Description
The churchyard of St Mary the Virgin was a post-mediaeval graveyard, now closed to burials. The red brick church was built in 1817, although the church tower dated from an earlier church of 1708. The building burnt down in 1969 and has been substantially rebuilt. There are monuments dating from Tudor times, with fine late C18th and early C19th memorials in the churchyard, which is planted with beech, Scots pine and yew. An unmarked tomb is the grave of Sir Thomas Roe (d .1644) who was one of England's foremost foreign ambassadors. A large draped urn marks the graves of the parents of William Morris, who lived nearby at Woodford Hall and at Water House, now in Lloyds Park.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Woodford Parish Church; St Mary's with St Philip and St James |
|---|---|
| Site location | High Road, South Woodford, Essex |
| Postcode | E18 2QS |
| What3Words | ///snacks.grows.soon |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Redbridge |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: South Woodford (Central). Bus: 179, W13. |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The churchyard of St Mary the Virgin is a post-mediaeval graveyard; it is now closed to burials. The red brick church was built in 1817 by Charles Begon, although the church tower dated from an earlier church of 1708. In 1816 Parliament had passed an Act for 'enlarging, improving, and repairing the church' at a cost of £3000; after the Bishop of London dedicated the church, 1,209 poor persons were fed. In 1891 the church was enlarged to accommodate the expanding population of Woodford. The church burnt down in 1969 and was substantially rebuilt, the new building designed by John Phillips. It was re-dedicated by the Bishop of Barking on June 3 1972, and incorporated a chapel dedicated to St Philip and St James, commemorating the amalgamation of the two parishes the previous year. While the church was being rebuilt services were held in the Memorial Hall, which had been donated to the parish by Sir John Roberts in 1902 in memory of his brother.
There are monuments dating from Tudor times in the church such as that for Rowland Elrington and his wife. The churchyard is planted with notable beech, Scots pine and yew and contains many fine monuments, including Samuel Robinson's Neo-classical monument of 1784; the Raikes Mausoleum of c.1797 for Robert Raikes, a pioneer for the education of poor children; the tall column of the Godfrey family monument, c.1742 by Sir Robert Taylor; the Micklefield Monument, c.1826, and William Hunt, 1767. An unmarked tomb in the churchyard is the grave of Sir Thomas Roe (d.1644) who was one of England's foremost foreign ambassadors. A young courtier in Elizabeth I's reign, he was knighted by James I and explored South American rivers for the Prince of Wales. His first ambassadorial work was to successfully establish trade foundations in the Bombay region through visiting the Mogul Emperor of Hindustan. He subsequently travelled extensively and his achievements included negotiating peace treaties between Turkey and Poland, and between Sweden and Poland, and securing trade treaties with Danzig and Denmark. He was sent abroad as English Ambassador Extraordinary to a conference for settling general European Peace and James I had a gold medal struck in his honour. Manuscripts he collected on his travels are now in the Bodleian Library and the British Museum. A large draped urn in the churchyard marks the graves of the parents of William Morris, who lived nearby at Woodford Hall, which had been located behind the Memorial Hall, and at Water House, now in Lloyds Park (q.v.).
Next to the church and bordering the churchyard is an Arts and Crafts style Parish Hall dated 1902. A fine copper beech in front of the church has a tree plaque marking it as one of the Great Trees of London. Edward Walford, writing in 1883, describes the monuments in the churchyard in some detail as well as a tremendous yew: 'on the south side of the church is a yew-tree of enormous growth; the trunk, at three feet from the ground, is over fourteen feet in girth, whilst its boughs form a circle of nearly two hundred feet. The local tradition is that this tree is as old as the church but it is probably older even than the fabric which was pulled down in 1816.'
