Putney – St Mary’s Church

St. Mary's Church, or the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, sits next to Putney Bridge. This Anglican church has been a place of Christian worship since at least the 13th century. It's also historically significant as the site of the 1647 Putney Debates during the English Civil War, where discussions on the English constitution took place. The church has been Grade II* listed since 1955.

The building has undergone many changes over the centuries. Some parts, like the 15th-century tower, nave arcading, and the early 16th-century Bishop West Chapel, built by Bishop Nicholas West, have survived from medieval times. However, much of the church was rebuilt in 1836 by Edward Lapidge, who used yellow brick and stone to create a more modern structure while retaining some medieval pillars and arches. Both the north and south arcades were widened in the process.

In 1973, the church was severely damaged in an arson attack, and it took nearly a decade to complete the rebuilding. The church was finally rehallowed in February 1982 by Bishop Michael Marshall. Interestingly, the restored church placed the altar halfway down the northern side of the nave instead of in the traditional spot at the east end. The seating now reflects this layout. Ronald Sims oversaw the restoration, and the Danish firm Marcussen & Søn installed the pipe organ.

A quote from the Putney Debates, spoken by Colonel Thomas Rainsborough, is inscribed on one of the church walls: "For really I think that the poorest he that is in England hath a life to live, as the greatest he." In 2005, the church saw the addition of the Brewer Building, a new extension costing £1.7 million, opened by the Bishop of Southwark.

A few notable figures have connections to St. Mary's. Samuel Pepys attended a service here in 1667. Thomas Cromwell was born in Putney and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1533 to 1540. And in Charles Dickens's David Copperfield, this church was the setting for David’s marriage to Dora Spenlow.