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Today St Mary’s provides an oasis of calm for anyone seeking a place for
prayer, contemplation, or merely peace and quiet. Everyone is welcome at
any of our services (More here...) Additionally
the church is open most mornings during the year and on Sundays, in between
services.
Apart from the sense of space and silence
which greets you as you enter, you will become aware of the many people who
have been there before you by the varied and interesting memorials on
display inside. One or two, such as the funeral hatchment
for Lord Nelson are of the famous, others are for well known local families,
such as the Raynes and many others are of people important in their time.
The effigies of Sir Gregory Lovell, from the sixteenth century, his wives
and children, together with his ceremonial helmet hanging above, are well
worth looking out for.
In the tree filled
graveyard which surrounds the church, (now managed by Merton Council) you
can find the tombs of John Innes and William Rutlish, whose endowment lead
to the founding of our local boys’ school. Look out for the lovely poem put
on his wife’s headstone, by the bookseller Mr Lackington.
Exploring
other graves will lead you to the entrance to the glebe fields. These offer
a unique green space for people to wander through, and also provide a
habitat for a variety of wild life. An increasing range of plants and
flowers flourish there. Woodpeckers, long tailed tits and an owl inhabit it
and recently a pair of sparrow hawks have nested there.
There is much that is
worthwhile to find at St Mary’s, do come and visit us. |
