St Mary's Church, Somers Town facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Somers Town
Church of St Mary
St Mary's Church in Somers Town
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Traditional Catholic
Website	http://www.posp.co.uk/st-marys/
Administration
Parish	Old St Pancras
Deanery	South Camden
Archdeaconry	Hampstead
Episcopal area	Edmonton
Diocese	London

St Mary's Church is a beautiful Church of England church located on Eversholt Street in Somers Town, a part of the London Borough of Camden. It's a special place with a long history, serving the local community for nearly 200 years.

The Church's Story

St Mary's Church was designed by an architect named Henry William Inwood. It was built between 1824 and 1827 by I. T. Seabrook. The church was first created as a "chapel of ease." This means it was a smaller church built to help people who lived far from the main St Pancras Old Church. It made it easier for them to attend church services.

The money to build St Mary's came from a special grant from the government. However, local taxes helped pay for the church's decorations inside and for the land it stands on. The church was officially opened and blessed on March 11, 1826.

Famous Visitors and Changes

In its early days, St Mary's Church was sometimes called "Mr. Judkin's Chapel" or "Seymour Street Chapel." A very famous writer, Charles Dickens, used to attend services here when he was a schoolboy. He lived nearby with his family at 13 Cranleigh Street.

Over the years, the church's inside look changed a few times. In 1874, J K Colling worked on its design, and later in 1890, R C Reade made more changes. During these updates, special decorative bars called "traceried transoms" were added to the windows. Also, a gallery at the back of the church was removed. In 1888, a new section called a "chancel" was added, and the side galleries were taken out.

St Mary's Church is considered an important historical building. It was officially named a Grade II listed building on June 10, 1954. This means it's protected because of its special architectural and historical importance.

St Mary's Today

For many years, from 2003 until 2023, St Mary's Church was part of a larger group of churches called the Old St Pancras Team Ministry. This group also included St Michael's Church, Camden Town, St Pancras Old Church, and St Paul's Church, Camden Square. However, since 2023, all four of these churches have become independent parishes again, meaning they now operate on their own.

Important People

Many dedicated clergy members have served at St Mary's Church. Here are a couple of notable people:

• Basil Jellicoe worked as a Missioner with the Magdalen College Mission, which helped people in Somers Town.
• Rob Wickham was a curate (a junior priest) at St Mary's from 2001 to 2003. He later became the Bishop of Edmonton.

External Links

• GENUKI

Images for kids

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  St Mary's Church in Somers Town