Description
The still rural hamlet of Wennington has existed from at least 969AD and there was a church here by the C11th. St Mary and St Peter's Church, a C12th stone and flint building, was rebuilt in the C13th and has a C15th tower. Although the church has been much restored in the C19th and C20th, the doorway dates from the C12th church. Among the monuments in the churchyard is that of amateur mathematician Henry Perigal (d.1898), who discovered the proof of Pythagoras' Theorum in 1830, the diagram engraved on his monument. An inscription records his Huguenot descent and states that he 'investigated and illustrated the laws of compound circular motion'.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Wennington Parish Church |
|---|---|
| Site location | Wennington Road/Church Lane, Wennington |
| Postcode | RM13 |
| What3Words | ///farm.charge.round |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Rainham then bus. Bus: 372 |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2009 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
There are records of the hamlet of Wennington in 969ADand there was a church here by 1042-4, when Edward the Confessor, who then owned the manor of 'Winintuna' confirmed the parish as belonging to Westminster Abbey. The manor was later subdivided into separate manors of Wennington Hall, Leventhorpe and Noke. Wennington Hall, a C19th building remodelled in the C20th, remains on the site of the earlier manor houses, once held in the C14th by Sir John Gildesburgh, Speaker in the parliament of Richard II. The small C12th stone and flint parish church of St Mary and St Peter was rebuilt in the C13th and has a C15th tower, but the doorway dates from the original church. It has been much restored in the C19th and C20th. The Friends of Wennington Church was set up in the 1980s when the church was in a bad state of repair and threatened with redundancy, but restored following successful fund-raising.
In the churchyard is the monument of Henry Perigal (1801-98), 'an amazing mathematical tomb' (Weinreb and Hibbert). Perigal, who worked for a London stockbroker, was an amateur mathematician and discovered the proof of Pythagoras' Theorem in 1830, a diagram of which he had printed on his business card. It was later carved on his memorial in Wennington churchyard, where his ashes were buried following his cremation at Woking. The inscription on the tomb records that he was descended from a Huguenot family that fled France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes of 1688 and also states 'he was a learned and ingenious geometrician. He investigated and illustrated the laws of compound circular motion.' Known as 'Cyclops' he was Treasurer of the R Met S & Co for 40 years.
The parish is now joined with that of St Helen and St Giles Rainham (q.v.).
On 19 July 2022 Wennington Village suffered a devastating wildfire on the hottest day of the year, one of a number of wildfires around the country widely acknowledged to be the result of climate change. A number of houses on Wennington Road were destroyed and some residents sheltered in St Mary and St Peter's Church, which was undamaged although it was filled with smoke and the graveyard vegetation was burned. As a result of the fire it was proposed to registerWennington Green (q.v.) as a protected space following a visit to Wennington by London’s Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience, Dr Fiona Twycross, in May 2023, and in 2024 the Green was registered as a Village Green.
In the churchyard is the monument of Henry Perigal (1801-98), 'an amazing mathematical tomb' (Weinreb and Hibbert). Perigal, who worked for a London stockbroker, was an amateur mathematician and discovered the proof of Pythagoras' Theorem in 1830, a diagram of which he had printed on his business card. It was later carved on his memorial in Wennington churchyard, where his ashes were buried following his cremation at Woking. The inscription on the tomb records that he was descended from a Huguenot family that fled France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes of 1688 and also states 'he was a learned and ingenious geometrician. He investigated and illustrated the laws of compound circular motion.' Known as 'Cyclops' he was Treasurer of the R Met S & Co for 40 years.
The parish is now joined with that of St Helen and St Giles Rainham (q.v.).
On 19 July 2022 Wennington Village suffered a devastating wildfire on the hottest day of the year, one of a number of wildfires around the country widely acknowledged to be the result of climate change. A number of houses on Wennington Road were destroyed and some residents sheltered in St Mary and St Peter's Church, which was undamaged although it was filled with smoke and the graveyard vegetation was burned. As a result of the fire it was proposed to registerWennington Green (q.v.) as a protected space following a visit to Wennington by London’s Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience, Dr Fiona Twycross, in May 2023, and in 2024 the Green was registered as a Village Green.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ539809 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.25 |
| Site Ownership | Church |
| Site Management | Church |
| Dates | medieval |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: St Mary and St Peter'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 | Havering |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
Although the hamlet of Wennington existed from at least 969AD, its Village Green dates from the 1920s. The manor of 'Winintune' belonged to Edward the Confessor and then to Westminster Abbey before being subdivided into separate manors. The medieval parish church is to the west of the Green, with Wennington Hall, the former manor house, to the east. The Green was created when the houses that surround it on three sides were built adjacent to Wennington Road, an ancient route that has existed for centuries. A square of undulating land planted with grass and a few small trees, the Green has an ornamental sign inscribed 'Wennington Village' and has been the site of village celebrations and events. In July 2024 Havering Council formally agreed to adopt Wennington as a Village Green.
This area remained agricultural land well into the C20th. Spring Cottages are marked on C19th maps with much of the surrounding area, including the future site of Spring Farm Park, shown as fields. It is first marked as a recreation ground on the 1939 OS, following the footprint of the old field to a great extent, while having lost land along the eastern edge. It appears to have been simply laid out, with perimeter trees, few paths and a pavilion. During WWII the land was used for food production but in 1946 it was reinstated as a public park. From 1948 onwards recreational facilities were provided, including tennis courts, a paddling pool and putting green, and a water garden in 1953, apparently much appreciated by elderly visitors.
This area of Rainham was still largely fields in the 1930s when the Federation of Synagogues established its Jewish Cemetery here in 1938, although the routes of both Upminster Road and Launders Lane were marked on earlier maps. The Federation had been set up in 1887, largely at the instigation of Samuel Montagu, wealthy banker, Liberal MP and philanthropist. By 1939 the cemetery was laid out with colonnaded prayer building and hall, approached by a drive from the main entrance on Upminster Road with a further drive from an entrance to the west. The area to the east was the first to be used for burial, laid out in a grid pattern of paths. Even into the C21st part of the land has remained rural in aspect.