The parish of Saint Mary, Stepney, was originally part of
Christ Church, Watney Street. It was situated in a very poor slum area, known as
"Sun Tavern Fields" or "No Man's Land". The vicar of Christ
Church, William Quickett had managed to get schools opened in 1849 and on the
same day the foundation stone of a new church was laid by Lord Hadda. The church
was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester on 22nd May 1850.
"This parish, originally part of Christ Church, Watney
Street, was a very poor slum know as Sun Tavern Fields, or No Man's Land. The
Vicar of Christ Church, William Quekett, had opened schools in arches under the
London and Blackwall Railway, and in 1847 he appealed for funds to build
permanent schools and a church. Lord Richard Grosvenor laid the foundation stone
of a new school, designed by George Smith, who was architect to the Mercers'
Company, on 2 May 1848. This was opened on 12 October 1849 on the same day that
Lord Haddo, the eldest son of the Earl of Aberdeen, laid the foundation stone of
the new church.
Lord Haddo had known the district for some years, having been connected with St
Jude's Whitechapel, and had admired the work of Mr Quekett. When he had heard
about the need for a church in the area he at once offered to build and endow
one. Frederick J Francis, the architect of St Jude's, designed a simple church
without a tower and spire, which was to seat 1000. The idea of adding a tower
and spire occurred to Lord Haddo while the church was being built, and Francis
was told to design and build them. The total cost of building St Mary's Church,
including an endowment of £3,200, was £10,000.
The building was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester on 22 May 1850, on
which occasion the donor modestly sat at the back of the church and refused an
invitation to the luncheon that followed. The dedication to St Mary was made at
Lord Haddo's request as a tribute to his wife.
The church is designed in the early 'middle-pointed' style of the early
fourteenth century, and built in brick faced in coursed limestone. It consists
of a nave and aisles of five bays with a shallow chancel. The base of the tower
forms the lower vestry. A room at first-floor level, open to the chancel to the
north, was probably originally intended as the organ chamber, but now serves as
the upper vestry. There is a small gallery at the west end of the nave.
Galleries were probably intended for the north and south aisles, but these were
never constructed.
There are two fonts, both by the west porch: one, the original, is a large stone
construction with an unusual wooden cover. The second, a small wooden one,
serves as a holy water stoup, and came originally from the chapel of a home for
fallen women in Paddington.
The original pulpit was of stone, but was later replaced by one of carved oak,
said to have come from a demolished City church c1880. This, and the original
choir stalls, were removed in the re-ordering of the church in 1986. In the
short chancel, the High Altar and tester above it were installed in the 1950s as
a memorial to Fr Robert Thornewill, who was the Vicar from 1914 to 1950. The
nave altar and reordering were executed in memory of Fr Peter Clynick, the Vicar
from 1959 to 1985.
One of the more remarkable pieces of furniture in the church is a lectern of
carved wood, representing an angel with outstretched wings, above an anchor. The
base and stand are of different origins, and the piece predates the building of
the church, probably made up from late seventeenth century woodwork. The
communion rails in the south aisle are of a similar date. The painted altar in
the south aisle came from a convent in Kilburn, c1890. On the wall of the south
aisle hangs an unusual memorial board with names, including donors, from 1864 to
1956.
In the north aisle there is a series of five stained glass windows, c1930, by
Christopher Charles Powell. They illustrate various incidents in the life of the
Blessed Virgin Mary: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Christ, the
Presentation in the Temple and the Epiphany. The pipe organ was installed very
soon after the consecration of the church, and is a virtually unaltered early
example of the work of 'Father' Willis.
In the late 1980s the original clergy house and hall were demolished and
rebuilt. The clergy house now forms part of a small block of flats, All Saints
Court, opposite the west door of the church. The hall, opened in 1991, consists
of three storeys, two of which house the Tower Hamlets Community Drugs Team. In
2007 a building was constructed behind the hall, in partnership with the London
Borough of Tower Hamlets, to provide more facilities in the field of drug
counselling services."
Source St Mary's Cable Street blog.