St Mary Magdalene Woolwich

For the civil parish, see Woolwich (parish).
St Mary Magdalene Woolwich
Photograph of the outside of the church showing the entrance and tower viewed from the northwest
Location Woolwich, Royal Borough of Greenwich, London
Country England
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Central
Website www.achurchnearyou.com/woolwich-st-mary-magdalene/
History
Dedication Mary Magdalene
Dedicated 9 May 1740
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Grade B listed
Years built 1732-1739
Administration
Parish Woolwich St. Mary Magdalene with St. Michael and All Angels
Archdeaconry Lewisham and Greenwich
Diocese Diocese of Southwark
Province Province of Canterbury
Clergy
Rector The Revd Jesse van der Valk

St Mary Magdalene Woolwich is an Anglican church dedicated to Mary Magdalene in Woolwich, sited at the extremity of a spur reaching northwards towards the Thames.

History

The church around 1840

The original church was built some time before the 12th century (possibly even as early as the 9th century), though by the 18th century its Elizabethan spire had collapsed and the foundations were showing other signs of strain.

Thus a new church (the present one) was built near the medieval church's site in 1732 to 1739, with dedication occurring on May 9, 1740. The new church was part-funded by the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches and built by Matthew Spray (though the designer's name remains unknown).

The building was Grade B listed in 1954, which corresponds to Grade II and Grade II* in the modern scheme.[1] In the 1970s the church was merged into the three church Parish of Woolwich. From 1965 to 2001, the local Presbyterian church also met here.

Exterior

The church is brick-built, with clay tiles (though it has Portland stone plinth cappings, copings, window surrounds and cornices).

The churchyard is now a public garden, Saint Mary's Garden. Some gravestones can still be seen at the northeastern entrance to the park at Woolwich Church Street. Nearby stands the tomb of bare-knuckle boxer Tom Cribb in the shape of a lion resting his paw on an urn. The belvedere in the park offers fine views of the river Thames and the Woolwich Ferry, although the view is threatened by several tall buildings going up in the area.

Interior

To its basic nave, galleried aisles and west-end tower have been added a chancel (1894, by J.O. Scott, with Bath stone buttress capping and band courses), a Lady Chapel (containing the tomb of Henry Maudslay, designed by himself), organ chamber and sanctuary, all in the 19th century. Also in this era, a rail-mounted moveable pulpit was installed, funded by a public subscription on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Thomas Ford shut off the aisles and galleries to make a cafe and offices in 1961, before adding new vestries in 1965 and converting the crypt into a Youth Club in 1967.

References

  1. ↑ Historic England. "Details from image database (200362)". Images of England. Retrieved 26 November 2008.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Mary Magdalene's Church, Woolwich.

Coordinates: 51°29′35″N 0°03′33″E / 51.4930°N 0.0592°E / 51.4930; 0.0592

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.