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St Mark, Hamilton Terrace

A north London church has been seriously damaged in a massive fire. St Mark’s church in Hamilton Terrace, St John’s Wood, has been left blackened and completely gutted in the blaze overnight on 26th and 27th January. Some 80 firefighters fought for nearly four hours to bring the fire under control. The cause has been recorded by the London Fire Brigade as “undetermined”, such was the damage to the building. The church was built in 1846–7 to the designs of Thomas Cundy Jr, and extended in 1866–78 by Benjamin Ferrey. Items from the sacristy, including silverware and vestments, had been rescued and the sacristy itself was still standing. The vicar, the Revd Kate Harrison, said “the gorgeous mosaics that were on the walls have gone, the Victorian pews have gone,the gallery has just disappeared, the organ which was up in the gallery has disappeared. It looks like it’s been hit by a bomb. It’s a shell, with huge amounts of debris inside.” Services have been held in a marquee in the vicarage garden but will transfer into the church hall once the east gable of the church has been made safe.