Inventory Site Record

Marylebone Parish Church was built here in 1813-17, the fourth church to serve the parish. St Marylebone Parish Church Grounds are on the former churchyard and consist of a cobbled circular driveway from Marylebone High Street up to the side entrance of the church. A low hedge encloses a central grass area with a mature plane tree in the centre, dominating the square. There is also level access into the site from Marylebone Road. A market, 'Cabbages and Frocks', occupies most of the cobbled driveway at the weekends. To the west of the church is a new Physic Herb and Wild Flower Garden created by children in the Young Church group, which opened in June 2010.

Site location:

Marylebone Road/Marylebone High Street

Postcode:

NW1 5LT

What 3 Words:

mops.groups.plots

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Westminster

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

7am - dusk

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Baker Street (Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City, Circle, Metropolitan, Jubilee), Bond Street (Central, Jubilee). Bus: 18, 27, 30, 205, 453; 2,13,30,74,82,113,139,189,247

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/05/2011

Last minor changes:

20/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.westminster.gov.uk; www.stmarylebone.org

The first church of the parish of Tyburn was built c.1200, dedicated to St John the Evangelist, and stood near the present Marble Arch. When this was demolished in 1400 a new church was built nearer the village of Marylebone, its site now that of the Garden of Rest Marylebone (q.v.) towards the north end of Marylebone High Street. It was dedicated to St Mary the Virgin by the Bourne, referring to the Ty bourne or stream that ran into the Thames from what is now Regent's Park. The dedication gradually became St Mary le burn, then St Marylebone. The Elizabethan philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was married there in 1606, and the interior of the church was accurately portrayed by the artist William Hogarth (1697-1764) in the marriage scene from 'The Rake's Progress' (1735). The church was rebuilt in 1741/2, designed by John Lane, on the same site and survived as a chapel until 1949. Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was then living and working in Marylebone and during his last illness he sent for the Rector of St Marylebone, Revd John Harley (of the family after whom Harley Street is named), and asked to be buried in the churchyard. He died on 29 March 1788 and his body was carried to St Marylebone Church by eight clergymen of the Church of England. A memorial stone to him stands in the memorial garden in the High Street, close to where he was buried.

Other famous people with connections to St Marylebone include Lord Byron (1788-1824), who was baptised here in 1788 and Admiral Lord Nelson (1758-1805) who worshipped here and whose daughter Horatia was baptised here. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) and his family lived nearby in Devonshire Terrace and his son was baptised in the church, the ceremony described in 'Dombey and Son'.

By the late C18th century the surrounding farmland, largely owned by the Duke of Portland, had been extensively developed as a wealthy residential area. The larger population of the parish required a new larger church, and this was under discussion from 1770. A site was given in Paddington Street and plans were prepared by Sir William Chambers (1723-96), but the scheme was abandoned and the land purchased for a burial ground. In 1810-11 the present site was given by the Duke of Portland. It was originally intended that this building would be a Chapel of Ease. The new church was built at a cost of £80,000 and designed by Thomas Hardwicke, who was a pupil of Sir W Chambers. The foundation stone was laid on 5 July 1813. However, in 1814 the vestry decided to enlarge the building as a parish church and Hardwicke adapted his designs to create a grander building; as a result the tower was erected, the front widened, and the present Corinthian columns built. The church was consecrated in 1817. A vaulted crypt extended under the whole area of the church, with extensive catacombs under the west side, which served as the parish burial ground until 1853 when the entrance was bricked up and its use discontinued. In 1980 over 850 coffins from the crypt were reinterred at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, the crypt becoming a Healing and Counselling Centre.

In 1882, the Church Council decided on an extensive redevelopment of the church, in order, as the new Rector put it, "to bring it more into harmony with the arrangements and decorations suited to the religious demands of the present day". Work began in 1884 and a memorial stone was laid by Mrs Gladstone, wife of the Prime Minister. The new plans were drawn up by Thomas Harris, architect and churchwarden of the parish, and this is the church much as we see it today.

The church suffered bomb damage in World War II when all the windows were blown out after a bomb landed on the churchyard. The church re-opened following repair and redecoration in 1949. When the windows were re-glazed, fragments of the original coloured glass were incorporated in the new windows. About that time a section of the back of the church was used to create the Browning Chapel to commemorate the marriage in the church of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett in 1846.

St Marylebone Parish Church Grounds are on the former churchyard and consist of a cobbled circular sweeping driveway from Marylebone High Street up to the side entrance of the church, which is the focus of the space. A low hedge encloses a central grass area with a mature plane tree in the centre, dominating the square. There is also level access into the site from Marylebone Road. A market, 'Cabbages and Frocks', occupies most of the cobbled driveway at the weekends. In Spring 2009 as part of the Young Church gardening project children planted seeds in pots and with careful tending grew vegetables for the Young Church's contribution to Harvest Festival. This success led to a new Young Church project, the Physic Herb and Wild Flower Garden on the west side of the church, which opened in June 2010. This is focused on herbal/medicinal plants with their healing properties and has a path of mosaic stepping stones created by the children.

Sources consulted:

Church website www.stmarylebone.org, History sections; Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The Buildings of England London 3: North West' (Penguin, 1999 ed)

Grid ref:

TQ283820 (528326,182008)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

WCC

Site management:

Parks Service.

Date(s):

1817

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBI: St Marylebone Church

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Regent's Park

Tree Preservation Order:

To be checked

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

St Marylebone Parish Church Grounds - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 20/07/23 11:34

Click a photo to enlarge.