St Mary's, Staines
Encyclopedia
St Mary's, Staines, is a church in the town and parish of Staines
, in the Spelthorne
borough of Surrey
and the Greater London Urban Area
. Located on a rise not far from the Thames at the west end of the town, the church is part of the Diocese of London
within the Church of England
. The church was listed as a Grade II* building on 11 August 1952.
, abbess of Ely, in 685 A.D. The earliest written evidence of a church building is dated 1179, though little is known of the physical appearance of the medieval church.
The oldest surviving part of the church is the tower, supposedly built in 1631 by Inigo Jones
, according to a plaque on the tower. A large part of the body of the church collapsed in the 1820s, so a new sanctuary was begun after a Private Act of Parliament was passed allowing what remained of the old church to be blown up. In 1827, the last Saxon remnants of the early St Mary's were destroyed, and the present church was begun the following year; its architect was John Burges Watson. In 1885 an apse with three windows was added to the sanctuary, and the organ was moved to its current location. After the Second World War
, the stone pinnacles of the tower were removed as unsafe, possibly due to a bomb falling in the Wraysbury Road during the war.
, the worst air disaster in Britain prior to the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The Bishop of Kensington
, Michael Colclough
, presided over a service blessing the window at its installation in 2004.
One of the nineteenth-century windows in the apse was donated by the Crown Prince
and Crown Princess
of Prussia (the latter the Princess Royal, Queen Victoria
's oldest daughter). The window was given in memory of the governess to the Prussian royal children, Augusta Maria Byng, who once lived in Binbury Row.
organ, thought to date from the early 1870s, was dismantled for restoration in 1973. After examining the mechanical action, the restorers, Bishop and Sons, determined that the organ dated to before 1830. However, an account in a church magazine from the 1870s indicates that the organ was installed in the church in 1871. It is thus probable that Brindley & Foster took the instrument over from its original builder, enlarged and renovated it. The organ was removed in 1885 from its original location in the gallery at the back of the nave and re-installed on the ground behind the choir‑stalls.
, five of which date from 1734 and are listed for preservation by the Council for the Care of Churches. The two trebles were added and the tenor recast in 1829.
Following a 1999 survey that revealed cracks in three of the bells, they were removed in 2002 from the tower by Whites of Appleton, who repaired the cracked bells and then sent all to be re-tuned at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
. Following re-tuning, the bells were rehung with new wheels, headstocks and other fittings, and reconsecrated by Bishop Edward Holland
at a service that same year.
The chest tomb of George Hawkins (d. 1761) and his wife Elizabeth is a Grade II listed structure.
Staines
Staines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and Greater London Urban Area, as well as the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in...
, in the Spelthorne
Spelthorne
Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Ashford, Laleham, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell and Sunbury...
borough of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and the Greater London Urban Area
Greater London Urban Area
The Greater London Urban Area is the conurbation or continuous urban area based around London, England, as defined by the Office for National Statistics. It had an estimated population of 8,505,000 in 2005 and occupied an area of at the time of the 2001 census. It includes most of Greater London,...
. Located on a rise not far from the Thames at the west end of the town, the church is part of the Diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
within the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. The church was listed as a Grade II* building on 11 August 1952.
History
The striking elevated site above the Thames suggests that the first church was built on the site of an older, pre-Christian place of worship. Traditionally, the first stone church on this site was said to have been built by St ErmingeldErmenilda of Ely
Saint Eormenhild is a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon saint. Later hagiography makes her the daughter of King Eorcenberht of Kent and St. Seaxburh of Ely, and wife to Wulfhere of Mercia, with whom she had a daughter, St. Wærburh, and a son, Coenred...
, abbess of Ely, in 685 A.D. The earliest written evidence of a church building is dated 1179, though little is known of the physical appearance of the medieval church.
