St Mary Magdalene Woolwich is an 18th-century

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 dedicated to

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

, southeast London,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

Christianity in Woolwich goes back to the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

. In 2015

Oxford Archaeology Oxford Archaeology (OA, trading name of Oxford Archaeology Limited) is one of the largest and longest-established independent archaeology and heritage practices in Europe, operating from three permanent offices in Oxford, Lancaster and Cambridge ...

discovered a Saxon burial site in the area close to the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

east of

Woolwich Ferry The Woolwich Ferry is a free vehicle and pedestrian ferry across the River Thames in East London, connecting Woolwich on the south bank with North Woolwich on the north. It is licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm ...

. It contained 76 skeletons from the late 7th or early 8th century. The absence of grave deposits indicates that this was an early Christian settlement. The first church in Woolwich was probably pre-Norman conquest and dedicated to Saint Lawrence. It stood on a

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...

about 37 m north of the present-day church, more or less where the belvedere overlooking the river now is. The church was slightly separate from the early riverside settlement in

Old Woolwich Old Woolwich or Woolwich Central RiversideBoth these terms are potentially confusing as Old Woolwich may also refer to the present-day town centre, which is further south. Woolwich Riverside is also the name of an electoral ward constituting a mu ...

. From the early 10th till the mid-12th century Woolwich was ruled by the abbots of St. Peter's Abbey in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, probably as a result of a gift from Ælfthryth, daughter of

King Alfred Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when ...

and Countess of Flanders. Around 1100

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

gave the church to Gundulf of Rochester, bishop and prior of

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in Rochester, Kent, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Rochester and seat (''cathedra'') of the Bishop of Rocheste ...

. It was probably around this time that the church was rebuilt in stone. The church tower with walls of chalk and flint was partly excavated in 1970. The parish church was first dedicated to

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

, then, in the 15th century, to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and, a century later, to

Saint Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

. The first known rector was John Chaplain, mentioned in 1182. In the late 14th century rector William de Prene rebuilt the bell tower. In the early 16th century rector John Sweetyng assisted in building the '' Great Harry'' at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

. Rectors of Woolwich in the late 17th century included Thomas Lindsay (1686–1694) and

Philip Stubbs Philip Stubbs (Stubbes) (c. 1555 – c. 1610) was an English pamphleteer. Life Stubbs was born about 1555. He was from Cheshire, possibly the area near Congleton. According to Anthony Wood, he was educated at Cambridge and subsequently at Oxford, ...

(1694–1699). By the 18th century the Elizabethan spire had collapsed and the foundations were showing signs of strain. Thus a new church (the present one) was built from 1732 to 1739, close to the medieval church's site. An architect's name is not known; there probably was none. Plain brick churches with round-headed windows had been built in the London area since the 1670s. The new church was part-funded by the

Commission for Building Fifty New Churches The Commission for Building Fifty New Churches (in London and the surroundings) was an organisation set up by Act of Parliament in England in 1711, to implement the New Churches in London and Westminster Act 1710, with the purpose of building f ...

and built by Matthew Spray, a bricklayer from

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

. A total of 636,000 bricks were used. Dedication took place on 9 May 1740, after which the old church was demolished and the churchyard extended and walled in. In 1875 Adelbert Anson was appointed rector of Woolwich. The 34-year old clergyman had several architects work on designs for a new church, the most ambitious one in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style by James Brooks. Nothing happened and Anson's successor, Samuel Gilbert Scott, prepared plans for a new

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 ...

(including a

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

) and

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spent nearly one-fi ...

, designed by his cousin J.O. Scott. These were completed in 1894, two years after Scott's resignation. His successor was Charles Escreet, whose family are named as benefactors of the church on their memorial. Around the same time the churchyard was transformed into a public garden. Some alterations to the interior were made in 1924.Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 46–47. The church suffered little damage during

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 ...

, during which years

Cuthbert Bardsley Cuthbert Killick Norman Bardsley (28 March 1907 – 9 January 1991) was an Anglican bishop and evangelist who served as Bishop of Croydon from 1947 to 1956 and Bishop of Coventry from 1956 to 1976. It was during his tenure at Coventry that ...

, later

Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichf ...

, was a socially active rector. The building was

Grade B listed 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 ...

in 1954, which corresponds to Grade II and Grade II* in the modern scheme. In 1960 another young and socially innovative rector arrived in Woolwich, Nicolas Stacey. His "Woolwich Project" (1960–68) was controversial but brought new life to the church. Among the many changes, he had the aisles and galleries shut off with frosted glass panels to make a cafe and offices, before converting the crypt into a youth club. The "Coffee House" was opened by

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

and

Antony Armstrong-Jones Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017) was a British photographer. He is best known internationally for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', '' Vanity Fai ...

in May 1961. Also, starting in 1965 (and ending in 2001), Stacey brought in the local Presbyterians to meet up with the Anglicans. In the 1970s the parish of St Mary Magdalene was merged into the three-church parish of Woolwich. Some restoration work was done in 1977, and in 2008 the gallery partitions were removed, restoring the spatial integrity of the building. In May 2019 St Mary's Church and Gardens became part of a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

. The Woolwich Conservation Area comprises the

Bathway Quarter Bathway Quarter is an area of historic interest in the centre of Woolwich, South East London. Most buildings in the Bathway Quarter are Grade II*, Grade II or locally listed, while the area as a whole is designated a conservation area by Green ...

