St Mary's Church Tower in Hornsey

Hello everyone,

This is a picture of me (a long time ago!) next to the historic 13th century tower of St Mary's Church, in Hornsey High Street, North London, close to where I was born. This monument is the only surviving part of the original church, which was pulled down and then rebuilt in 1832, only to be demolished once again in 1927.

Even though the vast majority of the tower dates back to the 13th century, it is thought to have been heightened in 1832, using stones taken from the ruins of the palace of the Bishop of London. The tower is built of reddish sandstone and on its western face are sculptures of two winged angels, bearing the arms of Savage and Warham, successively Bishops of London. The churchyard is sheltered by rows of tall elms, and contains the tomb of the once famous poet Samuel Rogers, a friend of Byron and Dickens. The tomb of Anne Jane Barbara, the youngest daughter of Thomas Moore, can also be found there.

Moore wrote his oriental romance poem Lalla Rookh in the Hornsey area.

I have also included an 1816 map of Hornsey, in which we can see the location of St. Mary’s church. The other image is a mid-nineteenth century painting of the church by J.D. Barnett.

The tower may not be one of the most famous landmarks in an English-speaking country, but I hope that you will agree that it has an interesting history.