Place Name
This road, which was only developed in the final years of the 19thCentury, as the town’s population expanded leads to St Mary’s. There has been a place of worship on the hill for more than a 1,000 years and the original church was mentioned in 1086 in the Domesday Book. The present building, which serves as the parish church for Wimbledon Village, was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott who completed it in 1843. The design incorporated elements of previous incarnations, including a Perpendicular Gothic style, and its tower, rebuilt in 1788, is one of the few surviving features from earlier buildings. The tower houses a peal of ten bells and as the church stands on the hill, or down, that gave Wimbledon its name, its 196-foot spire is a landmark for some miles around. St Mary’s has long-standing connections to notable historical figures. It was the church of Robert, Lord Burghley, an important adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, and his tomb is in the church. The Spencer family, ancestors of Princess Diana, were lords of the manor of Wimbledon, so also had connections to St Mary’s, and members of the family are buried in the churchyard. At the east end of the churchyard is the large mausoleum of Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, the renowned engineer of the Embankment and the sewer system in London. The church is a Grade II listed building, reflecting its architectural and historical significance.
