From Domesday until now

The 18th Century

By the 18th century, St Marylebone was no longer simply a small town with a rural community but, rather, a rapidly expanding parish of burgeoning prosperity. The pleasure ground of Marylebone Gardens were laid to the southeast, drawing more people to the area. The Marylebone Pleasure Gardens were opened for “polite, sociability and leisurely retreat.”

 

The second church building was demolished in 1740 and a new one replaced it on the same site. However, between 1739 and 1795, the number of houses in the area grew from 577 to 6200 houses, quickly making this small parish church too small for its community. Thus, a fourth parish church was planned and executed in the 19th century.

During this time, prolific hymnwriter, poet, and cleric, Charles Wesley (1707-1788) lived and worked in St Marylebone. He was a recognized figure in the community, often seen wearing a blue coat and a broad hat while riding a white pony; it was while roaming the streets of St Marylebone that he composed many of his most famous hymns, such as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Love Divine all Loves Excelling.” While on his deathbed, Wesley sent for the Rector of St Marylebone Parish Church, John Harley, and, reportedly, told him “Sir, whatever the world may say of me, I have lived, and I die, a member of the Church of England. I pray you to bury me in your churchyard.” After his passing at the age of 80 on 29 March 1788, in London, his body was carried to the church by six clergymen of the Church of England. Today, a memorial stone to him stands in the Memory Garden in Marylebone High Street, close to his burial sight. One of his sons, Samuel, later became the organist for the parish church.

In 1745, the Old Middlesex Hospital was established on Windmill Street, near St Marylebone Parish Church, to provide medical treatment for the poor. This hospital became the first in England to provide maternity beds for patients. The hospital was moved to Mortimer Street in 1757, where it remained until its eventual closure in 2005. In 1987, it merged with the medical school of University College London.

 

The Old Tyburn Manor House was used as a Hunting Lodge by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Later a boarding school in about 1780, before its demolition in the 1790s.