St Peter's Church, Petersham


St Peter's Church is the parish church of the village of Petersham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is part of the Diocese of Southwark in the Church of England. The main body of the church building dates from the 16th century, although parts of the chancel are 13th century and evidence in Domesday Book suggests that there may have been a church on the site in Saxon times. Nikolaus Pevsner and Bridget Cherry describe it as a "church of uncommon charm... interior is well preserved in its pre-Victorian state". The church, which is Grade II* listed, includes Georgian box pews, a two-decker pulpit made in 1796, and a display of the royal arms of the House of Hanover, installed in 1810. Several notable people are buried in the churchyard, which includes some Grade II-listed tombs.

Marriages at St Peter's

, cousin of Charles II, is said to have married, at Petersham in 1664, Lady Francesca Bard, mother of his son Dudley Bard.
Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart married John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, in 1672.
Lady Jane Hyde, the daughter of Henry Hyde, Earl of Rochester, married William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex at the church on 27 November 1718. Sir Godfrey Kneller's portrait of her is one of the "Beauties" at Hampton Court Palace.
Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck, who lived in a house on Ham Common, married at the church in 1881. Their daughter, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, married the Duke of York in 1923 and became Queen Elizabeth in 1936 when the duke came to the throne as King George VI.

Burials and memorials

The oldest headstone in the churchyard is that of Mary Karze. It is Grade II listed.
Henry Lidgbird Ball, Royal Navy officer, best known for discovering and exploring Lord Howe Island, is buried in the family vault of his wife Anne Georgianna Henrietta Johnston. A commemorative plaque marking Ball was added to the Johnston tomb on 20 October 2013 at a service attended by the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Mary Berry, author and editor, and her sister Agnes Berry, are buried in the churchyard.
Major General Sir Jeremiah Bryant CB was a British Army officer in the Bengal Army.
Mary Burdekin, believed to be the first baker of Maids of Honour pastries, is buried in the churchyard.
Sir George Cole and his family are commemorated in the monument in the chancel erected in 1624. He was called to the bar in 1597 and was a member of the Middle Temple. He married his wife Frances at St. Peter’s in 1585. The family vault is under the chancel.
Theodora Jane Cowper, the cousin of the poet William Cowper, is buried in the churchyard.
John Darbourne, architect, is buried in the churchyard.
Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, is buried in a Grade II-listed tomb in the churchyard.
Sir John Whittaker Ellis is buried in the churchyard and has a plaque in the north chancel. He was Lord Mayor of London from 1881 to 1882 and the first mayor of the Municipal Borough of Richmond from 1890 to 1891.
Gordon Forbes, a senior officer in the British Army.
Elston Grey-Turner CBE MC TD was a British doctor, secretary of the British Medical Association from 1976-79.
Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, Orientalist and philologist, is buried in the family tomb in the churchyard. The family monument was erected by his half-brother William Halhed.
Sir Thomas Jenner is buried in the churchyard. There is also a plaque to him on the chancel wall.
Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale, who became Countess of Dysart on the death of her father, William Murray, the owner of Ham House, married the Duke of Lauderdale at Petersham in 1672. She is buried with other Dysart family members in a vault under the chancel.
Albert Henry Scott, photographer and third son of the architect George Gilbert Scott, is buried in the churchyard; his tomb is Grade II listed.
Major General Sir Humphry Thomas Tollemache, 6th Baronet, senior Royal Marines officer, and his wife Nora Priscilla are buried in the churchyard.
The explorer Captain George Vancouver wrote A Voyage Of Discovery To The North Pacific Ocean, And Round The World when staying in Petersham. There is a memorial tablet to him in the church and he is buried in the churchyard; his grave is Grade II listed.
A pink granite tomb marks the grave of painter and sculptor Glyn Philpot RA.
Also in the churchyard is the local war memorial, in the form of a stone cross. In February 2017 it was also given Grade II listed status.