St Mary's Church, Watford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Watford |
|
|---|---|
View of St Mary's from the East
|
|
 St Mary's Watford
Location in Hertfordshire
|
|
| 51°39′16″N 0°23′45″W / 51.654563°N 0.395923°W | |
| OS grid reference | TQ1196 |
| Location | Church Street, Watford WD18 0EG |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Evangelical |
| Website | stmaryswatford.org |
| History | |
| Founded | 1100 or later |
| Events | 1871 renovated |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Style | Early English Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Spire height | 33 metres (108 ft) (including 'spike') |
| Bells | 10 (1704, 1919 & 1946) |
| Tenor bell weight | 1,237 kilograms (2,727 lb) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Watford |
| Diocese | Diocese of St Albans |
| Province | Province of Canterbury |
St Mary's Watford is an active Church of England church located in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. You can find it right in the town centre on Watford High Street, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) outside London. St Mary's is the main church for the Watford area and is part of the Anglican Diocese of St Albans. People believe the church is at least 800 years old. Inside, you can find the graves of important local families and some amazing old sculptures from the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.
Contents
A Look Back: St Mary's History
We don't have any old papers or records that tell us exactly when St Mary's Church was first built. The earliest church records we have only start from 1539. However, we know the church is much, much older than that!
How Old Is the Church Building?
The church building you see today was mostly built in the 1400s. But some of its oldest parts are thought to be from around 1230. During a big renovation in 1871, workers found stones from the 1100s hidden inside the walls. They even found a piece of a 12th-century baptismal font (a large bowl used for baptisms) that had been thrown away.
Finding these old stones suggests that St Mary's Church was probably built around the same time that Watford was given permission to hold a market. This permission was given to the Lord of the Manor at Cashio, who was an Abbot from St Albans Abbey. Historians think this happened during the time of either King Henry I (1100–1135) or King Henry II (1154–1189).
Famous Visitors and People
One of the past vicars (church leaders) of St Mary's was William Capel. He was the son of a noble, William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex, and was also a well-known amateur cricket player.
On July 18, 1909, King Edward VII came to a church service at St Mary's. He was visiting the Earl of Clarendon at a nearby estate called The Grove. King Edward VII entered the church through a special door that is now called the Edward VII door.
The "patron" of the church, which means the person who supported it financially and had a say in its leadership, used to be the Earl of Essex.
Inside St Mary's: Architecture and Memorials
The church is built from stone and covered with flint (a type of stone). It has a wide clock tower at its western end, which is typical for churches in Hertfordshire. The top of the tower has crenelations, which look like the battlements on a castle.
The main part of the church, called the nave, has six sections. On either side of the nave are north and south aisles, which are like side passages. These aisles have piers (strong columns) that are shaped like octagons. Above these piers is a clerestory, which is a row of windows that lets light into the nave. The nave has a wooden roof with beams that rest on carved angels.
From the outside, St Mary's looks mostly like a 15th-century building. The tower, the outer walls of the aisles, the clerestory, the nave roof, and the south chancel chapel all date from this time. The chancel, which is the area around the altar, is the oldest part of the church. Its arch and a double piscina (a basin used for washing sacred vessels) are from the 13th century.
Chapels and Special Features
Around the late 1200s, a chapel was added to the south aisle. This chapel was dedicated to St Katherine. It was built by John Heydon, who lived at The Grove Estate in Watford, so it was also known as the Heydon Chapel. By the time a historian named John Edwin Cussans wrote about the church in 1880, the Heydon Chapel was being used as a room for the organ.
The pulpit (where the sermon is given) was made in 1714 by Richard Bull. The church also has many marble monuments dedicated to local people from the 1600s and 1700s. One special monument is a white marble tablet in the Choristers' Vestry. It remembers Robert Clutterbuck, who wrote an important history book about Hertfordshire. Many members of the Clutterbuck family are buried in a vault beneath this area.
Church Renovations and Changes
The inside of the church was first updated in 1848. Then, a much bigger renovation happened in 1871, led by architect John Thomas Christopher. During this work, the old plaster on the outside was removed and replaced with knapped flint (a type of stone). Battlements were added to the tower, the south aisle walls were rebuilt, and new roofs were put on.
Inside, new items were added, including a fancy stone font carved by James Forsyth and a stone reredos (a screen behind the altar) carved by E Renversey. Beautiful stained glass windows were installed by the company Heaton, Butler and Bayne. The oak box pews (church benches) put in at this time were especially famous for their detailed carvings in the Decorated Gothic style.
Another renovation project took place in 1987, fixing the roof and the organ. In 1979, a new church hall, shaped like an octagon, was built on the south side of the church.
Modern Updates in the 21st Century
In 2014, plans were announced for more updates to the church's interior. These plans included putting in new flooring, adding clear plate glass screens inside, and taking out the old oak pews to replace them with modern chairs. This idea was quite controversial! Groups that protect old buildings, like the Victorian Society and Historic England, along with Watford Borough Council, were against the plans.
