Description
St Mary the Virgin Church at Beddington is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. Fragments of the church building date from just post the Norman Conquest, although the building is largely C14th. Between the churchyard and Beddington Manor house are brick and flint walls dating from at least the C17th, those to south and west of later date. The oldest part of the churchyard is to the south and west of the church, with a picturesque lych-gate on Church Road. Between 1829-69, a number of structural changes were made to the church, including repairs to the tower, and c.1868 the area for burials was enlarged when land to the west across Church Road was laid out as a graveyard. The extension has flint walls and a large entrance-gate, erected c.1868. In the mid 1960s the churchyard extension was re-ordered with gravestones laid flat and repairs were carried out to the flint boundary walls. A fine memorial with cross is located n the churchyard extension.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Beddington Parish Church |
|---|---|
| Site location | Church Road, Beddington |
| Postcode | SM6 7NL |
| What3Words | ///tree.runs.loud |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Sutton |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | none |
| Public Transport | Rail: Hackbridge. Bus: 55, 407, 410, 726. |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2016 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The gateway at the entrance of the western graveyard was designed by Joseph Clarke c.1868; it has an inscription above the entrance: 'All that are in the graves shall hear the voice of God and shall come forth'. The churchyard is now closed to burials.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ295652 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Church of England |
| Site Management | Church of England in association with Sutton Conservation Group |
| Dates | medieval; extension: c.1868 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: St Mary the Virgin Church. LBII: churchyard/churchyard extension walls, lych-gate to churchyard; entrance-gate to western extension of churchyard; C19 lamp standard in churchyard |
| 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 | Sutton |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Beddington North |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance I |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The site includes Beddington Park and The Grange, once part of the substantial estate owned from the C14th by the influential Carew family, whose connection with Beddington continued for 4 centuries. Beddington Park was part of the deer park attached to Carew Manor. In the C16th Sir Francis Carew laid out elaborate gardens, fragments of which remain. The estate lands were being sold off for housing development from the late 1860s, and Beddington & Wallington UDC purchased land between 1904-27, part of which became the public park. The Carew Manor House is now Carew Manor School. In 1935 the UDC acquired The Grange and its ornamental gardens, laid out by Alfred Smee from 1850. The lake, originally a mill pond, and trees planted by Smee remain today.
Riverside Walk is an area of land that until c.1930 was watercress beds to the rear of Beddington Park on the River Wandle, although there is no trace of this usage, now covered over.
Bandon Hill Cemetery is a large Victorian cemetery laid out on a grid pattern in 1899 and opened in 1900 with the first burial on 7 March. It was created on open land to the south of Queenswood House. Originally set up Croydon Rural District Council, it was later the responsibility of a joint burial authority as a result of boundary changes. Its historic features include mature trees, the original entrance lodge and pair of chapels. There are a few significant graves, such as that of the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (d.1912), whose memorial features musical notes from his composition 'Hiawatha'.