London church DESTROYED as devastating fire rips through St Mark's, leaving 'architectural treasure' in ruins

London Fire Brigade
Dan Falvey

By Dan Falvey


Published: 27/01/2023

- 07:34

Updated: 27/01/2023

- 07:50

The smell of burnt plastic lingered in the air with a "significant amount of smoke" also visible

A fire has ripped through a north London church, destroying what is being described as an “architectural and historical treasure”.

St Mark’s Church in Hamilton Terrace, St John’s Wood was ablaze last night, with pictures showing the entire roof has collapsed due to the extend of the fire.

Huge flames broke through the windows of the building, with the Anglican church's stain glass windows destroyed.

Handout photo issued by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) of firefighters tackling a blaze at St Mark's Church in Hamilton Terrace, St John's Wood, London, which has been destroyed by the fire. 80 firefighters attended the heritage-listed north-west London church that has been described as an %22architectural and historical treasure%22. Picture date: Friday January 27, 2023.
The fire was under control by 2.30am
London Fire Brigade

The smell of burnt plastic lingered in the air and the London Fire Brigade also warned of the "significant amount of smoke in the local area".

Around 80 firefighters and 12 fire engines battled in the early hours of this morning to fight the blaze, with the fire brought under control by 2.22am this morning.

Crews from North Kensington, Paddington, West Hampstead and surrounding stations all headed to St Mark's to fight the flames.

An investigation is now under way to determine the cause of the fire.


A statement from the London Fire Brigade read: "Firefighters used two of the Brigade's new 32-metre turntable ladders and a 64-metre turntable ladder (the tallest in Europe) as water towers, to get water on to the building externally.

"The Brigade's 999 Control Officers took more than 30 calls to the blaze."

The London Ambulance Service was in attendance, with a medic in a fast response car and members of its hazardous area response team sent to the scene.

It is not believed there were any injuries.

Handout photo issued by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) of firefighters tackling a blaze at St Mark's Church in Hamilton Terrace, St John's Wood, London, which has been destroyed by the fire. 80 firefighters attended the heritage-listed north-west London church that has been described as an %22architectural and historical treasure%22. Picture date: Friday January 27, 2023.
The blaze has gutted the church, causing severe damage to the 19th century building
London Fire Brigade

St Marks was built in the 1840s as was known for being home to a collection of mosaics by the Italian Salviati family.

The National Churches Trust lists St Mark's as a grade II Victorian church, describing it as an "architectural and historical treasure".

The Anglican church is located near Abbey Road Studios and Lord's Cricket Ground.

It has links to author Lewis Carroll and Queen Victoria's son Prince Leopold.

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