| St Mary Abbots | |
|---|---|
 St Mary Abbots Church in 2007 | |
 | |
| OS grid reference | TQ 25605 79707 |
| Location | Kensington Church Street,Kensington,London W8 4LA |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | High Church |
| Website | stmaryabbotschurch.org |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Consecrated | 1262 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architect(s) | Sir George Gilbert Scott |
| Style | Neo-Gothic |
| Completed | 1872[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 700[2] |
| Length | 179 feet (55m)[2] |
| Width | 109 feet (34m)[2] |
| Number ofspires | One |
| Spire height | 278 feet (85m)[2] |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | London |
| Episcopal area | Kensington |
| Archdeaconry | Middlesex |
| Deanery | Kensington |
| Parish | Kensington |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | The Right Revd DrEmma Ineson |
| Vicar(s) | The Revd Mthr Emma Dinwiddy Smith |
| Assistant priest(s) | The Revd Fr Evan McWilliams and The Revd Fr Tim Carroll |
| Curate(s) | vacant |
St Mary Abbots is achurch located onKensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street inLondon W8.
The present church structure was built in 1872 to the designs ofSir George Gilbert Scott, who combinedneo-Gothic andearly-English styles. Thisedifice remains noted for having the tallestspire in London and is the latest in a series on the site since the beginning of the 12th century.
The church, and its railings, are listed atGrade II* on theNational Heritage List for England.[3]
Sir Aubrey de Vere was aNorman knight who was rewarded with themanor ofKensington, among other estates, after the successfulNorman Conquest. Around 1100, his eldest son, Godfrey (great-uncle ofAubrey, 1st Earl of Oxford),[4] was taken seriously ill and cared for byFaritius,abbot of theBenedictineAbbey of St Mary atAbingdon. After a period of remission, Godfrey de Vere died in 1106 aged about 19.[2]
Thede Vere family's gratitude to the abbey for their son's care was recognised by its bequest of land 270 acres (1.1 km2). In 1262 the abbey founded a church and parish in Kensington, dedicated toSt Mary. The epithet ofAbbots is deemed to derive from its link with the ancient Abingdon Abbey rather than that subsequently with thediocese of theBishop of London. However, this led to a dispute with the bishop and legal action followed in thediocesan consistory court. This resulted in the patronage of the church passing to the bishop in perpetuity but rights over the surrounding land remaining with the abbey.[2] The succession of vicars is recorded in a direct line back to this foundation in 1262.
In 1370 the Norman church was rebuilt.[2]
WhenWilliam III relocated the Royal Court toKensington Palace in 1689 the area became fashionable rendering the medieval church too small, thus it was demolished at the end of the 17th century and replaced by a Late Renaissance-style building. This in turn proved too small as London urbanised in the 19th century.
Around 1860 the vicar, [John Sinclair], launched a campaign for the building of a striking new church. The architect George Gilbert Scott was engaged and recommended the demolition of the existing church to take advantage of the site at the road junction. St Mary Abbot's design is almost certainly influenced by Scott's earlier work onDunblane Cathedral - its west front's tall window and carvedtympanum are similar to those in the Cathedral. The 278 ft (85 m) high spire is clearly influenced by that ofSt Mary Redcliffe, Bristol.[2] The present church retains many fittings from the earlier churches, especially funeral monuments from the mid-17th century onwards.
In March 1944 fire-bombs caused significant damage at St Mary Abbots. The nave and chancel roof caved in, landing in the pews below, and there was some damage to some of the stained glass windows and the organ, however the main structure was not seriously harmed. The Church was temporarily repaired to allow services to continue; and in February 1956 a service of thanksgiving was held in the Church. The original Victorian pews still bear burn marks and repair patches from the fallen roof.
In 2000 the Friends of St Mary Abbots lead a fundraising campaign to install lights outside the church to highlight the spire and outside of the building as part of the Millennium celebrations.
In 2023, as part of the 150 Anniversary celebration, a permanent access ramp was added outside the South Door, the church spire was cleaned and restored and the lights updated and replaced.
The tower holds aring of ten bells hung forchange ringing. Five of these bells – the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth of the current ring – date from 1772 and were cast by Thomas Janaway. The other five – the treble, second, third, seventh and tenor – were cast in 1879 byJohn Warner & Sons.[5]The five bells were funded through a donation by Phyllis Cunliffe (1890–1974), mother to coin designerChristopher Ironside.
The church has an associatedprimary school in its churchyard, founded in 1707 as acharity school.[6] The school buildings were designed byNicholas Hawksmoor in 1711, but demolished in the 1870s to make way for a town hall. The present buildings date from 1875 and are notable for the painted stone statues by Thomas Eustace of a boy and girl, dating from about 1715,[7] now on the north face of the school; its playgrounds intersperse with the churchyard, and the school maintains close links with the Church of England.[8][9]
51°30′08″N0°11′30″W / 51.50222°N 0.19167°W /51.50222; -0.19167
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