St Mary's Church, Twickenham 2.9

St Mary's Church, Twickenham, also known as St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, is a Grade II* listed Church of England place of worship dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin in Church Street, Twickenham, Middlesex, England.The parish church stands a short distance from York House and the banks of the River Thames, immediately opposite Eel Pie Island.HistoryThe church stands on the site of an earlier one and incorporates its 15th-century medieval tower. On 9 April 1713 the ancient church's 14th-century nave collapsed. The painter Godfrey Kneller was a churchwarden of St Mary's at the time and was active in the plans for reconstruction in the Neo-classical style by the local architect John James. A local resident, Lady Wentworth, wrote a month after the collapse that it had been foreseen by a new vicar, Dr Pratt:Inside the 18th-century church some older monuments have survived from the medieval nave, including a brass to Richard Burton, the King's chief cook, and Agnes his wife, dated 1443.On 20 June 1721 Dr Pratt baptised at the church "James Shandayes and John Twogood", described as two Indian princes. They were followed in 1747 by Henry Fielding's son William. Hallam Tennyson, son of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and eventually second Governor-General of Australia, was christened at the church in 1852.