Description
St Mark's Church was consecrated in 1853, although plans to establish a new district within St Pancras Parish were discussed from 1848 and initially a temporary church was provided. The chancel was added in 1889-90, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield. In 1928 the new vicar was Hugh Stuckey, who was instrumental in reviving the church through difficult times, opening the garden in 1930 to visitors to London Zoo for tea parties on Summer Bank Holiday Mondays, which led to the church's nickname The Zoo Church. Rebuilt after bomb damage, the church retains its original stone wall and gateway. The garden has grass, flower beds and a number of mature trees, with numerous shrubs where the ground slopes down towards the Regent's Canal.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | St Mark's Regent's Park |
|---|---|
| Site location | St Mark's Square/Prince Albert Road |
| Postcode | NW1 7TN |
| What3Words | ///bags.fingernails.grabs |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted to garden. Church open on Fridays in autumn months (call to check) |
| Public Transport | Tube: Chalk Farm (Northern). London Overground: Camden Road. Bus: 274. |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
St Mark's Church was consecrated in 1853, although plans to establish a new district within the parish of St Pancras had been mooted from 1848. This was at the instigation of the vicar of St Pancras, Dr Thomas Dale, and others who raised awareness of the need to serve outlying areas of the parish where the population was expanding rapidly. Initially a temporary church was provided near the site for the new church, licensed on 16 March 1848 by Dr Blomfield, Bishop of London. The Kentish ragstone church was built in 1851-2 by Thomas Little, a local architect who also provided the ground. The chancel was added to the building in c.1889-90, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, son of the Bishop of London.
In 1928 the new vicar was Hugh Stuckey, who was instrumental in reviving the church through difficult times. In 1930 he devised the idea of opening the church garden to visitors to London Zoo for tea parties on Summer Bank Holiday Mondays, which led to the church's nickname, 'The Zoo Church'. This initiative had an added benefit of bringing in much needed revenue, and the events were a great success with visitors, who had the opportunity to look round the church and attend an evening organ recital.
In 1938 Sir Ninian Comper created a fine altar-piece for the church. The building was gutted in 1940 as a result of an incendiary bomb on 21 September followed soon afterwards by another bomb. It was not reconstructed until 1957, the new church designed by Arthur Knapp-Fisher. A new High Altar reredos by Sir Ninian Comper was completed by 1959.
Adjacent to Regent's Canal (q.v.) the churchyard garden slopes down towards the canal, overgrown with numerous shrubs. The church has its original stone wall to St Mark's Square and Prince Albert Road, with a stone gateway onto Prince Albert Road. This area of the churchyard is laid out with grass and flower beds and has a number of mature trees.
Near the church is the fine ornamental St Mark's Bridge leading to Regent's Park (q.v.) over the Grand Union Canal that was built in c.1864 replacing an earlier suspension bridge.
In 1928 the new vicar was Hugh Stuckey, who was instrumental in reviving the church through difficult times. In 1930 he devised the idea of opening the church garden to visitors to London Zoo for tea parties on Summer Bank Holiday Mondays, which led to the church's nickname, 'The Zoo Church'. This initiative had an added benefit of bringing in much needed revenue, and the events were a great success with visitors, who had the opportunity to look round the church and attend an evening organ recital.
In 1938 Sir Ninian Comper created a fine altar-piece for the church. The building was gutted in 1940 as a result of an incendiary bomb on 21 September followed soon afterwards by another bomb. It was not reconstructed until 1957, the new church designed by Arthur Knapp-Fisher. A new High Altar reredos by Sir Ninian Comper was completed by 1959.
Adjacent to Regent's Canal (q.v.) the churchyard garden slopes down towards the canal, overgrown with numerous shrubs. The church has its original stone wall to St Mark's Square and Prince Albert Road, with a stone gateway onto Prince Albert Road. This area of the churchyard is laid out with grass and flower beds and has a number of mature trees.
Near the church is the fine ornamental St Mark's Bridge leading to Regent's Park (q.v.) over the Grand Union Canal that was built in c.1864 replacing an earlier suspension bridge.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ282837 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Church, Diocese of London |
| Site Management | Church |
| Dates | 1851-52 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: St Mark's Church |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Camden |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
The Regent's Canal runs from Little Venice to Limehouse Basin and is 13.5 km long. Part of the Grand Union Canal system, it was built to link the Grand Junction Canal's Paddington Arm with the Thames. The c.2.75km Camden section begins at Regent's Park, runs through Camden Town, and leaves the borough at York Way; a former pumping house of 1898 was converted to a Lock Keeper's Cottage in 1926. Thomas Homer's proposal for the canal found approval with John Nash in 1811, at the time designing Regent's Park; Nash's associate James Morgan drew up plans in 1811, which were passed by Act of Parliament in 1812. The Regent's Canal Company was set up and the canal was fully completed in 1820. Its importance for trade was later superseded by the coming of the railways but it is now a popular public amenity.
Cecil Sharp was a key figure in reviving modern English folk music, joining the Committee of the Folk Song Society in 1904. In 1911 he founded the English Folk Dance Society; the two societies later amalgamated. Sharp died in 1924, bequeathing his library to the Society, which raised funds to buy a plot of land on which to build its national headquarters and memorial to him. Cecil Sharp House opened in June 1930 and according to original plans its triangular garden was intended as an open air theatre, although there is no evidence that it was used as such. Two curving flights of stairs lead from the building onto lawn, with a semi-circular seating area set into the wall at the apex of the triangle. The garden today contains shrubs, flowers and trees, some planted in memory of people connected to the Society.
Regent's Park Terrace consists of 22 four-storey houses built c1840-50 in front of which is a private roadway and a strip of garden with a boundary wall to Oval Road. The garden was provided for the use of the tenants and lessees of the terrace, who paid an appropriate amount for its maintenance. It remains today much as it was in the early C20th, with grass, shrubs and mature trees.
