IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
William Drive, STANMORE, HA7 4EE

There are two churches in Stanmore Churchyard. The old one was consecrated in 1632 by Archbishop Laud. The new church was begun in 1849 and contains much of the furnishings of the old church. Ian Nairn in Nairn's London (1966) says "Behind a mean-minded Victorian church, the ruins of the old one are dissolving away in gentle melancholy. It was built in 1631 by Archbishop Laud to be the old religion revived, very Gothic, though using up-to-date bricks. Now it is roofless, with a mouldering Victorian tomb in the nave, and a triste churchyard around. But lovable, not horrible: bramble and roses growing up to the walls and over the mass-produced headstones; soft, tender dissolution, the kind of end that most people would wish for... Long may it stay so. Gray's Elegy should have been written here, instead of at Stoke Poges."

There are two churches in Stanmore Churchyard. The old one was consecrated in 1632 by Archbishop Laud. The new church was begun in 1849 and contains much of the furnishings of the old church - see Link Ian Nairn in Nairn's London (1966) says "Behind a mean-minded Victorian church, the ruins of the old one are dissolving away in gentle melancholy. It was built in 1631 by Archbishop Laud to be the old religion revived, very Gothic, though using up-to-date bricks. Now it is roofless, with a mouldering Victorian tomb in the nave, and a triste churchyard around. But lovable, not horrible: bramble and roses growing up to the walls and over the mass-produced headstones; soft, tender dissolution, the kind of end that most people would wish for... Long may it stay so. Gray's Elegy should have been written here, instead of at Stoke Poges." See also https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7144853

The red brick church was conscrecrated in 1632 but was replaced in 1850 by Image At that time the roof of the old church was removed but the rest of the structure was left intact. The architect was reputedly Nicholas Stone. Churches of this era are relatively uncommon, falling between the periods of mediaeval village churches, and 18th and 19th century churches built to serve growing urban populations. It is a Grade II* Listed Building.

There are two churches in Stanmore Churchyard. The old one was consecrated in 1632 by Archbishop Laud. The new church was begun in 1849 and contains much of the furnishings of the old church. Ian Nairn in Nairn's London (1966) says "Behind a mean-minded Victorian church, the ruins of the old one are dissolving away in gentle melancholy. It was built in 1631 by Archbishop Laud to be the old religion revived, very Gothic, though using up-to-date bricks. Now it is roofless, with a mouldering Victorian tomb in the nave, and a triste churchyard around. But lovable, not horrible: bramble and roses growing up to the walls and over the mass-produced headstones; soft, tender dissolution, the kind of end that most people would wish for... Long may it stay so. Gray's Elegy should have been written here, instead of at Stoke Poges."

The ruined brick church here served as the parish church of Great Stanmore from the mid-seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth, when it was replaced by a Victorian building that shares the same churchyard.

There are two churches in Stanmore Churchyard. The old one was consecrated in 1632 by Archbishop Laud. The new church was begun in 1849 and contains much of the furnishings of the old church - see Link Ian Nairn in Nairn's London (1966) says "Behind a mean-minded Victorian church, the ruins of the old one are dissolving away in gentle melancholy. It was built in 1631 by Archbishop Laud to be the old religion revived, very Gothic, though using up-to-date bricks. Now it is roofless, with a mouldering Victorian tomb in the nave, and a triste churchyard around. But lovable, not horrible: bramble and roses growing up to the walls and over the mass-produced headstones; soft, tender dissolution, the kind of end that most people would wish for... Long may it stay so. Gray's Elegy should have been written here, instead of at Stoke Poges." See also https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7144853

Two churches stand within the one churchyard. The old 'brick church' was abandoned in about 1850 when a new church was built a little further east. Professor Pevsner, writing in the old Middlesex volume of 'The Buildings of England', refers to the ruined church as 'one of the best ruins in the county'. The date of consecration is given as 1632. The tree in the foreground is a redwood of some sort. It seems oddly out of place in an English churchyard, so that the whole scene might be mistaken for a Hammer film set.

A short history of Stanmore's old and new parish churches , on this wall panel inside the ruined old church.

Stanmore's old brick church was abandoned when the new one was built next to it in the 19C. It is opened from time to time, but not today so this is taken from a window (with flowers growing out of it). That's not a solar panel on the tomb by the way. It's chicken wire over a hole in the roof. Lots about this place on http://www.stjohnsstanmore.org.uk/history/