London - Harrow-on-the-Hill St. Mary's Church - postcard c.1980s

^{Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.}

^{Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).}

^{------------------------------------------------}

^{Postage & Packing:}

^{Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).}

^{No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).}

^{Payment Methods:}

^{UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order}

^{Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).}

^{NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!}

^{I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.}

^{----------------------------------------------}

^{Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :}

^{*************}

^{St Mary's, Harrow on the Hill, is the Borough and Parish Church at Harrow on the Hill in northwest London, England. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]}

^{Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, began the construction of a church on this site in 1087. He died in 1089. His successor was St Anselm, who at the age of 60 was enthroned – after considerable delay – as Archbishop in September 1093.[citation needed]}

^{The new church building, now completed and dedicated in the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was consecrated by St Anselm on 4 January 1094[2][3] (a most appropriate date, as at the time, 25 December was a more pagan festival and Christians kept the feast of the Epiphany or Old Christmas Day as it came to be called – as their principal feast of the birth of Christ).}

^{Little of this original building remains apart from the lower section of the tower. The Chancel, with its fine arch and lancet windows, had been constructed by the end of the 12th century and this was followed by the rebuilding of the nave and the addition of the two transepts. The Rector of Harrow at this time was one Elias of Dereham (who was also involved in the building of Salisbury Cathedral) and it was he who appointed the first vicar, John de Holtune, about the year 1236.[citation needed]}

^{In 1324, two chantries (small chapels endowed for the purpose of special prayer on behalf of their benefactors) were founded. One was the Chantry of St Michael in the free chapel of Tokyngton, which was situated about one and a half miles away in Wembley. The second was founded by the then rector, William de Bosco, ‘‘to the honour of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary’’,[citation needed] and was in the present building. It had been assumed that this chantry was somewhere in the south transept, but recent investigations have convincingly suggested that it was over the south porch.}

^{The small room, still there at the top of the staircase, contains evidence of Norman work, traces of colour decoration on the roof beams and a carved niche. John Byrkhede, himself a master builder, was appointed Rector of St Mary's in 1437, and died at Harrow in 1468.[4] By 1450, the present clerestory windows, the nave and transept roofs, in the chancel and the upper stages of the tower with its famous spire, had been constructed. The roofs of the nave and transepts are reckoned to be the finest in Middlesex with 377 carvings,[3] while the spire is covered with 12 tons of lead.}

^{400 years later, extensive restoration and renovation took place under George Gilbert Scott between 1846 and 1849.[5] A parapet was added to the nave and aisle roofs, the north wall of the chancel was pulled down to enlarge the building, the east walls were rebuilt, the church building faced with flint and a vestry added to the north side. This vestry was further enlarged about the turn of the 20th century.}

^{A proposal in 1893 to build an organ at the south side of the chancel was abandoned when three Norman windows were uncovered, still showing decoration on the splays.[5]}

^{The chancel roof, which had been renewed in the 18th century, was decorated in 1972 by Campbell Smith & Co.[citation needed]}

^{There are thirteen ancient brasses in the church, mostly badly mutilated. The cope, to be seen in the North transept, was made for the 900th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone, and the embroidered designs on this were copied from the mutilated brass of John Byrkhede in the chancel.[citation needed]}