St Mary's, Harrow on the Hill
| St Mary's Church, Harrow on the Hill | |
|---|---|
St Mary's Church
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| Location | Harrow on the Hill, London, HA1 3HL |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Modern Catholic |
| Website | stmarysharrow.com |
| History | |
| Dedication | Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Consecrated | 4 January 1094 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Active |
| Functional status | Parish church |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Harrow on the Hill |
| Deanery | Harrow |
| Archdeaconry | Archdeaconry of Northolt |
| Episcopal area | Willesden Area |
| Diocese | Diocese of London |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | The Rt Revd Pete Broadbent |
| Vicar(s) | The Revd James Power |
St Mary's, Harrow on the Hill, is the Borough and Parish Church at Harrow on the Hill in northwest London, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, began the construction of a church on this site in 1087. He died in 1089. His successor was St Anselm, who at the age of 60 was enthroned – after considerable delay – as Archbishop in September 1093.
The new church building, now completed and dedicated in the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was consecrated by St Anselm on 4 January 1094 (a most appropriate date, as at the time, 25 December was a more pagan festival and Christians kept the feast of the Epiphany or Old Christmas Day as it came to be called – as their principal feast of the birth of Christ).
Little of this original building remains apart from the lower section of the tower. The Chancel, with its fine arch and lancet windows, had been constructed by the end of the 12th century and this was followed by the rebuilding of the nave and the addition of the two transepts. The Rector of Harrow at this time was one Elias of Dereham (who was also involved in the building of Salisbury Cathedral) and it was he who appointed the first vicar, John de Holtune, about the year 1236.
In 1324, two chantries (small chapels endowed for the purpose of special prayer on behalf of their benefactors) were founded. One was the Chantry of St Michael in the free chapel of Tokyngton, which was situated about one and a half miles away in Wembley. The second was founded by the then rector, William de Bosco, ‘‘to the honour of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary’’, and was in the present building. It had been assumed that this chantry was somewhere in the south transept, but recent investigations have convincingly suggested that it was over the south porch.
The small room, still there at the top of the staircase, contains evidence of Norman work, traces of colour decoration on the roof beams and a carved niche. John Byrkhede, himself a master builder, was appointed Rector of St Mary's in 1437, and died at Harrow in 1468. By 1450, the present clerestory windows, the nave and transept roofs, in the chancel and the upper stages of the tower with its famous spire, had been constructed. The roofs of the nave and transepts are reckoned to be the finest in Middlesex with 377 carvings, while the spire is covered with 12 tons of lead.
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Wikipedia