St Mary's Parish Church, Hampton, is an Anglican church in Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Location
St Mary's Parish Church is at the junction of two major roads A308 and A311, leading to Twickenham, Kingston upon Thames and Sunbury-on-Thames. Standing tall on Bell Hill it marks the ancient heart of Hampton.
During the mid-19th century, houses were built to the north of the existing village; this area became known as New Hampton, and later as Hampton Hill. The parish of St James, Hampton Hill was created in 1863. In 1929 the Hampton parish was further divided by the creation of a separate parish of All Saints.
History
The site upon which this church is built is said to be that of a Romano-British chapel. Certainly a house of worship has stood here for at least 650 years, as historical records begin in 1342, when the site came into possession of the Priory of Takeley in Essex. It is described in the annals of the Priory as a Rectory of that monastery.
Before that time it is possible that a simple wooden structure existed, or services may have been held under the ancient yew tree that stood in the churchyard until 1829.
The old church
The first church for which there are historical records was built of flint and stone. The interior of the building had galleries round the north, west and south sides, with a singing loft for choir and instrumental accompaniment. There was a three-decker pulpit: the first level for the clerk, the second for the reading of lessons, and the uppermost for the delivery of sermons. The royal pew was situated at the front of the north gallery. The old church also housed a school room and provided a master for Hampton School, from 1557.
At the time of Henry VIII a new nave, south aisle and porch were rebuilt with brick (“having got out of repair and become unsafe”) – the original flint and stone chancel and tower were retained.
In 1671 the tower also became unsafe and a new brick tower was erected. Charles II contributed £350.
In 1726, the north aisle and the vault beneath it were added to the church, as was the vestry room at the north-west corner of the church; George I gave £500 towards the extension. This version of the building was described as Hampton's "brick church in pre-eminence, with fresh-painted and accommodating covered benches in the churchyard". The church was well-attended (one service on Sunday morning, and one in the evening); twelve or more carriages waited outside the church. A notable worshipper was George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster.
Memorials from the old church were preserved and erected in the new church, including those to Susannah Thomas (d.1731), Sibel Penn (d.1562), who was nurse to Edward VI, Edmond Pigeon and his son Nickolas, who served as Yeoman of the Jewel House, and Huntington Shaw (d.1710), who ‘designed and executed the ornamental Iron work at Hampton Court Palace.’
The present building
As the population grew the Vestry decided that the old building needed to be enlarged. There was an initial plan simply to extend in 1821. The Crown promised a contribution if seats were to be provided for those who lived at Hampton Court Palace. However insufficient money was raised from other sources and the project was deferred.
In fact for the next eight years there were various schemes and competitions to design a new building. Eventually the old building closed on 27 December 1829, and the congregation moved to the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace as the church was demolished.
Prince William, Duke of Clarence laid the new foundation stone on 18 April 1830 and the new building was consecrated on 1 September 1831. The occasion was deemed so significant that Princess Adelaide, Prince George and his sister Princess Augusta were in attendance and the roads were blocked with carriages a quarter of a mile away. (There had been an announcement that the Duke of Clarence — by then already King William IV and was to be crowned one week later — was to attend, but he did present the organ to the parish.)
By 1879 the churchyard had become full and, from then on, burials took place at the new Hampton Cemetery which was opened that year on Holly Bush Lane.
Also in 1879, the organ, originally in the centre of the west gallery, was moved to its present position in the north-west corner of the church when a surpliced choir was begun. It was later reconstructed in 1901.
