St Mary's Church, Twickenham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Twickenham
St Mary's Church, Twickenham (in 2006)
St Mary's Church, Twickenham Location in England
51°26′49″N 0°19′32″W / 51.447°N 0.3255°W / 51.447; -0.3255
Location	Church Street, Twickenham, Middlesex, England
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Dedication	St Mary the Virgin
Consecrated	1714
Architecture
Architect(s)	John James
Architectural type	Neo-classical
Specifications
Materials	brick, stone
Administration
Parish	St Mary's, Twickenham
Deanery	Hampton
Archdeaconry	Middlesex
Diocese	London Archdeaconry of Middlesex (Kensington Area)
Province	Canterbury

St Mary's Church, Twickenham, also known as St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, is a very important historical building. It is a Church of England church named after Saint Mary. You can find it on Church Street in Twickenham, which is in south-west London, England.

This church is close to York House and the River Thames. It is also right across from Eel Pie Island.

History of St Mary's Church

The church you see today stands where an even older church once was. It still has its old tower from the 1400s. On April 9, 1713, the main part of the ancient church, built in the 1300s, suddenly fell down.

Rebuilding the Church

At that time, a famous painter named Godfrey Kneller was a leader at St Mary's Church. He helped plan how to rebuild it in a new style called Neo-classical. A local architect named John James designed the new church.

A local resident, Lady Wentworth, wrote about the collapse a month later. She said that the new vicar, Dr Pratt, had warned everyone.

Dr Pratt had insisted that a tabernakle be erected in the churchyard, prior to the collapse. Soe he preached there and exhorted al to giv thanks for thear great deleverenc for the church not falling when they wear in it, it being then standing. The people all laughed at him, and in a weeks time it fell to the ground, soe all the parish contrebutse to the building of it.

Inside the church, which was built in the 1700s, you can still find some older memorials from the medieval church. One is a brass plaque for Richard Burton, who was the King's chief cook, and his wife Agnes, from 1443.

Important Memorials Inside

The church has several beautiful memorials for important people, including:

• Lady Margaret Wildman (died 1825), made by Sir Richard Westmacott.
• George Gostlin (died 1782) and his wife Anne (died 1799), made by John Bacon Junior.
• Sir Chaloner Ogle (died 1750), a Baronet and Admiral, made by John Michael Rysbrack.
• Nathaniel Pigott (died 1737), made by Peter Scheemakers.
• Alexander Pope (died 1761), made by Prince Hoare of Bath.

Notable Baptisms

On June 20, 1721, Dr Pratt baptised "James Shandayes and John Twogood" at the church. They were described as two Indian princes. Later, in 1747, Henry Fielding's son William was baptised there. Hallam Tennyson, who was the son of the famous poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was christened at the church in 1852. He later became the second Governor-General of Australia.

Church Design and Features

The main part of the church, built in the 1700s, is made of red brick. It has Tuscan pilasters (flat columns) and pediments (triangular shapes above doors or windows). After being rebuilt in 1713–14, the church was made bigger in 1754. It still has its original features from that time, like the reredos (a screen behind the altar) and gallery fronts.

The church tower has a set of eight bells. One of these bells is from the early 1500s, three are from the 1600s, and four are from the 1700s.

Parish Area of St Mary's

St Mary's Church started as the main church for all of Twickenham. However, as more houses were built in the 1800s and 1900s, new churches were built. This led to new church areas, called parishes, being created for them.

Some of these new churches include Holy Trinity Twickenham (1842), St Philip and St James Church, Whitton (1862), St Stephen's, Twickenham (1875), All Saints Church, Twickenham (1914), and All Hallows, Twickenham (1939). As these new parishes were formed, the area covered by St Mary's Church became smaller. However, it still covers most of central Twickenham.

Burials at St Mary's

Many people have been buried at St Mary's Church or in its churchyard over the centuries.

Notable Burials Inside the Church

• Bridget Markham and Cecily Bulstrode: These ladies-in-waiting to Queen Anne of Denmark died at Twickenham Park in 1609. Markham has an inscription inside the church.
• Sir William Berkeley (1605–1677): He was the Governor of Virginia from 1660 to 1677. He was buried in the church's crypt in 1677. His body was unusually covered in lead shaped exactly like him. A year later, his brother Lord Berkeley was also buried there. The brothers are remembered with a special window in the church.
• Sir Godfrey Kneller (died 1723): The famous painter was buried in the church.
• Charlotte Boscawen Moore, Countess of Drogheda (died 1735): She was buried in the main part of the church.
• Alexander Pope (1688–1744): The famous poet is buried under a stone slab with just the letter "P" on it. His mother, Edith Pope, was also buried there in 1733.

Notable Burials in the Churchyard

• Kitty Clive (1711–1785): This actress and singer was buried in the churchyard. There is a plaque for her on the outside wall of the church.
• General William Tryon (1729–1788): A soldier who was governor of North Carolina and New York. He was buried in the churchyard.
• Thomas Twining (1675–1741): A memorial to this tea merchant is in the graveyard.

Other Connections

While there is a memorial for timber merchant James Montgomrey's wife Henrietta (1818–1905) in the church, both she and her husband were buried at Isleworth Cemetery.

The funeral of Neil Aspinall (1941–2008) took place at St Mary's Church in 2008. He was the head of The Beatles' company, Apple Corps. However, Aspinall was buried in Teddington.

St Mary's Church in Art

The church is shown in a painting by Osmund Caine called Wedding at Twickenham Parish Church (1948). This painting is part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Art Collection.

See also

• All Hallows Twickenham
• Pope's Urn