Photo from Wikipedia.
Handel used to play the organ in St Lawrence's church. I had no knowledge of this when I was a child and lived almost opposite St Lawrence's Church in Edgware. But I often went to the public park and gardens of North London Collegiate School built alongside the church on the land once owned by the important man (James B r y d g e s) later the first Duke of Chandos) who built the church. During the week, we could see the little school girls in their uniforms marching confidently to prestigious North London Collegiate School in the morning and returning in the evening. Famous girls who went to the school included actress Eleanor Bron, TV personality Esther Rantzen and poet Stevie Smith. My parents were friends with the parents of Esther Bron.
At the weekends I remember the St Lawrence's church bells ringing on a Sunday. On Saturday I saw the joyful weddings, pavements scattered with confetti, the bride and groom and crowds of well-wishers.
On summer weekend afternoons we walked through the vast green park to the neat, formal garden hidden behind the wall at the far end. We stood and admired the grand school building surrounded by trees. You could also walk to the school from the pond in Edgware where we looked for ducks and swans.
Last week I went to a meeting of Harrovian Toastmasters Club in the larger hall by the church. At night I drove past the gravestones in darkness. Beyond the hall I parked in the dimly lit spooky car park, backed by tall trees. A dog barked in the garden of a nearby house.
The Rector's Insights
Inside the hall all was lights and bustle. We were treated to a welcome talk by the rector. He was so jolly, warm, knowledgeable, fluent. Afterwards I asked him what is the difference between a rector and a vicar. He explained that you can be both, just as you can be a school teacher and a deputy head mistress. The rector is appointed by the bishop and in turn appoints to his area a vicar, or two or three, or maybe is the sole vicar or one of the vicars.
The Blacksmith's Grave
The church yard has the grave supposedly of the blacksmith whose hammering inspired a melody composed by Handel. The rector, quite rightly, poo-hooed this idea of the grave belonging to the blacksmith. However, as the late Mr E Rothschild once quoted ironically to me, 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.' Indeed, if it's not true, or not entirely true, but vivid and memorable, just call it a popular legend.
The rector told us lots of stories which made me smile and laugh at the time, although later I frown and wince. The cemetery is still in use and is not likely to run out of space because the graves can be re-used and the graves plots have been used up to six times. The bodies eventually disintegrate. I asked, 'What about the bones?' He beamed, "Bones, too.'
I supposed bones don't take up that much space. Side by side. Layers, like a sandwich. You could even mix them up. Who would know?
He said the Victorians invented the fashion for gravestones. Marble and granite. Very expensive. Before that, people had made do two little cheap wooden posts marking the side of the top of the grave with a cross piece across the top. The horizontal cross piece was just marked with the person's name and date of death.
No birth certificates so nobody knew when they were born. He must mean no gravestones for ordinary people, such as a blacksmith. Visit any museum with Roman stones or look inside a Cathedral and see that the VIPs who were buried inside the cathedral or church had engraved stones or metal plaques. You can see that Roman generals, kings and queens, would have engraved stones.
Equally horrific is the story of how the VIP of Chandos made his money. He was the paymaster for an army. When the men were fighting, they were paid. However, if they died of natural causes, disease, wounds, or outright in battle, payment ceased. The widow and family got nothing. The pay allocated to the soldier went to and stayed with the paymaster. The reverse of The Great War (WWI) and today, where a widow's income gets secured.
With all this money, the paymaster wanted to build the best palace in Europe. He employed wonderful decorators and painters, and one of the great musicians of the day, Handel.
If we were to copy the French system of announcing the tourist features of every city, (which they do along the motorway), maybe we could promote, 'Edgware - Where Handel lived and played'.
Guided Tours
You can visit the church for a guided tour on Sundays between 2 pm and 4 pm in winter and until 5 pm in summer. The tour is free. I took the tour many years ago. Perhaps it's time to pay the church another visit. The nearest station is Canons Park.
CC BY-SA 2.0
File:Little Stanmore, Church of St Lawrence - geograph.org.uk - 92097.jpg
Created: 17 December 2005
Location: 51° 36′ 29.07″ N, 0° 17′ 24.57″ W
https://www.achurchnearyou.com/st-lawrence-whitchurch/
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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