St Mary the Virgin is the parish church of

Monken Hadley Monken Hadley is an area in the London Borough of Barnet, at the northern edge of Greater London, England, lying some north north-west of Charing Cross. Anciently a country village near Chipping Barnet in Middlesex, and from 1889 to 1965 in Her ...

. It is located 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 ...

and markets itself as "The Beacon Church" after the medieval beacon on its tower. That beacon has become a symbol of the local area, and forms the badge of the nearby Church of England primary school. The church remains a focus of eucharistic worship within the surrounding district and maintains a strong choral tradition. Its tower bells are in good order and regularly rung, eight being hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

, and the ninth as a sanctus bell

History

A church is believed to have stood on the site for over 800 years. The church was rebuilt in its present

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

form in 1494 (the date being carved in stone between a wing and a rose over the west door) possibly after incurring damage during the

battle of Barnet The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a War of succession, dynastic conflict of England in the Middle Ages, 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured t ...

in 1471. It included two side chapels (in transepts) dedicated to St Anne and St Catherine. The square flint tower of the church at the west end has quoins of freestone and contains six large bells (three from the early 18th century and three from the late 19th century) and three smaller ones. At the top of the tower, at the south-west, there is a copper signal beacon (known in the 1827 description as "The unique vestige of the Middle Ages ... a firepan, or pitchpot"), part of an ancient series of signal beacons and possibly also used to guide people across

Enfield Chase Enfield Chase is an open space in the London Borough of Enfield, North London. Historically, the name applied to a large common occupying the western part of the ancient parish of Enfield, extending from Monken Hadley in the west to Bulls ...

. The medieval beacon was blown down in January 1779 and carefully repaired despite the need for signal beacons having passed by then. The font is late 15th century with a modern cover. There is a well-preserved monument by

Nicholas Stone Nicholas Stone (1586/87 – 24 August 1647) was an England, English sculpture, sculptor and architect. In 1619 he was appointed master-mason to James I of England, James I, and in 1626 to Charles I of England, Charles I. During his ca ...

to Sir

Roger Wilbraham Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and was judged one of her few really competent Law Officers. He held a number of positions at c ...

(died 1616),

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish ...

, his wife Mary Baber and their three daughters. An 1827 account of the church stated it was "a handsome structure, built at different periods. The chancel bears marks of great antiquity, but the body has been built with bricks". At that time the north transept window still had surviving remains of painted glass, The parish and church were heavily influenced by Tractarianism and the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...

, with the latter heavily renovated in 1848 by the architect

G. E. Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

, removing the pulpit, galleries and plastered ceiling, repointing the stonework and moving the aisle walls about 18 inches outwards. The south porch was rebuilt in 1855 and later Victorian additions were an organ (in the former chapel of St Anne to the north of the chancel), a new pulpit and new stained glass in all the windows. A new vestry was also added north of the chancel in 1888. In the late 19th century the parish organist was W.R. Driffill. In 1904 the church became the model for another Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in

Chappaqua, New York Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metr ...

, United States. The original church has been

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

since 1949. The east window and other stained glass was destroyed in

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

and the side chapel of St Catherine was restored in 1958, still being in use for that purpose. Roger Wilbraham monument St Mary the Virgin.JPG, Monument to Sir Roger Wilbraham, who died in 1616 and his wife Mary. Monken Hadley Church Platinum Jubilee beacon.jpg, The beacon lit in 2022 for the Platinum Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Brasses and monuments

Brasses

*Philip and Margaret Green and Margaret Somercotes, 1442, moved in from an earlier building *Walter and Agnes Tornor or Turner, 1494 *William and Joanna Turnour or Turner, 1500 *John Goodere (d.1504) *Thomas Goodere and his wife, 1518 *William Gale and his family, 1614

Wall and floor monuments

*Philip and Elizabeth Grene, the former being the son of Walter Grene *Anne Walkeden *Sir Roger Wilbraham *Elizabeth Davies (d. 1678), daughter of Sir Thomas Wilbraham and widow of Mutton Davies, by William Stanton *Alice Stamford (c.1507-1573), wife of William Stanford and then of Roger Carew, and Henry Carew, her only son by her second marriage, featuring a painted portrait of Henry - chancel *John Walker, Hereditary Usher of the Exchequer (1640-1703) and his wife Cecill (c.1664-1736) *Anna (c.1675 - 1727), daughter of Henry Hitch of Leathley and wife of Richard Wynne *Ince family **Piggot Ince (1720-1765), his wife Mary (1721-1768) and their children Barbara Ansilla (1755-1756) and Mary Elizabeth (1752-1766) **Piggot's son James Piggott Ince (17501-1829), his wife Anna Maria (1757-1830) and their children Harriett (1784-1809), Charles (d.1850), Edward (d.1840), Ralph Piggott (1800-1871), Lydia (d.1863), Catherine Anne (d.1865) and William (1781-1818) **James Piggott's son James Berkeley (1777-1845) *James Berkeley (1706-1767) and his wife Mary (1718-1768) *1st and 2nd

Smith baronets There have been 25 creations of baronets with the surname Smith (as distinct from Smyth and Smythe). * Smith baronets of Crantock (1642) * Smith baronets of Hatherton (1660) * Smith baronets of Edmondthorpe (1661) * Smith baronets of Long As ...

