Church Of St Mary

CHURCH OF ST MARY, LONDON ROAD, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD

This church was built in 1871 by the London architect Joseph Clarke but was never completed as originally planned. A vestibule, toilet and kitchen block were added to the southwest in 1971, and at the same time the western bay of the nave was divided off from the rest of the church.

The building is constructed with flint facing and Ancaster stone dressings, though the south wall is faced with bare buff stock brick, reflecting its unfinished state. The roofs are covered in brown clay tiles, and the tower is topped with a shingled spire.

The church comprises a nave with a north aisle (slightly shorter at its western end), a north porch, chancel, and a northeast tower incorporating an organ chamber and vestry at ground level. To the southwest are the later additions of a vestibule, toilets and kitchen.

Architecturally, the building is well-composed and forms an important local landmark on the south side of London Road. The north aisle has its own gable, slightly lower than that of the nave, with no clerestory. The style adopted is that of Geometrical architecture of the late 13th century, while the tower employs the simpler lancet style of the early 13th century. The tower is positioned at the east end of the south aisle, featuring both angle and diagonal buttresses, with an entrance to a stair set between a pair of angle buttresses at the northwest corner. The tall ground stage is plainly treated with a two-light window in the east face. The shorter belfry stage has two narrow lancets on each face. Above rises a chamfered spire with small projecting louvred lucarnes set low down, below the upper ends of the chamfers. Windows throughout are of varied forms, with the most impressive being the five-light east window incorporating five circles in its traceried head. Similar three- and four-light windows appear in the west end of the aisle and nave respectively, while other windows contain two or three lights. The south wall clearly demonstrates the building's incomplete state, with a temporary wall faced in stock brick (except at the east end, which is flint with keying prepared for an intended permanent wall).

Interior walls are plastered and whitened. The nave is flanked by arcades of four bays with double-chamfered arches, circular piers, and moulded capitals and bases. The unfinished nature of the building is evident from the existence of a fully-built south arcade with a wall immediately behind it, and springing for a fifth bay at the western end. Between the nave and chancel, which are of equal width, stands an arch with a moulded head and trefoil-section responds. South of the chancel is a two-bay arcade with more elaborated piers of filleted quatrefoil section with subsidiary shafts in the angles. Responses and arch details are correspondingly refined. To the north, the broad and depressed arch to the organ chamber is similarly detailed. The roofs over the nave and north aisle are seven-sided with plain rafters, while the chancel roof is semicircular with plain trusses.

The font is particularly striking, featuring a plain circular bowl of polished variegated brown marble standing on steps of Frosterley-type marble, the same material used for the chancel steps. The stone pulpit has heads set in square panels with painted decoration including the inscription "Take heed how ye hear" in the middle part. A triple sedilia arrangement with dividers between the seats is provided. The pewing scheme is largely complete with square ends featuring miniature buttresses; an unusual and pleasing touch is provided by angel figures standing on eight of the ends. The stalls have poppy-headed ends and traceried frontals. Behind the stalls on the north side is a timber screen of single traceried lights in front of the organ chamber. Victorian pierced cast-iron grills with radiating patterns (alternating from one side to the other) cover the heating ducts throughout the church. A wooden First World War memorial, moved to the west end of the north aisle in 1971, stands in this position. The organ dates from 1871 and is by Hill and Son, reputedly the last built in England before Hill emigrated to Australia. The timber reredos dates from 1915 and was designed by local architect A M Durrant. The east window contains good glass by Frederick Preedy.

The church was built to serve the industrial area then known as Two Waters and Nash Mills (now Apsley End), a major centre of paper-making. The principal promoter was Charles Longman, senior partner in the John Dickinson firm, who wished to build the church as a memorial to his wife Anna Maria, who died in 1860. The new church district was formed from parts of Boxmoor, King's Langley, Abbot's Langley and Leverstock Green. Much of the cost was met by Longman, with additional support from the John Dickinson company, John Dickinson junior, Frederick Pratt Barlow and John Evans. The church was consecrated on 31 August 1871.

Joseph Clarke (1819/20–1888) was a London-based architect whose practice was very largely devoted to church-building and restoration. He served as diocesan surveyor to Canterbury and Rochester, and from 1877 to the newly-created diocese of St Albans, positions which brought him numerous commissions within these dioceses as well as work across much of England. He was also consultant architect to the Charity Commissioners.