Church of St Mary Magdalene, North Ockendon

The church of St Mary Magdalene stands in North Ockendon, a village on the edge of Greater London. Most of the building dates from the fourteenth century, though the tower was added in the fifteenth. In 1858 the architect Richard Armstrong carried out a thorough restoration, paid for by Richard Benyon of Cranham Hall. A modern extension was added to the north side in 2003. The church is dedicated to Mary Magdalene, a companion of Jesus. The interior contains several notable features. The pulpit looks Elizabethan but is probably from the seventeenth century. The baptismal font and royal arms, made of Coade stone, were installed in 1842. Behind the altar is a reredos showing the Last Supper, dating to 1879. Many monuments belong to the local Poyntz family, including a large stone effigy of Sir Gabriel Poyntz and his wife Etheldreda. A brass commemorates Edward Foley Evans, vicar until 1933. The tower holds six bells in G major, rung from the ground floor in an anticlockwise sequence. The churchyard contains war graves from the First World War and a well linked to Saint Cedd. The organ, built by Brindley & Foster, is kept in tune by Martin M Cross builders.