Even with the objections, the refurbishment work happened from late 2017 to March 2019. The old box pews were removed, and their carved end panels were reused as wall panels inside the church. While removing the old floor, workers found 13 hidden burial vaults. These had to be carefully recorded and preserved before the new underfloor heating and stone floor could be installed.
Among the memorials that survived all the renovations is a large monumental brass (a metal plate with an engraving) for Hugh de Holes (who died in 1415) and his wife. De Holes is shown wearing the special clothes of a judge.
On the south wall of the nave, there's a white marble tablet for Jane Bell. The words written on it are unusually long and were written by the famous writer Dr. Samuel Johnson. There are also many other smaller memorials, including a marble one for Anne Derne (who died in 1790).
The organ in the church was installed in 1935 and was made by the company J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd.
Today, St Mary's is a Grade I listed building, which means it's considered a very important historic building.
The Essex Chapel: A Place for Nobles
St Mary's Watford was the local church for the nearby Cassiobury Estate. This meant it was a burial place for the noble families who lived there. The chapel on the north side of the chancel is known as the Essex Chapel or the Morison Chapel. It holds the burials of the Earls of Essex and the Morison and Capel families.
This chapel was started in 1595 by Bridget, Dowager Countess of Bedford. It is famous for its amazing monuments. Two large table tombs (tombs shaped like tables) used to stand in the middle of the chapel. One was for Countess Bridget (who died in 1600), and the other for Lady Dame Elizabeth Russell (who died in 1611). These tombs were moved in 1907 to another church in Buckinghamshire. In 1916, the chapel was restored by Adele, Dowager Countess of Essex, in memory of her husband.
Stunning Sculptures by Nicholas Stone
The most impressive memorials in the chapel are two large wall monuments made by the famous sculptor Nicholas Stone. A historian named Pevsner called them "the chief glory of Watford Church."
On one side is the tomb of the politician Sir Charles Morison (1549–1599). It shows a white marble statue of Sir Charles lying down. He has a Van Dyke beard and is wearing armour and a large Elizabethan ruff around his neck. Sir Charles is surrounded by a fancy archway supported by two colorful marble pillars. At each end, statues of his son and daughter kneel. A long Latin message describes his many good qualities and says he founded the chapel.
Opposite this is the tomb of his son, Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet, who died in 1628. It's designed in a similar style, with marble statues of Sir Charles and his wife, Mary, leaning back. Sir Charles is shown in armour, resting on his elbow, with a skull under his hand. His wife is lying on a cushion, wearing a richly embroidered dress and ruff. Below them, at each end, are kneeling statues of a young man, a boy, and a young lady. A Latin message at the bottom explains that their daughter, Elizabeth, married Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham in 1627.
Other Important Memorials
Other memorials in the chapel include:
- A wall monument for George Capell-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex (1757–1839), with a beautifully carved coat of arms.
- A memorial for Harriet, daughter of the 5th Earl, who died in 1837 at age 29.
- A simple marble memorial for Arthur Algernon Capell, 6th Earl of Essex (1803–1892).
- A memorial for his son, Arthur de Vere Capell, Viscount Malden (1826–1879).
- A memorial for Caroline Janetta, wife of the 6th Earl, who died in 1862.
- A brass tablet for Randolph, second son of Janetta and the 6th Earl of Essex. He served in the navy during the Crimean War and died in 1857 at age 25.
- Lady Mary Capell (1722–1782), daughter of William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex, is also buried here.
A smaller wall monument shows a female figure kneeling between two marble pillars. This has been identified as Lady Dorothy Morrison (who died in 1618), wife of Sir Charles Morrison the elder.
The Churchyard: Graves and Stories
In St Mary's churchyard (the graveyard around the church), you can find several historic neoclassical chest tombs from the 1700s and 1800s. These tombs belong to important Watford townspeople who helped the town grow into an industrial centre.
Some of these notable tombs include:
- The tomb of James Dundas, a ship's captain for the East India Company.
- The tomb of John Dyson, who started the Watford brewery that later became Benskins Brewery.
- The tomb of Elizabeth and Ralph Morrison (no known relation to the Morrisons of Cassiobury House).
- The Clutterbuck Tomb, where many members of the Clutterbuck family are buried. This family included Robert Clutterbuck, the famous historian who wrote The History and Antiquities of the County of Hertford.
- The grave of George Edward Doney (who died in 1809), a freed slave from Virginia. He was originally taken from the Gambia as a baby. After he became free, he worked as a servant at Cassiobury House for the 5th Earl of Essex.
The Fig Tree Tomb Legend
There's a unique story about a grave known as the Fig Tree Tomb. The person buried there is unknown, but legend says they were an atheist (someone who doesn't believe in God). On their deathbed, they supposedly said that if there was a God, a fig tree should grow out of their heart. After they died in the early 1800s, a fig tree actually did grow out of this tomb for many years, breaking through the stone! Sadly, it died during the very cold winter of 1962/63.
Location of St Mary's
St Mary's Church is located on Watford High Street. It's right across from the Watford Intu shopping Centre and about 0.2 miles (320 m) from Watford High Street railway station.
