St Mark Hamilton Terrace
Diocese of London
Church, 623079
https://www.stmarks.londonThis church is on the Heritage at Risk Register (verified 2024-11-14)
View more information about this church on the Heritage at Risk website
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 261 830
The church stands well amongst the broad leafy roads of St. John's Wood, and its tall spire is a familiar feature of the area. The lithograph in the church shows the design virtually as built, but in the drawing (by T. Bury), the feeling is more genuinely mediaeval than in the finished building.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
West tower and spire, large rectangular nave with galleries, porches at each corner with stairs to the galleries within; chancel with north chapel (originally the organ chamber) and south vestry with chapel above (now the parish office).
Footprint of Church buildings: 873 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
The church was built in 1846-7 to designs by Thomas Cundy II, and the new building was consecrated on 24 June 1847 by Bishop Blomfield of London. The total cost was about £11,000 but the spire was not finished until 1864. A parish was assigned to the new building in 1850. Thomas Cundy II (1790-1867) was the son of Thomas Cundy I, surveyor to Lord Grosvenor's estates in Westminster and Pimlico, with whom he worked until the father died in 1825, upon which the son succeeded to the practice and the surveyorship. His works include several buildings for the Westminster estates which were by then being developed by Thomas Cubitt, and from the late 1840's onwards he was assisted by his son, Thomas Cundy III.
As with many of the Cundy's earlier churches, a chancel became desirable to accommodatemore elaborate ritual later in the century, and the foundation stone at St. Mark's for a new chancel was laid on 23 June 1866 by H.R.H. Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria to whom the Vicar, Canon Duckworth had been tutor. The plans were by Benjamin Ferrey (1810-1880) and allowed for an organ chamber on the north side so that the organ could be brough down from the west gallery. New porches were built towards the east end of the nave, and the nave roof was covered with boarding. The building work was finished in 1878 and for the next few years work proceeded on decorating the new building. The church was re-opened on 24 February 1878 and rededicated on 20 July. The chancel arch was embellished in 1886 by Messrs. Underwood.
The only other addition to the church was the south-west baptistory, erected in memory of Canon Robinson Duckworth (d.1911) which was designed by Charles Stanley Peach, FRIBA, and built in 1912 (foundation stone laid 22 June 1912).
Exterior Description
The church stands well amongst the broad leafy roads of St. John's Wood, and its tall spire is a familiar feature of the area. The lithograph in the church shows the design virtually as built, but in the drawing (by T. Bury), the feeling is more genuinely mediaeval than in the finished building. The tower is of four unequal stages, with a shafted doorway at the foot of the west front and a large traceried window above, these two stages being undivided by stringcourses. Above the window is a clock face set within a square moulding set lozenge-wise, and there are small lancets in the north and south faces at this point. An octagonal turret housing the spiral staircase terminates at this level rather abruptly; it looks as though it once had a more elegant roof. The uppermost stage, divided from those below by a moulded stringcourse, houses the bells and has two two-light belfry openings in each face with tracery of standard design of a pointed quatrefoil. The openings are shafted and outlined by moulded hoods. There are angle buttresses at each corner of the tower which rise through to the parapet where they terminate below pinnacles with crocketted caps. The parapet is pierced and has a flowing cusped motif which also appears round the walls of the church. The broach spire has widely spaced crockets up the edges and three tiers of lucarnes in alternating faces. The lucarnes look larger and more convincingly mediaeval in the engraving than on the building. At the apex of the spire there is a metal weathercock.
The side walls of the church are divided into eight bays by tall slender buttresses which all rise above the parapets into crocketted pinnacles carved with many small heads, giving an unarchaeological but rather festive air to the building. The windows are of two slender lights with alternating designs of flowing tracery. In the second and eighth bays there are two- storeyed porches enclosing stone staircases to the galleries. At the west end of the south aisle is the later octagonal baptistery, sympathetically provided with buttresses, window tracery and pierced parapets similar in style to the body of the church. The octagonal slated roof makes an attractive feature in the usual view of the church from the cross-roads to the south-west. Large pinnacles from above the chancel arch have been removed.
The chancel externally is faced with the same Kentish ragstone as the nave and tower, and has a large two-storeyed transept to the south with a vestry below and the parish office above, approached by the nearby gallery staircase. East of this another vestry, roofed parallel with the chancel, conceals the rest of the south chancel wall. It has a two-light east window. The chancel east gable is pierced by a large five-light traceried window with the main lights grouped 2-1-2 and a cusped cinquefoil above. On the north side there is another transept, intended as an organ chamber but now arranged as a chapel. This has a two-light window in the east wall and a two-light window copying those of the nave in the north wall. The angle buttresses also copy those of the nave.
Interior
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
The altar has a traceried oak front of five panels
Reredos
The reredos consists of stone arcading across all the lower part of the east wall. The five arches have cusping and sub-cusping and are carried on grouped marble shafts. The instruments of the passion are visible in the foliage carved on the capitals. Between them are niches with alabaster statues of St. Mark, King David, Moses and St. John the Eaptist. In the panels are paintings of Feeding the Hungry, Clothing the Naked, Taking in the Stranger and Visiting the Sick flanking Christ the Saviour in the central panel ; these were all painted by Edward Armitage, RA, who lived and had his studio nearby in Hall Road. The style is simple, with dignified figures in restrained draped clothes against gold backgrounds enriched with repeating florets in gesso relief.
Pulpit
The pulpit is octagonal, on a tall stem of clustered shafts and with angels round the base of the body. In each face are mosaic panels of St. Peter, St. Paul and the Four Evangelists against gold backgrounds, within ogee arches. At the angles, are crocketted pinnacle.. The steps are of marble with panels of mosaic with texts and foliage below and an exuberant brass handrail above,
Lectern
The lectern is a large brass eagle
Font (object)
The font is octagonal, on a marble drum surrounded by eight colonettes and with panels round the bowl carved with passion flowers, the star of David, roses, the phoenix, lilies, the dove, poppies and the Agnus Dei ; given in 1877, moved into the new baptistery in 1912 and again into the south aisle in 1968.
Organ (object)
The organ was originally built in the west gallery by Gray and Davison in 1847; in 1878 it was much enlarged and moved to the chamber on the north side of the chancel by J.W. Walker and Son, and in 1958 the same firm moved it back into the west gallery.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 261 830
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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