The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in Addington, in the Borough of Croydon,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It is associated with the

Archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine ...

of the 19th century, who lived at nearby

Addington Palace Addington Palace is an 18th-century mansion in Addington located within the London Borough of Croydon. It was built close to the site of an earlier manor house belonging to the Leigh family. It is particularly known for having been, between ...

: five of the archbishops are buried at the church.

History

There is evidence for a church on this site since at least 1080 AD. It was once the only church in Addington village when it was the centre of a larger parish then incorporating

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American biographical film about Shirley Jackson * ''Shirley'' ( ...

. It has an 11th-century

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and windows. The south aisle, built in the early 13th century, is narrow as it once had a thatched roof, hence its falling roofline. The

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church (building), church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many ...

assumed its current form in 1876. The church tower has a belfry with 6 bells, the earliest probably dating from 1380 as well as two 17th-century bells. The bells were restored in 1957. The chancel was richly decorated in 1898 in memory of Archbishop

Edward White Benson Edward White Benson (14 July 1829 – 11 October 1896) was archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death. Before this, he was the first Bishop of Truro, serving from 1877 to 1883, and began construction of Truro Cathedral. He was previousl ...

. On 29 January 1951, St Mary's became a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The parish was part of the

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Chur ...

until 1984 when it joined the

Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark ( ) is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient ...

Notable burials

The crypt is now inaccessible, but the church is the burial place of a

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, the

armigerous In heraldry, an armiger is a (natural or juridical) person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armig ...

Leigh family who were Lords of the manor, and five of the six

who spent time at their residence nearby of

. The archbishops interred at St Mary's are: *Archbishop

Charles Manners-Sutton Charles Manners-Sutton (né Manners; 17 February 1755 – 21 July 1828) was a British clergyman in the Church of England who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1805 to 1828. Life Manners-Sutton was the fourth son of Lord George Manners ...

– died 1828 (buried in a vault under the vestry). *Archbishop

William Howley William Howley (12 February 1766 – 11 February 1848) was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848. Early life, education, and interests Howley was born in 1766 at Ropley, Hampshire, wher ...

– died 1848 (buried in the chancel). *Archbishop

John Bird Sumner John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury. Early life John Bird Sumner was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the Re ...

– died 1862 (buried in the churchyard). *Archbishop

Charles Longley Charles Thomas Longley (28 July 1794 – 27 October 1868) was a bishop in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Ripon, Bishop of Durham, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1862 until his death. Life He was born at Ro ...

– died 1868 (buried in the churchyard). *Archbishop

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) is an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was born ...

– died 1882 (buried in the churchyard). There is also a memorial to the archbishops in the graveyard. The churchyard also contains Commonwealth war graves of thirteen service personnel, four from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and nine from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.CWGC Cemetery report
details from casualty record. (Note: the CWGC site shows 14, but one of these (J. COLLIER) is identified as being an alias of another entry (J. ROSTRON)).

Home Guard Memorial

There is a stained glass window serving as a memorial to the services of the 59th (Addington) Battalion of the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

during the Second World War. * Above the double window is a small circular window bearing the Paschal Lamb emblem of the

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

, along with their motto "Pristinae Virtutis Memor". * At the top of the double windows (spread over both) is a biblical verse "Everyone had his sword by his side and so builded. Neh. 4 v 18". * At the bottom, again spread over the two windows, is the dedication: "To the Glory of God and as a memorial of their service to King and Country by members of the 59th Surrey (Addington) Battalion Home Guard, this window is erected. 1952."

Present day

Now the church ministers to the people living in the more immediate vicinity that includes Addington village, the southern elevation of and escarpment running down from the Addington Hills, the residences along Fieldway on the northernmost part of the

New Addington New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey. History Until the 1930s, the area now known as New ...

estate, Addington and Forestdale. The church stands in the Modern Catholic

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Notable clergy

John Cavell John Caldicott Cavell (12 January 1813 – 5 February 1887) was a department store proprietor and mayor of Oxford, England. John Cavell was born in Bardwell, Suffolk, the son of Charles and Sarah Cavell, He married Sarah Elliston of Summertown ...

was a curate here between 1947 and 1949, he later became Bishop of Southampton *

Michael Perham Michael Perham (born 16 March 1992) is an English sailor and adventurer from Potters Bar. In 2007 at the age of 14 he became the youngest person in the world to successfully sail across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly, beating the record se ...

was a curate here between 1976 and 1981, he later became Bishop of Gloucester

Images

St Mary's, Addington Village, CR0 - geograph.org.uk - 55142.jpg , The

St Mary's Addington.JPG , The

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Addington, Surrey - geograph.org.uk - 1031797.jpg , View from the road St Mary's, Addington Village, CR0 - geograph.org.uk - 55139.jpg , View from the west St_Mary_Addington_Memorial_Window.jpg , The Home Guard Memorial Window

References

External links

Church website
*

A Church Near You The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglican tradition, with foundational doctrines being contained in the '' Thirty-nine Articles'' and ''Th ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Addington Addington History of the London Borough of Croydon Addington Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Croydon