The Old Church (Stoke Newington)
The Old Church is an arts venue in Stoke Newington, London Borough of Hackney, formerly the medieval and Tudor church of St Mary's Church or (after the construction of the current parish church in 1858) St Mary's Old Church.[1] It is a Grade II* listed building.[2]
History
A church on the site is first recorded in 1314, when a
peculiar of St Paul's Cathedral's dean and chapter, with patronage passing to the crown (1404-1414), back to the dean and chapter (1414-1580), the cathedral's prebendary of Stoke Newington (1585-1830) and finally to the Bishop of London. It was recorded as containing a chapel of St Thomas and a rood screen in 1500.[3] The earliest mention of its dedication to St Mary
dates to 1522, whilst the list of rectors survives continuously from 1562 onwards.
Most of the building was completed in 1563, funded by
Anna Barbauld and the sister and daughter of William Wilberforce.[5] A strongly Parliamentarian parish, it accepted Alexander Popham's presentation of Thomas Manton as rector in 1644 and had its own vestry elect Daniel Bull as his successor in 1656. He preached there throughout the last years of the Protectorate and the early years of the Restoration, until he was forced from his parish by the Great Ejection of 1662.[4]
Bull's successor
Tractarian factions in the parish in the 19th century culminated in the construction of the new St Mary's Church, opened in 1858.[4]
The spire was replaced in both 1829 and 1928. The building was repaired within two months of damage in the
London Blitz in October 1940, with further extensive repairs and the addition of a new vestry by Charles Marriott Oldrid Scott completed by 1953,[1] and another remodelling in 2013.[5]
References
- ^ a b "St Mary N16 - History".
- ^ Historic England. "Old Church of St Mary (Grade II*) (1235419)". National Heritage List for England.
- ^ Guildhall MS. 9171/8, f. 225.
- ^ a b c d e f g "A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton and Patricia E C Croot, 'Stoke Newington: Churches', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8, Islington and Stoke Newington Parishes, ed. T F T Baker and C R Elrington (London, 1985), pp. 204-211. British History Online".
- ^ a b c "The Old Church - Our Building".