St Mary with St Alban

Our parish hall is home to a wide-range of church and community activities, including handbell ringing, play groups, dance and yoga classes and children’s parties.

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a history of the parish hall

The hall was originally built in the 1880s or early 1890s, to accommodate the children and servants(!) of the congregation, as the church was always full to capacity. Teddington was very fashionable at that time, but after the arrival of the railways in 1863, the rich inhabitants moved further out as the suburb grew.

In 1888, St Alban church was consecrated. However, by 1908 when Francis Leith Boyed (who was the Vicar at the time of building the church and hall) left the parish, it was still not finished. Legacies were left for the completion of St Alban amounting to many hundreds of pounds but, as this money was in probate, the Charity Commissioners refused to release it for any other purpose.

When Revd. John Cleaver came to St Mary with St Alban church in the early 1990s, he persuaded the Bishop of London to intervene, and the money (which had grown to a considerable sum, due to 100 years of interest) was released for the restoration of the hall, which had become very dilapidated. A sizable donation was given to the Landmark Centre and the rest used to produce today’s excellent parish hall with its offices, large and small halls, fully-equipped kitchen and toilet facilities.

St Mary with St Alban PCC at the time intentionally named the building St Mary’s Parish Hall (rather than St Mary’s Church Hall) as its use was considered to be for all parishioners and not just members of the congregation. On 15th June 1997, the Bishop of London (the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Richard Chartres) visited the parish to dedicate the newly-refurbished hall. In the intervening decade, it has proved to be a positive resource for the whole community.

During the summer of 2005, following permission from the Bishop of Kensington (the Right Reverend Michael Colclough), the hall was used as a place of worship during redecoration of the church’s interior. In June 2007 many of the people who were involved with the hall project were invited back to celebrate the 10th anniversary since refurbishment; the event also coincided with the launch of this website on the church’s patronal weekend.

If you would like to find out more details about St Mary’s Parish Hall, or how to hire one of its rooms for an event, please click here.