, parts of Woolwich New Road, General Gordon Square, Greens End,

Beresford Square Beresford Square is a pedestrianised town square, town and market square in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London, England. It was formed in the early 19th century and was named after the Anglo-Irish general William Beresford, 1s ...

Powis Street Powis Street is a partly pedestrianised shopping street in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, south-east London, England. It was laid out in the late 18th century and was named after the Powis brothers, who developed most of the land ...

, Hare Street, Mortgramit Square, and parts of Woolwich High Street (south).

The building

Exterior

The site of the church is at the extremity of a spur reaching northwards towards the

. The church is brick-built, with

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

plinth cappings,

coping Coping refers to conscious or unconscious strategies used to reduce and manage unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviors and can be individual or social. To cope is to deal with struggles and difficulties in life. It ...

s, window surrounds and the principal

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. The bell tower, protruding from the west front, is topped off rather bluntly, without a balustrade, spire or lantern. The 1894 brick chancel features

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

buttress capping, band courses and a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

ed gable top.Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 45–47. File:London-Woolwich, St Mary Magdalene, west 1.jpg, West facade File:2016 Woolwich, St Mary Magdalene, detail east gable.jpg, Detail east facade File:2016 Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens 38.jpg, View from the southeast File:2016 Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens 26.jpg, View from the northeast

Interior

The church consists of a five-bay

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

flanked by

colonnades In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

(similar to St Nicholas, Deptford), two side aisles with galleries and some 19th-century additions: the

, the Lady Chapel to the south (containing the rare iron-cast tomb of

Henry Maudslay Henry Maudslay ( pronunciation and spelling) (22 August 1771 – 14 February 1831) was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were a ...

, designed by himself) and the organ chamber to the north. The interior is painted pale blue and white, including the large red stone columns flanking the chancel and the small columns framing the east window. The royal coat of arms from 1740 once hung above the sanctuary but is now kept in the porch beneath the tower. The pipe organ was made by John Byfield in 1754 and was originally installed in the west gallery. After the building of the new chancel in 1894, the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

of the old chancel (made of oak) were adjusted to be installed in the south chapel. Above is a

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window by

Herbert Hendrie Herbert Hendrie (1887–1946) was an English stained glass artist. He is known for his strong simple designs with scintillating jewel-like effects. Among his best-known works are the fifteen windows for Kippen church and the tall stained glass ...

from 1922. A rail-mounted moveable

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

(walnut, with inlays) was installed in 1899, funded by a public subscription on

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's Diamond Jubilee. File:London-Woolwich, St Mary Magdalene, interior 1.JPG, View towards the east File:London-Woolwich, St Mary Magdalene, interior 3.JPG, North gallery File:London-Woolwich, St Mary Magdalene, interior 4.JPG, Royal coat of arms File:London-Woolwich, St Mary Magdalene, interior 5.JPG, List of rectors

St Mary's Garden

The churchyard is now a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

, Saint Mary's Garden, in the

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

style. It was designed in 1893 by Fanny Wilkinson, Britain's first professional woman landscape gardener. Her design features gravel paths, lawns and mature trees. Some gravestones can still be seen along the northeastern border. Nearby stands the tomb of bare-knuckle boxer

Tom Cribb Tom Cribb (8 July 1781 – 11 May 1848) was an English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. He was All England Champion from 1808 to 1822.Dowling (1841), p.56 Early life Born in Hanham near Bristol, Cribb moved to London at the age of 13 ...

who lived in Woolwich. It has the shape of a lamenting lion resting its paw on an urn. Stairs lead up to the park entrance from Woolwich Church Street. Other entrances are at Church Hill, St Mary Street and John Wilson Street. Two belvederes, one just outside the park, offer fine views of the river Thames and the

, although the view is threatened by several tall buildings going up along the river. In the early 1960s the park was enlarged and redesigned by G.P. Youngman who added new paths, raised beds and alpine rockeries. A drinking fountain and several tombs were removed, the foremost of which was that of Woolwich-born engineer

.Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 48–49. File:London-Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens 14.jpg, Autumnal view File:London-Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens 07.jpg, Belvedere and view File:2016 Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens 06.jpg, Gravestones File:2016 Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens 30.jpg, Tom Cribb's tomb

Notes and references

* , ''Woolwich – Survey of London, Volume 48'', Yale Books, London, 2012.
online text chapter 9
please note page numbers online do not correspond with the book)

External links

British History Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Magdalene, Woolwich

Grade II* listed churches in London

Woolwich History of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom 18th-century Church of England church buildings Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Greenwich