St Mary's Church, Leyton
| St Mary with St Edward and St Luke's Church, Leyton | |
|---|---|
West Ham |
The Parish Church of St Mary with St Edward and St Luke, Leyton, also known as Leyton Parish Church and formerly, St Mary the Virgin, Leyton, is a Church of England parish church in Leyton, East London. Although records of the church go back to about 1200, it has been repeatedly rebuilt; the oldest surviving fabric dates to 1658, but a majority of it is from the early 19th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.
History
In the
vicarage existed in 1537 on a site at the present junction of Vicarage Road and Leyton High Road. By 1650, it was reported to be dilapidated and was subsequently rented to a poor woman. In 1677–1678 a new vicarage was built in its place, partly funded by John Strype, a well known antiquarian.[1] Strype had been appointed as curate in 1669 in the absence of a vicar, a post that he held for 68 years until his death in 1737. Strype's predecessor, Samuel Keme or Keene, was also a cavalry officer in the New Model Army during the First English Civil War and was said to have preached sermons at Leyton while wearing his military buff coat.[2]
The foundations of the medieval church building were uncovered in 1962 and consisted of a
battlements were added to the tower,[1] which had already been heightened in 1806 by the addition of an 18th century cupola taken from Leyton Great House.[4] Other improvements made at the same time included the purchase of a pipe organ and the construction of a new vestry room and churchyard walls.[5]
In 1853 a new east window was made and in 1884 a new
chancel screen and an altar-piece representing Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, were installed as a war memorial. An ambitious programme of restoration began in 1929, which included lengthening the nave, replacing the lightly-built chancel arch and clerestory in concrete, encasing the iron columns in concrete and inserting oval windows into the sanctuary (resembling those removed in 1822). In 1935, the old vestry was restored and an oriel window was added over the south door. Bomb damage, including to the tower parapet, was repaired in 1951. The nave was refloored in 1961 and the chancel screen was moved to the west end of the nave two years later.[1] Following a fire in 1995, a chapel was created under the tower and the baptistry and south entrance were remodelled.[4]
The church contains a number of monuments to eminent past parishioners, including Sir
Sir Henry Cheere
,
Sir Richard Hopkins, Sir Robert Beachcroft and Charles Goring, 2nd Earl of Norwich.[1]
St Mary's was the only
St Luke's Church
in Ruckholt Road closed in 1982 and their parishes were reunited with St Mary's.
The church became a Grade II* listed building in 1954[6]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0197227190.
- ^ Lysons, Daniel (1796). The Environs of London: Counties of Herts, Essex & Kent. London: T. Cadell Junior and W. Davies. p. 174.
- ^ Kennedy, John (1894). A History of the Parish of Leyton, Essex. Leyton: Phelp Brothers. pp. 56–58.
- ^ ISBN 978-0300107012.
- ^ Kennedy 1894, p. 62
- ^ "PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN". historicengland.org.uk. Historic England. 21 August 1999. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
External links
- Chapman, David Ian. "A Guide to the Interior Memorials in the The[sic] Parish Church of St Mary's, Leyton" (PDF). www.leytonhistorysociety.org.uk. Leyton & Leytonstone Historical Society. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- Stringer, Breanna; Cromwell, Tom; Lesser, Ellen (2015). "St Mary with St Edward & St Luke, Leyton - Heritage" (PDF). leytonparishchurch.org.uk. St Mary with St Edward & St Luke, Leyton. Retrieved 2 July 2020.