Although not so grand as famous City churches like St. Bartholomew the Great, the tiny church of St. Mary the Virgin is just as historic and ancient. It has been serving the suburban community of Little Ilford for over 900 years. Once part of rural Essex, it is now within Greater London and easy to reach by public transport.
Little Ilford was the name of a manor recorded in Domesday Book in 1066, and was applied to the whole parish although it covers several manors. It was much more sparsely populated than nearby Great Ilford until Victorian times. St. Mary the Virgin was the only church in Little Ilford until 1894. It continued as parish church until 1938, when it became a chapel of neighbouring St. Michael and All Angels. Its churchyard, a tiny patch of greenery amid the urban sprawl, is home to many native English plants.
Connections to Saint Thomas More and Queen Elizabeth I
Notable figures connected with St. Mary the Virgin include a saint’s son-in-law and a Tudor Queen’s favourite. In 1532 Sir Giles Heron, son-in-law to Sir (later Saint) Thomas More, sold the estate to the Crown. It eventually passed to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, then to many other owners. In 1854, most of the land was sold to the City of London Corporation for its new cemetery.
12th Century Architecture Survives Changes
The church was built early in the 12th century, judging by surviving architectural features. The nave and lower part of the chancel are built of flint rubble, and the church is roofed with slate. Both the north and south walls of the nave have a window and doorway dated to the early 12th century, with a window of the same date in the west wall. The south and west windows have been widened since.
It appears that no major alterations were made to the church until the 18th century, except for the addition of a bell-turret and a porch to the south. A painting dated 1720 shows the church with six round-headed windows, probably 12th century but no longer in existence.
The Herons of Aldersbrook
The Heron family, earlier residents of Aldersbrook, are commemorated in a piece of painted glass and a monumental brass. Sir John Heron is said to have introduced herons to the estate before his death in 1521. This local legend is recorded in a painted glass fragment with a heron, dating from Sir John's time and now in the round window of the Lethullier chapel.
A brass memorial to Sir John's schoolboy son Thomas, who died in 1517, was removed from the chancel floor during the rebuilding of 1724 and placed on the north wall of the nave. He was brother to Sir Giles Heron, who married Saint Thomas More's daughter.
William and Anne Hyde, children of another local dignitary, died in 1614 and 1630 and share another brass memorial. The kneeling figures of William and Elizabeth Waldegrave adorn a coloured marble monument, and there are memorial tablets to other prominent families.
The Lethuliier Chapel
In 1724, the upper part of the chancel and the porch were rebuilt in brick. A brick chapel was also added to the church. This chapel, intended for the private use of the wealthy, learned Lethullier family of Aldersbrook, is on the north side and is now used as a vestry. It contains three fine 18th century monuments to the family, including that of scholar and antiquarian Smart Lethullier, as well as stained glass dating from the 15th to the 17th centuries, probably taken from earlier windows in the nave or chancel.
An Unusual Day Trip on London Transport
If you are in London and would like an unusual day out, why not visit this historic early English church?Take the overland train to Ilford, or the Docklands Light Railway or Jubilee Line Underground service to Canning Town. The 147 bus that connects Ilford and Canning Town goes along Church Street and past the church, providing a tour of ordinary suburban life different from anything you’ll find on the tourist websites. The same bus route also passes another landmark place of worship, the London Sri Murugan temple, built between 1975 and 2006 in a South Indian architectural style, and there is another Norman church, St. Mary Magdalene, in nearby East Ham.
Services are held at 8 a.m. on Sunday and 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday. The church may not be open at other times - anyone wishing to see the interior should call the parish community centre on +44 (0)208 478 2468 to check.
Helen McCarthy - Helen is a writer, editor, speaker, designer and trainer. She's best known for her ground-breaking research and writing on Japanese ...
