St Mary, Haggerston facts for kids
St Mary, Haggerston, was an Anglican church built in 1827. It was designed by a famous architect named John Nash. The church was located in what is now the London Borough of Hackney.
It was built in the Gothic style, which was popular at the time. The church had a fancy front with a very tall tower. However, the rest of the building was quite simple. Later, in the 1800s, James Brooks made some changes to it. Sadly, the church was destroyed by bombs during World War II. Today, the land where the church once stood is a children's playground. You can find it west of Haggerston Park, between Thurtle Road and Queensbridge Road.
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Building a New Church: St Mary's History
St Mary, Haggerston, was one of the "Commissioners' churches". These churches were built thanks to a law passed in 1818. This law provided £1,000,000 to build many new churches. A group called the Church Building Commission was set up to manage this money. They also oversaw the building work.
The Board of Trade helped with architectural advice. Three main architects, John Soane, John Nash, and Robert Smirke, were asked to create plans. John Nash only designed two churches for this project. One was the classical-style All Souls, Langham Place. The other was the Gothic-style St Mary, Haggerston.
Haggerston used to be a small village near Shoreditch. By the time the church was built, it had grown into a busy part of London. It also became more industrial. For example, gasworks opened along the Regent's Canal in 1822. Many other factories also started to grow there.
The Bishop of London officially opened the church on March 29, 1827. Building the church cost about £12,496. It was designed to hold 1,700 people for services.
The Church's Design and Look
The church had a large front section with small towers on the sides. From the middle of this front, a very tall tower rose up. People even made up stories about why the tower was so unusually tall. It was possible to build it so high because the builder bought a lot of affordable stone. This stone came from the Wanstead House, which had been taken down.
A writer named Edward John Carlos reviewed the church for the Gentleman's Magazine. He thought the church had problems because the architect tried to do too much with a small budget. He wrote that some parts of the building were very fancy. But other parts were very plain. He felt the decorated front was attached to a plain, "meeting-house looking" main building.
The church's front was made of stone. It had a central square tower with porches on either side. At each end of the front, there was a multi-sided tower. These towers held the stairs that led up to the galleries inside. This design helped save space in the main part of the church.
The tower had eight-sided buttresses that ended in pointed pinnacles. It was divided into four levels by stone bands. The third level was very tall and mostly plain. It had a round window near the top. A square lantern sat on top of the whole tower. The rest of the church was made of brick with stone details. The back of the church had a pointed roof and a small window with three sections.
The church's style mixed different parts of Gothic architecture. It also used ideas from newer Gothic revival designers. The main part of the church, called the nave, was made of brick. It had two rows of windows. The top windows had a simple "Carpenter's Gothic" style. Their patterns were plain, without fancy curves. The lower windows were square-shaped, in a very late Gothic style. Carlos complained that the details were "faulty." He felt the architect used modern, less traditional designs instead of older, more classic Gothic ones.
Inside, the nave and side sections were separated by arches. There were eight pointed arches on each side. Galleries were built over the side sections. There was also an organ gallery at the front. Another gallery was in front of it, supported by iron poles, for "charity children." There were also wooden rooms built into the corners at the back. Carlos joked that they looked like "brewers' vats." The ceilings of the side sections were flat. The nave ceiling was flat in the middle but sloped at the sides. It had simple bands crossing it above the arches.
The Haggerston Church Plan
In 1860, John Ross became the vicar of Haggerston. He worked hard to improve his church and help his community. The area had over 30,000 people. But only about 200 people attended services at St Mary's. With help from Robert Foster and Robert Brett, he started raising money. This effort became known as the Haggerston Church Scheme.
The first big step of this plan was to add a chancel and sanctuary to the church. These parts were needed for the "high church" style of Christian worship popular at the time. The architect James Brooks was hired to make these changes. This work brought him a lot of positive attention and helped his career.
The new chancel was created from the front part of the nave. The sanctuary was built out beyond it. It connected to the wider nave with a sloped section. The new sanctuary had a vaulted ceiling. It was lit by a large window with five sections in the Decorated style. The glass in this window was made by Clayton and Bell.
Other changes were also made. Nash's original pillars were reshaped to look more like true Gothic pillars. The lower row of windows was removed. The upper windows were given new, more decorative patterns. The galleries were taken out. The old box-shaped pews were replaced with more open seating. The roofs of the nave and side sections were also replaced. After these changes, a choir service was started. The church also adopted a "simple yet dignified ritual." As a result, many more people started coming to church.
The Church Organ
The church's organ had an interesting past. It was first built by Father Smith for St George's Chapel, Windsor. It stayed there until 1788. Then, it was moved to Windsor parish church. Around 1825, when that church was rebuilt, parts of the organ were sent to Haggerston. Other parts went to a chapel in Long Melford.
During the changes made to St Mary's in 1861–62, the organ was moved. It went from the west gallery to the east end of the south side section. In the early 1900s, some of Smith's original work, especially the wooden parts, was still there.
The Church's End
The church was destroyed by bombs in 1941. From 1953, the church's area was combined with that of St Chad's Church, Haggerston. The land where St Mary's church once stood is now a playground. It is located between Queensbridge Road and Thurtle Road.
