St. Mary, the old parish church of Twickenham, once in Middlesex, now part of the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames. A Grade II* listed building, it is close to the River Thames, but entered from Church Street.
Left: The tower. Right: The impressive but unexpected Queen Anne front.
The church's history goes back to medieval times, but the nave and chancel were rebuilt in the eighteenth century, and are in red brick Queen Anne style, contrasting dramatically with the pale rubblestone battlemented tower of the fifteenth century.
Left: Poe's monument to his parents (Hall, p.344). Right: View from the river in Victorian times (Hall, p. 343).
Of special interest are the memorials inside, including the grand marble one erected in the north gallery by the poet Alexander Pope to his parents. The oval portrait hanging at the top is of the poet himself. Pope is buried in the family vault close to the communion rails. In 1871, Colonel Robert William Edis prepared designs for redecorating the interior, to brighten it up, but these were only partially implemented, and later painted over. The Twickenham Museum site on Edis shows a small portion of the colour scheme that is still to be seen.
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Photographs, image downloads, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer or (for the reproduced illustrations) the William and Mary Darlington Memorial Libray, the University of Pittsburgh and the Internet Archive. Please (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]
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Bibliography
"Church of St Mary." Historic England. Web. 11 November 2021.
"Col. Sir Robert Edis: Architect, Soldier and Sportsman." The Twickenham Museum. Web. 11 November 2021.
Hall, Samuel Carter, and A. M. Hall. The Book of the Thames from its Rise to its Fall. London: Arthur Hall, Virtue, and Co., 1859. Internet Archive copy in the William and Mary Darlington Memorial Libray, the University of Pittsburgh. Web. 11 November 2021.
Created 11 November 2021