*Sir Culling Smith's **mother's mother Ann Horne **mother's brother John Horne, Governor of Bombay **father's parents Thomas and Ann Smith **brothers Thomas, John and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

**sister Ann **wife Mary **eldest daughter Maria **parents Thomas and Culling Smith *Pennant family **Sarah Pennant (d.1780) **Catharine Pennant (d. 1797), niece of the curate John Pennant and youngest daughter of David Pennant of

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

, by Richard Westmacott the Younger *Hugh (1848-1854) and Francis (1850-1854), sons of William Wyke Smith and his wife Catherine *John Bonus Child (1764-1832) and his wife Frances (1782-1855) *Rectors of the church and their families: ** John Richard Thackeray (1772-1846), his wife Marianne (1783-1855) **John Burrows (1732-1786), his wife Maria (d.1791), his sister Ann (d.1811) and his daughter Frances (1773-1860) **Charles Jeffreys Cottrell (c.1739-1819), his wife Fanny (c.1749-1811), their fifth so
Frederick
(1780-1811), their fourth daughter (c.1781-1818) Anna Frederica, their second son John (.c1768-1796), their eldest son Charles (c.1766-1829) and their third son Clement (c.1772-1814), Rector of

North Waltham North Waltham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, England. It is located around southwest of Basingstoke and just north of the M3 motorway. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 870. The vi ...

*Richard Poston (1660-1723) and his wife Mary (1660-1742) *Moore family **Richmond Moore (1775-1796)The Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex By Frederick Cansick. Hadley Church from p251.
/ref> **Macartney (c.1788-1831) and his wife Henrietta (nee Halhed; c.1801-1837) **Maria Sarah (c.1781-1842) *Barroneau family **Francis (c.1742-1812) and his wives Margaret (c.1748-1793) and Elizabeth (c.1768-1846) *

Frederick Cass Frederick McIntosh Cass Q.C., C.D. ( August 5, 1913 – November 25, 2000) was a Canadian politician who served as both Attorney-General of Ontario and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. He served as a Progressive Conservative Member ...

(1787-1861), and his son

Frederick Charles Cass Frederick Charles Cass (1824-1896) was the rector of the parish of Monken Hadley in north London. His father, also Frederick Cass, owned the relevant advowson giving the right to make such appointments. He was the author of works of local histor ...

, Rector and historian of the parish *Thomas Windus of Gothic Hall,

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about northeast of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the largest concentration of orthodox Ashken ...

, raised by his uncle Peter Moore, MP, lord of the manor of Hadley *

Joseph Henry Green Joseph Henry Green FRCS (1 November 1791 – 13 December 1863) was an eminent English surgeon who also became the literary executor for Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Green was the nephew of another eminent surgeon, Henry Cline. After studying in ...

*Ann (c.1758-1848), widow of Samuel Harman, and their children George (c.1792-1826), St. John (c.1795-1814) and Ann (c.1782-1861) *James Quilter (c.1754-1818), his wife Mary Anne (c.1761-1818) and their children Emma Cecilia (c.1795-1864), Jemima (c.1786-1870), James (c.1784-1864) and Henry Sampson (c.1790-1823) *Francis Rix (c.1779-1841), previously of

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

*Alexander Dury (c.1757-1843), his wife Lucy Maria (c.1764-1805) and their children Thomas (c.1787-1803), Francis (c.1795-1813) and Isabella (d.1855) *John Randell (c.1805-1856) * Charles Tempest-Hicks (1888-1918)

Notes

References

External links

Monken Hadley, St. Mary the Virgin.
''National Pipe Organ Register''. Online resource accessed 19 January 2025. *
'Monken Hadley, St. Mary the Virgin [P00877
">00877">'Monken Hadley, St. Mary the Virgin [P00877
''National Pipe Organ Register''. Online resource accessed 19 January 2025. {{DEFAULTSORT:Monken Hadley, Saint Mary St Mary the Virgin, Monken Hadley"> Diocese of London Grade II* listed churches in London">Diocese of London">St Mary the Virgin, Monken Hadley"> Diocese of London Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Barnet History of the London Borough of Barnet