Fine monuments include the grave of the engraver

Abraham Raimbach Abraham Raimbach (16 February 1776 in London17 January 1843), was an English engraver of Swiss descent. He was born in Cecil Court in the West End of London. Weinreb, Ben & Hibbert, Christopher (1983): ''The London Encyclopaedia,'' p. 129. Ed ...

, the physician James Parsons and Emily Augusta Patmore, writer and the wife and muse of poet

Coventry Patmore Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (23 July 1823 – 26 November 1896) was an English poet and critic, literary critic. He is best known for his book of poetry ''The Angel in the House'', a narrative poem about the Victorian era, Victorian ideal of ...

. Edward Longmore, a famous 7 foot 6 inch giant, was buried there in 1777, but his body was stolen by grave robbers. A twentieth century grave (pictured right) is 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 ...

. There are twenty Commonwealth service personnel buried in the churchyard, 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 whose graves could not be located so they are commemorated by a special memorial. Gravestone of Tom Crosfield

The churchyard also holds the burial of the medic Robert Thomas Crosfield: an alleged conspirator in the Popgun Plot against

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. The following is inscribed on his memorial – There is access to the churchyard from Church End and Church Terrace.

Notes

External links

London Metropolitan Archives, Saint Mary, Hendon: Hendon Church End, Barnet

The Parish of St Mary and Christ Church, Hendon, home page

See also

Notes

External links

Further reading