St Mary Magdalene, Richmond, in the Anglican Diocese of Southwark, is a Grade II* listed parish church on Paradise Road, Richmond, London. The church was built in the early 16th century but has been greatly altered so that, apart from the tower, the visible parts of the church date from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Since 1996 St Mary Magdalene's has been part of the Richmond Team Ministry, which also includes the churches of St John the Divine and St Matthias. It has a strong musical tradition and offers choral services each Sunday.
History
The initial chapel was built in around 1220. The church was entirely reconstructed during the reign of Henry VII who, after rebuilding the royal palace of Sheen, renamed Sheen as Richmond in 1501. The two bottom sections of the tower that survive from this period were re-faced in flint in 1904. In the early 17th century, a south aisle was added to the nave. The north aisle was added in 1699. The original nave and the south aisle were rebuilt in 1750, and iron window frames replaced the original windows in 1850. The plaster ceiling over the nave was replaced in 1866 by the architect Arthur Blomfield with timberwork, described by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner as "inappropriate". Blomfield also constructed new galleries and replaced the box pews with bench pews. In 1903–04 the architect George Frederick Bodley replaced the chancel with a new chancel, two chapels and a vestry in a Neo-Gothic style. The tower was faced with flint and stone to match the east end. The north and south galleries were removed at this time. The west gallery was removed in 1935–36.
Burials and monuments
Richard Attenborough, Lord Attenborough, actor, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and politician, who lived on Richmond Green. His ashes are interred in a vault beside those of his daughter Jane Holland and his granddaughter, Lucy, both of whom had died in the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004.
The local philanthropist William Hickey, whose bequest funded the building of Hickey's Almshouses in Richmond, is buried in an altar tomb in the churchyard.
Barbara Hofland, author and poet, is buried in the church, and there is also a memorial to her.
The Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean, who died in 1833, is buried in the church. There is also a memorial to him inside the church.
The poet James Thomson, who wrote the lyrics of "Rule, Britannia!" and died in 1748, is buried near the font. There is a brass memorial to him inside the church: it was placed there by David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan in 1792.
The actor Richard Yates was buried at his own request in the chancel by his second wife Mary Ann Yates, who was also a well-known actress; her age is recorded as 49 although she was probably born in Birmingham in 1728.
Bells
The tower contains a ring of eight bells. They bear dates between 1680 and 1761 and were re-hung in a clockwise ring in the 1980s. The tenor bell weighs almost 19 cwt.
Organ
The organ was built in 1907 by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd, who also cleaned it in 1929 and restored it in 1965. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
