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The Church of St Mark, Hamilton Terrace, London NW8, lies in the St John's Wood area, and was described by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner as "a typically wealthy church for a growing suburb" (601). It was built in 1846-47 by Thomas Cundy II (1790-1867), but his son Thomas Cundy III (c.1821-1895) completed the tower and spire in 1864, and Benjamin Ferrey and/or his son Edmund (c.1846–1900, added the porches, lobbies and chancel of 1877-78 (Cherry and Pevsner 602). The latter gave the large and unbroken space of the nave an attractive focal point. The Baptistry was added in 1890 (Clarke), and the impressive spire needed to be rebuilt in 1955 after war damage.
Left to right: (a) View from the front, with west tower and entrance. (b) Looking along th five bays from the outside. (c) The canopied figure of St Mark presiding over the exterior.
Built in a prominent position on a main thoroughfare, and Grade II* listed, St Mark's was described in its listing text as Decorated Gothic in style, constructed of ragstone with ashlar dressings, and as having five bays, with a lower chancel. There was an entrance under its three-stage western tower, with its recessed breach spire, and there was also a south west porch. The nave's two-light windows had flowing tracery, and the parapet and crocketed pinnacles can also be seen in these photographs. All these details also come from the listing text. Soon after it was consecrated the Illustrated London News of 3 July 1847 gave a glowing account of it, describing it as a "very neat specimen of modern church-building" (16).
The church had important associations with the royal family and with Victorian literature, through the Reverend Robinson Duckworth, its vicar from 1870-1906. Duckworth was a good friend of Lewis Carroll at Oxford and an instructor of Prince Leopold. The Queen thought highly of him, and "asked him to officiate at the confirmation of her daughter, Princess Beatrice, in 1874. Duckworth became chaplain to the Prince of Wales, and went with him on his tour of India, in 1875" (Clarke).
Links to Related Material
- Interior of St Mark's
- East Window by Clayton & Bell
- The Lord is My Shepherd (another mosaic memorial panel here)
- Floor tiling in the Chancel
Bibliography
"Church of St Mark, Hamilton Terrace, London NW8." Historic England. Web. 3 March 2023.
Cherry, Bridget, and Nikolaus Pevsner. London 3: North West. Buildings of England series. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002.
Clarke, Bridget. "Canon Duckworth DD CVO 1834 - 1911." St John's Wood Memories. Web. 3 February 2023.
"New Church of St Mark, Hamilton-Terrace, St John's Wood." Illustrated London News. Vol. XI. 3 July 1847: 16. Google Books. Free to read. Web. 3 February 2023.
Created 3 February 2023