St Mary's Church, Merton

I’ve been here before.  Back in January I took a picture of one of the gravestones that caught my eye and I commented about Admiral Nelson’s  horse mounting block. Today I discovered that there’s a seat inside, referred to as Lord Nelson's seat, because he worshipped here.  

I love the look of this church.  It would not seem out of place as a country church at the heart of a small village, perhaps across the green from the local pub. It just happens that this one is in the middle of suburbia. This entrance porch is beautiful. It’s not the door we used, we entered via a side door where there was hand sanitiser positioned ready to use. But this is the entrance you’d use if you wanted pictures.

Today, we went inside as it’s open for prayer and reflection. I do love the peace and stillness of a church. It’s quite hard to explain because I am not a regular church goer but I do like sitting, quietly contemplating life, on a pew in a parish church.

Also of interest, Edward Rayne (who gave his name to Raynes Park) is buried in the South Aisle and we saw the stone erected to his memory in the church.