There are monuments dating from Tudor times in the church such as that for Rowland Elrington and his wife. The churchyard is planted with notable beech, Scots pine and yew and contains many fine monuments, including Samuel Robinson's Neo-classical monument of 1784; the Raikes Mausoleum of c.1797 for Robert Raikes, a pioneer for the education of poor children; the tall column of the Godfrey family monument, c.1742 by Sir Robert Taylor; the Micklefield Monument, c.1826, and William Hunt, 1767. An unmarked tomb in the churchyard is the grave of Sir Thomas Roe (d.1644) who was one of England's foremost foreign ambassadors. A young courtier in Elizabeth I's reign, he was knighted by James I and explored South American rivers for the Prince of Wales. His first ambassadorial work was to successfully establish trade foundations in the Bombay region through visiting the Mogul Emperor of Hindustan. He subsequently travelled extensively and his achievements included negotiating peace treaties between Turkey and Poland, and between Sweden and Poland, and securing trade treaties with Danzig and Denmark. He was sent abroad as English Ambassador Extraordinary to a conference for settling general European Peace and James I had a gold medal struck in his honour. Manuscripts he collected on his travels are now in the Bodleian Library and the British Museum. A large draped urn in the churchyard marks the graves of the parents of William Morris, who lived nearby at Woodford Hall, which had been located behind the Memorial Hall, and at Water House, now in Lloyds Park (q.v.).
Next to the church and bordering the churchyard is an Arts and Crafts style Parish Hall dated 1902. A fine copper beech in front of the church has a tree plaque marking it as one of the Great Trees of London. Edward Walford, writing in 1883, describes the monuments in the churchyard in some detail as well as a tremendous yew: 'on the south side of the church is a yew-tree of enormous growth; the trunk, at three feet from the ground, is over fourteen feet in girth, whilst its boughs form a circle of nearly two hundred feet. The local tradition is that this tree is as old as the church but it is probably older even than the fabric which was pulled down in 1816.'
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ400907 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Church of England |
| Site Management | Church, supported by grant from Westerleigh Group |
| Dates | C18th; early C19th |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Raikes Mausoleum, Godfrey Monument. LBII: St Mary's Church, North monument, Keepe monument, monument outside south porch (Samuel Robinson & Micklefield Monuments) |
| 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 | Redbridge |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | South Woodford |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaeology Priority Area |
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
Rectory Court is on the former site of the old vicarage of St Mary the Virgin Woodford. The C18th building became the offices for the new borough of Wanstead and Woodford in 1937 and was subsequently used as Woodford Crown Court, a Magistrates Court from 1968-88. The site has now been developed as private housing. In the C19th its garden off Woodford High Road had a circular carriage sweep, mature cedar, and other trees. Within the curtilege was a garden designed by Humphry Repton in c.1801 for John Maitland of Woodford Hall, most of which was destroyed with the construction of the neighbouring court house. As a boy, William Morris lived at Woodford Hall with his parents who have a memorial in the adjacent churchyard.
Elmhurst, an C18th house with an area of garden to the front, is a fragment of a gentleman's estate. It was originally known as Grove House, having been built to the designs of Joel Johnson of Walthamstow in 1771 by Sylvanus Grove who came to Woodford in 1770. It was later owned by a Quaker tea merchant, Smith Harrison, whose wife Jane was a sister of Lord Lister. Part of the estate was separated from the house when the railway came through the area and was later laid out as a public park, Elmhurst Gardens. The large front garden had two stone urns and was largely lawn with some shrubs and notable trees, including cedar and horse chestnuts; a C20th red brick wall divided the property from High Road. A photograph of c.1900 shows the house front with the cedar tree relatively unchanged. By 1939 it was in use as a hostel, and tennis courts had been built behind the house, and it later became a conference centre connected to Queen Mary College. Elmhurst was sold for residential development with the house converted as part restaurant and part offices.
The Shrubberies, a terrace of six identical pairs of houses with a detached house at the east end, was built in the late C19th and remain fronted by the original strip of landscaping, laid out as a setting to the terrace. Built as a speculative residential development when the area was becoming built up following arrival of the railway, these simple Edwardian-style houses retain most of their original features. The garden strip is laid out with grass, some flower and shrub beds and a few trees, including a row of limes.
