St Mary's Church, Twickenham

by Peter Tillemans, c.1724. The tower of St Mary's can be seen on the right of the painting]] The church stands on the site of an earlier one and incorporates its 15th-century medieval tower. On 9 April 1713 the ancient church's 14th-century nave collapsed. The painter Godfrey Kneller was a churchwarden of St Mary's at the time and was active in the plans for reconstruction in the Neo-classical style by the local architect John James. A local resident, Lady Wentworth, wrote a month after the collapse that it had been foreseen by a new vicar, Dr Pratt: On 20 June 1721 Dr Pratt baptised at the church "James Shandayes and John Twogood", described as two Indian princes. They were followed in…