Church Of St Mary Of Eton With St Augustine

The Church of St Mary of Eton with St Augustine is a Grade II* listed building located on Eastway, E9. Founded by the Eton College mission in 1880, the current church was constructed between 1890 and 1892, designed by George Frederick Bodley, who worked with the firm Bodley and Garner. The church was enlarged at the west end between 1910 and 1912, with the addition of vestries and a tower designed by Cecil Hare, Bodley's successor. It features red brick with Bath stone dressing and a high-pitched slated roof, showcasing a decorated style with reticulated or flamboyant tracery.

Inside, the church has an 8-bay nave and chancel beneath a wooden cradle roof, supported by tall rectangular piers with north and south arcades. These arcades feature single chamfered outer and inner arches, the latter resting on corbels. There are narrow passage aisles and an ambulatory behind the altar. A screen designed by Bodley is now located at the west end, and the altar was created by W. Ellery Anderson in 1930. The Lady Chapel, situated at the south-east corner, has a decorated ceiling. The main east window and the east window of the Lady Chapel were designed by Francis Spear in 1953. The west end includes a font from 1891, located in a projecting baptistry with a decorated ceiling, separated from the nave by Bodley's screen, which is painted gold and dark green and features intricate Gothic tracery.

Historically, the church serves as the focal point of the Eton College Mission, founded by William How, the first Bishop of Wakefield, in 1880. Clergy and social workers, primarily former Eton students, lived in the ancillary buildings constructed between 1892 and 1912. In 1953, the parish of St Mary's merged with that of St Augustine's, marking the end of the Etonian connection. This church holds significant importance in Bodley's body of work, being one of the last in his later group of churches and playing a vital role in religious and social outreach.