Parish of St Marylebone, Marylebone Road , Church of England

The first parish church in the area was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist and was probably built in the 12th century, situated near the site of the present Marble Arch. However it was too remote and was moved in 1400. The new church was dedicated to Saint Mary and was known as "Saint Mary at Bourne" as the Ty bourne (stream) flowed nearby, which over time became corrupted to "St Mary le Bone". A new church was built in 1740 and another in 1813, which was renovated in 1883.

In 1817 the church was built over a large vaulted crypt. This served as the parish burial ground until 1853 when the entrance was bricked up and its use discontinued. In 1980 the coffins from the crypt were reinterred at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey. The crypt was then completely renovated and rebuilt as a health centre. Nicki and John Braithwaite were the architects for this redevelopment. On 24th July 1987, the new crypt was opened by the Prince of Wales.

When opened, the crypt contained the following organisations: Christian Healing Centre; NHS Surgery; Headquarter Offices of the Christian Healing Organisations (Churches Council for Health and Healing; Guild of St Raphael; Order of St Luke; Institute of Religion and Medicine; Churches Council on Alcohol and Drugs); Music Therapy Centre (funded by the Speedwell Trust Sponsorship Scheme); Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scanner Unit; Counselling and Social Work Services of the Raphael Centre and Jewish Welfare Board.

For more information please see the church website at http://www.stmarylebone.org.uk/history01.htm (accessed March 2010).