Church of St Marylebone London, England, UK

Listed Building Description

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

TQ 2882 SW CITY OF WESTMINSTER MARYLEBONE ROAD, NW1 (south side) 35/38 10.9.54 Church of St Mary, Marylebone

G.V. I

Parish church. 1813-18 by Thomas Hardwick; the chancel remodelled by Thomas Harris, 1883-84. Portland stone; slate roof. Begun by Hardwick as a chapel of ease similar to his St. John's, St. John's Wood Road q.v. but elaborated as parish church with enlarged portico and prominent steeple to the "west" front on Marylebone Road and diagonally set porches flanking tie chancel allowing access by a broad flight of steps from Marylebone High Street to the south (ritual east). Augustan "regular" classical design church, apart from the tower caryatids, is in the tradition of Hardwick's master Chambers. Giant hexastyle Corinthian portico with pediment. Central architraved and consoled doorway and flanking gallery doorways. Attendant wings with Corinthian antae doubled columns to returns. Deep entablature and balustraded parapet. The tower rises behind pediment in 3 stages with square, rusticated, clock stage carrying Corinthian peristyled belfry stage surmounted by domed cupola with caryatids separating semicircular arched lights of drum. Semicircular arched windows to sides with main entablature returned and carried out over chancel porches. Internally Hardwick's nave has a flat ceiling and galleries on 3 sides with curved corners, second gallery on west side, all carried on slender Ionic columns; Thomas Harris's chancel in with Italianate Renaissance style; numerous early C.19 wall monuments. Nash in laying out the Regent's Park terraces opened up the fine vista of York Gate axial to Hardwick's portico.

London Vol II; Nikolaus Pesvner. Architecture in Britain 1530-1830; Georgian London; John Summerson.

Listing NGR: TQ2828182031