St Mary with St Richard, Northolt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary the Virgin
St Mary the Virgin
Denomination	Church of England
Website	www.northolt.org
History
Dedication	Blessed Virgin Mary
Administration
Parish	St Mary with St Richard
Deanery	Ealing (West)
Archdeaconry	Northolt
Diocese	London
Province	Canterbury

St Mary the Virgin is a very old church in Northolt, London. It was built in the 1200s! It sits on a hill next to Belvue Park, where an old manor house once stood. Both looked down over the village of Northolt.

It's one of London's smallest churches. The main part, called the nave, is about 15 yards (14 m) long and 8 yards (7.3 m) wide. The church was first built around 1290. Over many years, new parts were added. The chancel was built in 1521. The tall bell tower with a spire was added in the 1500s. A special balcony, called a gallery, was put in at the west end in 1703.

Around 1718, strong supports called buttresses were built against the west wall. This was to stop the church from sliding down the hill! The wooden beams inside the church are still the original ones. The church bells are also very old, dating back to the 1600s. The church was built using different materials. The nave has clunch (a type of limestone), flint, and ironstone. The decorations around the doors and windows are made from Reigate Stone.

This church has been very important for religious life. From the 1200s until 1873, the Bishop of London was in charge of the church. They would choose a vicar to do the daily priest's work. Later, in the late 1900s, St Mary's became the first Anglican church to have a female rector, Reverend Pamela Walker.

St Mary's is one of two churches in its parish. The other church, St Richard's, is bigger and more modern. Both churches share the same main priest, called the rector. The rector leads the Sunday morning service at St Mary's. They also help with Sunday School. Then, they lead another service at St Richard's Church in the evening.

Exploring the Church Building and Its Treasures

The small entrance porch on the south side was partly rebuilt in 1909. A small room for the clergy, called a vestry, was added in 1945. The main part of the church, the nave, mostly dates from the 1300s. But it also has older pieces from the late 1200s.

The roofs of the chancel and nave were rebuilt in the early 1500s. The square bell tower is covered in wood and has a pointed roof called a broach spire. This also dates from the 1500s. Strong brick supports, or buttresses, were added in the 1700s. The church was also greatly rebuilt in the 1800s. This was part of a common trend called "Victorian restoration".

Inside the Church

The stone font, where baptisms happen, is shaped like an octagon. It dates from the 1300s. Its bowl has simple carvings. The wooden cover for the font is dated 1624. There are four bells from the early 1600s. The smallest bell, called the sanctus bell, was made in 1626.

A wooden balcony, or gallery, stretches across the west end of the nave. It has three sections and is supported by columns. This gallery was built in 1703 for singers and servants. Other interesting things inside include a painting from the 1700s. It shows the "Adoration of the Magi" and is on the north wall of the chancel. There is also a wooden carving from the 1600s of the Stuart royal family's coat of arms. It is on the east wall of the nave.

You can also find special brass plaques with figures of people. These include Henry Rowdell (who died in 1452) and Isaiah Bures (who was a vicar from 1596 to 1610). Another brass plaque from the 1500s remembers the Gifford family. Wall tablets in the chancel and nave remember vicars and members of the Shadwell family from the 1700s and 1800s.

The church's silver items include a paten (a small plate for bread) and a cup from 1702. There is also an electroplate dish from 1839. The church records, called registers, list baptisms from 1560, marriages from 1575, and burials from 1583. These have been copied into large computer databases.

Church History

Not much is written about the church's religious history before the 1600s. Some of the vicars in the Middle Ages and later seemed to work in more than one church at a time. In 1302, a vicar was even put on a list of priests who were excommunicated (kicked out of the church) for not paying a tax to the Pope.

Changes Over Time

During the time of Oliver Cromwell, strict Protestant rules were put in place across England. Some people at St Mary's did not agree with these changes. George Palmer, who was vicar from 1638 to 1643, lost his job and money in 1643. This was because he spoke against Parliament and was said to have joined the Royalist Army.

However, Palmer was very popular with the people of Northolt. They described his replacement, Robert Malthus (vicar 1643–1661), as "a factious preacher." The people asked Cromwell to remove Malthus. They said he was not a good speaker, preached against the army, and did not follow national days of thanks. But Malthus stayed until the king returned to power.

After 1661, the church and its care became a bit neglected. William Brabourne, vicar from 1661 to 1684, was often away from the parish. During this time, a curate (another priest) helped out. By 1664, parts of the church were falling apart. There was no proper chalice (cup for communion), and the churchyard fence was broken. This meant pigs could wander in!

In 1685, it was ordered that proper church items be bought and the churchyard be fenced again. But in 1715, pigs and sheep were still getting into the churchyard. However, the church building itself was in good shape. New pews (benches) had been put in. A new gallery was built at the west end for singers and servants.

Several vicars in the 1700s were also often absent. A famous Welsh poet, Goronwy Owen, worked as a curate here from 1755 to 1758. During this time, services were held twice on Sundays. Communion was offered 5 to 7 times a year. By 1790, the number of Communions had dropped to only 4 a year, with just 10 people attending. By 1965, things had changed again. Evening prayers and Communion were held daily, and there were four Sunday services.

New Churches for a Growing Community

Northolt's population grew a lot in the 1930s and after 1945. This led to the creation of three new churches between 1940 and 1960. Two of these churches were in a new southern parish created from Northolt.

• St Joseph the Worker: This church was for the southwest area of Northolt. Services first started in 1942 in a temporary building. This building was later taken down for houses. The church group then met in different places. By 1957, they were meeting in Arundell School and a church house. A brick hall that could be used for both services and other events was built in 1959. In 1963, land was bought to build a new church.
• St Hugh: In southeast Northolt, services began around 1948 in a builder's hut. A semi-permanent hut was built in 1954 and became the church of St Hugh. It was later rebuilt.
• St Richard: In 1958, services started in a youth club hut on the Northolt Park housing estate in the north. The hut burned down in 1959. The church group then met in Vincent School. A hall-church that could be used for both services and other events was built in 1960. It was named the church of St Richard.

Who Was in Charge?

A priest was first recorded in Northolt in 1086. A church was mentioned around 1140. The oldest parts of the current church building match the 1200s. This church served the whole parish until 1954. That's when the new parish of St. Barnabas was formed from a part of Northolt and a part of the Greenford parish.

The church was once part of Walden Abbey, a monastery founded around 1140. The abbey controlled the church until sometime between 1241 and 1251. Then, St Paul's Cathedral argued about who had the right to control it. They agreed that a vicarage (a priest's role) should be set up. The Bishop of London and future bishops would then choose the vicar. The vicars had to pay money each year to help support St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Bishop continued to choose the rector until 1864. In that year, the right to choose the rector was given to Brasenose College, Oxford. The college still holds this right today.

Images for kids

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  St Mary the Virgin