St Mary's, Bryanston Square
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St Mary's, Bryanston Square, is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
church dedicated to the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
on Wyndham Place,
Bryanston Square Bryanston Square is an garden square in Marylebone, London. Terraced buildings surround it — often merged, converted or sub-divided, some of which remain residential. The southern end has the William Pitt Byrne memorial fountain. Next t ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. A related Church of England
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
which was founded next to it bears the same name.


History

St Mary's, Bryanston Square was built as one of the
Commissioners' church A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplied ...
es in 1823–1824 and was designed by Robert Smirke to seal the vista from the lower end of Bryanston Square. It is a brick building, with a rounded stone
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
, round tower and small dome, topped by cross. It is listed in the top protective and recognition category, grade I. The church cost £19,955 (), towards which the Church Building Commission gave a grant of £14,955.
Charles John Gardiner, 1st Earl of Blessington Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
, and Margaret Farmer were married in the church. Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1823 – 1847) was a rector, and
Samuel Augustus Barnett Samuel Augustus Barnett (8 February 1844 – 17 June 1913) was a Church of England cleric and social reformer who was particularly associated with the establishment of the first university settlement, Toynbee Hall, in east London in 1884. He ...
was introduced to his future wife Henrietta during his curacy there (1867–68).


Modern era

The church is known colloquially as "St Mary's Church London", since it is the most central Anglican church named St Mary's in inner London, and is known to be an active element of the evangelical wing of the Church of England]. The current congregation led by Rev'd John Peters began meeting in the building in 2002, having received allocation of the building from the Bishop of London. Most of the starting congregation moved from St Paul's Onslow Square, having met there under the name St Paul's Anglican Fellowship following reorganisation at Holy Trinity Brompton & St Paul's Onslow Square.


List of rectors

* Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1824–1847) * John Hampden Gurney (1847–1862) * Charles Dallas Marston (1862–1866) * William Fremantle (nephew), The Hon. William Henry Freemantle (1866–1883) * The Hon. James Wentworth Leigh (1883–1894) *
Henry Russell Wakefield Henry Russell Wakefield (1 December 1854 – 9 January 1933) was an Anglican bishop and author in the first quarter of the 20th century. Born on 1 December 1854 he was educated at Tonbridge School and the University of Bonn. Ordained in 1877 aft ...
(1894–1910) * Launcelot Jefferson Percival (1910–1926) * Albert Ernest Nicholass Simms (1926–1946) * Arthur Donal Browne (1946–1962) *
Martin Gloster Sullivan Martin Gloster Sullivan (30 March 1910 – 5 September 1980) was an Anglican Dean (Christianity), dean from New Zealand. He was born in Auckland and was educated at Auckland Grammar School and the University of Auckland. He was ordained in 1934 ...
(1962–1964) * Victor Tucker Harvey (1964–1982) * Iain MacGregor MacKenzie (1982–1989) * David Evans (1990–1999) * John Peters (2000–present)


Services

The church runs two services on a Sunday: an informal 11am service, with groups for children and youth, and an informal 6:30pm service for all ages, but catered slightly towards young professionals.


Groups and courses

The church runs several midweek groups and courses, aimed at a wide variation of people.


Life Course

The Life Course is an eight week course run three times annually, which aims to enable participants to explore the various meanings assigned to life. The aim of the course is to provide an open platform to discuss viewpoints and explore more than would be typically catered for in a church service or outreach course. As such, it does not require any particular belief or faith. Those who would describe themselves as agnostic or atheist are just as welcome as those of the Christian faith as well as other faiths: in the past, members of the Sunday Assembly have undertaken the course. Participants meet downstairs in the church hall for dinner, following which an introductory presentation is made, aiming to stimulate discussion in smaller groups. Over the course, themes include: "What meaning do we give our lives?", "Where do people look for meaning?", "What evidence is there that true meaning can be found?" and "What difference does true meaning make?" alongside others. The course also includes an optional weekend away.


Church planting

St Mary's has, from its inception, encouraged and participated in
church planting Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...
, as well as supporting the development of other churches sharing similar values. It has planted, or assisted with the development of: * Mike (staff at St Mary's) and Bex Norris started new services at
St Paul's Church, Auckland St Paul's Church is a historic church in the CBD of Auckland, New Zealand, located on Symonds Street near the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology. It is the longest established church in the city and has one of the lar ...
(2004). * Jon and Jo Soper (staff at St Mary's) started Exeter Network Church (2005). * Laura and Antley Fowler (St Mary's staff) planted River City Church, Jacksonville, FL (2005) * Derek and Beth Harmon (from River City Church with support from St Mary's) planted Ocean City Church, Jacksonville, FL (2010) * Al and Niki Hardy planted City Church, Charlotte, NC (2007) * Pete and Bee Hughes (former St Mary's staff) planted KXC, Kings Cross Church (2010) * Ed Flint (former staff), along with wife Hannah, planted Bread Church, Los Angeles, CA (2017)


Other activities

St Mary's is a long-standing member of the
New Wine New Wine is a not-for-profit Christian evangelical organization based in the United Kingdom, that assists Christian churches with organizational leadership training and fundraising. The organization also holds its own annual summer conferences, ...
network of churches, and regularly attends and leads seminar streams at their United summer conferences. Rector John Peters is also responsible for Prayer Ministry at New Wine, and regularly leads training days and conferences around the country for those who wish to pray for people in the power of the
Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
.


In popular culture

The church was used as 'Saint Jude's' in the 2019 feature film Last Christmas.


The Centre

Staff from St Mary's have set up The Centre, an organisation specialising in family and relationships work. The Centre offers several materials and courses aiming to teach practices leading to better relationships and emotional health, including: * Circle of Security training: weekly sessions helping parents develop more healthy relationships with children alongside teaching parenting strategies. Training courses for Facilitators (typically counselling and health professionals) are also offered at least annually. * One-off seminars and seminar series: evening seminars presenting advice on particular age groups such as babies, toddlers and teenagers. * Marriage preparation courses (in association with St Mary's) for engaged as well as long-term couples, to offer tools and advice for ensuring a healthy relationship. * Hold Me Tight courses (in association with St Mary's), using content developed by Dr Sue Johnson, for married or long-term committed couples to continue developing a healthy marriage.


See also

*
List of Commissioners' churches in London A Commissioners' church is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Act 1818, and subsequent related Acts. Such churches have been given a number of titles, including "Commi ...


References


External links

*
St Mary's app

The Centre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys, Bryanston Square Church of England church buildings in the City of Westminster Buildings and structures in Marylebone Diocese of London Grade I listed churches in the City of Westminster Churches completed in 1824 19th-century churches in the United Kingdom London, Saint Marys Church Bryanston Square Towers in London Georgian architecture in London Greek Revival church buildings in the United Kingdom Neoclassical architecture in London Holy Trinity Brompton plants Neoclassical church buildings in England