Twelve of the major landholders of Kew promised subscriptions of £122 for the building of this the first church in Kew on 18 August 1710. John Lely, the illegitimate son of Sir Peter, was one of the prime movers for the completion of this enterprise. Lady Capel, wife of the much applauded gardener Sir Henry Capel, was a subsequent contributor of more than £100. Queen Anne the Lady of the Manor was petitioned for consent and gave it plus a piece of the 'waste' (common) of Kew Green as a site and £100 to the cost. She then took a continuing interest in its progress visiting as she travelled between London and Windsor. The chapel was dedicated 12/05/1714 just 3 months after Queen Anne's death.

George III added a royal gallery but, more significantly, there is documentary evidence that he was married here to Hannah Lightfoot on 17 April 1759. There is also the suggestion that he had a daughter by her. This would mean that his marriage to Charlotte in 1761 was bigamous and their issue, prior to Hannah's death, illegitimate. That issue included the Prince Regent later George IV.

O/S Co-ords:1898.7746
Source(s):

Kew Past