St Mary's Churchyard, Willesden

Image: © Marathon Taken: 30 Jul 2014

St Mary's Church is by far the oldest building in Willesden, with parts of the church going back to the 13th and 14th centuries, although the church is recorded as early as 1181. The earliest surviving brass is to Bartholomew Willesden, who died in 1492. The original churchyard, seen here, fronts on to a roundabout at the junction of Neasden Lane and the High Road, whilst at the back the churchyard has been extended to form an L shape. John Betjeman knew the church and wrote a poem about an earlier time when it was still partly set in the countryside, although pollution from nearby factories had already damaged the stone. 'In Willesden Churchyard' includes within its verses: "Come walk with me, my love, to Neasden Lane, The chemicals from various factories Have bitten deep into the Portland stone And streaked the white Carrara of the graves Of many a Pooter and his Caroline, Long laid to rest among these dripping trees"

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