England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Marylebone Christ Church

The Parish

The parish of St Marylebone lies in south central Middlesex, part of the northern portion of the city of Westminster and about 2 miles west of the city of London. Once a distinct small community and a reputed haunt of robbers and bandits it was described in medieval sources as a dangerous place and difficult of access. This lonely hamlet in the countryside outside the urban area is nowadays an integral part of central London. As late as 1601 documents record the entertainment of the Russian ambassador by hunting in the rural retreat of Marylebone Park. Development of the area began in or around 1715 and by the end of the 18th century St Marylebone was part of the fashionable West End of London and covered in large properties of the wealthy. Population in the area grew such that by the early part of the 19th century it was decided more churches were needed to support the population and Christ Church was added amongst that tranche. Today St Marylebone is little more than a name on the map, such is the urban area of London it is now an integral part of the city's infrastructure, holding such attractions as Regent's Park and its zoo, Lords cricket ground and Madam Tussauds. Like much of London's urban area most drainage is now sub-surface travelling the short distance to the nearby Thames and the North Sea. Christ Church parish is sited at around 30 metres above the sea, land rises steadily to the local height of almost 100 metres on nearby Parliament Hill. Christ Church parish area was very small but intensely populated being supportive of the area of Lisson Grove to the north of the Marylebone Road. By the census of 1831 St Marylebone's population had increased to close to 140,000 and Christ Church would have held a substantial proportion of that very high total. In Domesday times St Marylebone was a tiny place, a holding of Barking Abbey offering just 3 ploughs and a small patch of woodland.

The Church

Christ Church sits on the western side of Cosway Street, this street runs northwards from the Marylebone Road roughly midway between Marylebone and Edgware Road underground stations. The church is no longer used for worship having been closed in the 1970s. The church was built in the early 1820s funded, as were so many in that era, by the Commissioners. Pevsner describes the church as "an inexpensive but stately church" of a solid brick rectangle topped off by its Ionic portico to the east. The tower rises behind that portico and is topped by a polygonal cupola. Obviously the interior is now inaccessible as the building is privately owned but the exterior dominates the junction of Cosway Street and Bell Street and like most London churches is best visited on foot by use of the tube.