The oldest surviving part of the church is the tower, supposedly built in 1631 by Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
, according to a plaque on the tower. A large part of the body of the church collapsed in the 1820s, so a new sanctuary was begun after a Private Act of Parliament was passed allowing what remained of the old church to be blown up. In 1827, the last Saxon remnants of the early St Mary's were destroyed, and the present church was begun the following year; its architect was John Burges Watson. In 1885 an apse with three windows was added to the sanctuary, and the organ was moved to its current location. After the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the stone pinnacles of the tower were removed as unsafe, possibly due to a bomb falling in the Wraysbury Road during the war.
Stained glass
The Trident Memorial Window commemorates the 1972 Staines air disasterBritish European Airways Flight 548
British European Airways Flight 548 was a Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C airliner, registration G-ARPI, operating as a British European Airways scheduled commercial passenger flight from London Heathrow Airport to Brussels, Belgium...
, the worst air disaster in Britain prior to the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The Bishop of Kensington
Bishop of Kensington
The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England...
, Michael Colclough
Michael Colclough
Michael John Colclough is Canon Pastor at St Paul's Cathedral, and was Bishop of Kensington in the Diocese of London from 1996 to 2008....
, presided over a service blessing the window at its installation in 2004.
One of the nineteenth-century windows in the apse was donated by the Crown Prince
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
and Crown Princess
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
of Prussia (the latter the Princess Royal, Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
's oldest daughter). The window was given in memory of the governess to the Prussian royal children, Augusta Maria Byng, who once lived in Binbury Row.
Organ
The Brindley & FosterBrindley & Foster
Brindley & Foster was a pipe organ builder based in Sheffield who flourished between 1854 and 1939.-Background:The business was established by Charles Brindley in 1854. He was joined by Albert Healey Foster in 1871 and the company acquired the name Brindley & Foster.Charles Brindley was born in...
organ, thought to date from the early 1870s, was dismantled for restoration in 1973. After examining the mechanical action, the restorers, Bishop and Sons, determined that the organ dated to before 1830. However, an account in a church magazine from the 1870s indicates that the organ was installed in the church in 1871. It is thus probable that Brindley & Foster took the instrument over from its original builder, enlarged and renovated it. The organ was removed in 1885 from its original location in the gallery at the back of the nave and re-installed on the ground behind the choir‑stalls.
Bells
St Mary’s has a ring of eight bellsRing of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
, five of which date from 1734 and are listed for preservation by the Council for the Care of Churches. The two trebles were added and the tenor recast in 1829.
Following a 1999 survey that revealed cracks in three of the bells, they were removed in 2002 from the tower by Whites of Appleton, who repaired the cracked bells and then sent all to be re-tuned at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
. Following re-tuning, the bells were rehung with new wheels, headstocks and other fittings, and reconsecrated by Bishop Edward Holland
Edward Holland (bishop)
The Rt Rev Edward Holland, AKC was an eminent Anglican Bishop in the last decades of the 20th Century and the very start of the 21st. He was born on 28 June 1936 and educated at Dauntsey's School and King's College London. After ordination he was Curate at Holy Trinity, Dartford and then John...
at a service that same year.
Tombs
Famous people buried at St Mary’s have included:- François-Henri, duc d'HarcourtFrançois-Henri d'HarcourtFrançois-Henri d'Harcourt was a French general....
, representative of the exiled Louis XVIII to the United Kingdom and member of the Académie FrançaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,... - Letitia, Lady Lade, beauty, horsewoman, and mistress of highwayman Jack RannJohn RannJohn "Sixteen String Jack" Rann was an English criminal and highwayman during the mid-18th century. He was a prominent and colourful local figure renowned for his wit and charm, he would later come to be known as "Sixteen String Jack" for the 16 various coloured strings he wore on the knees of his...
and the Duke of YorkPrince Frederick, Duke of York and AlbanyThe Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III... - Augusta Maria Byng, governess to the future Kaiser Wilhelm II and the other children of the Crown PrinceFrederick III, German EmperorFrederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
and Crown PrincessVictoria, Princess RoyalThe Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
of Prussia
The chest tomb of George Hawkins (d. 1761) and his wife Elizabeth is a Grade II listed structure.