With St Mary’s church crypt opened for the first time in five years last month, reporter Douglas Patient delves into the history of the structure and the stories of some of the notable Wanstead residents laid to rest there.

The Grade I listed church, in Overton Drive, Wanstead, was designed by architect Thomas Hardwick, and the building was completed in June 1790.

But many do not know that underneath the Georgian building, a crypt was built along the entire length of the church.

Along with the ventilation system that runs through the vaults, this keeps the body of the church dry and reduces the likelihood of damage from damp.

Once constructed, the extra space underneath the church could then be used to bury the rich inhabitants of the parish.

There were many wealthy people living in the Parish of Wanstead in the eighteenth century, and as a marker of their status they wanted to be buried separately from the common people.

In order to buy one of the 16 vaults in St Mary’s crypt, it would cost you £105 as a parishioner or £125 if you were not, the equivalent of around £60,000 today.

Denis Keeling, of Wanstead Historical Society, said: “It is special that people from Wanstead’s history are buried in the crypt just under the church.

“To be buried in the crypt showed your status and it provided a significant income for the church too.

“Most churches built in the 18th century had crypts including Christ Church in Spitalfields and St Botolph's in Aldgate.”

Possibly the most notable resident laid to rest in crypt is Sir William Curtis.

William’s father made his fortune making biscuits for the Royal Navy, a lucrative business during the Napoleonic wars, due to the long periods of time at sailors were spending at sea.

In the early 19th century, thanks to the many difficulties of preserving food for long periods at sea, ship’s biscuits were a staple of seamen’s diets, and the Curtis family became very wealthy as a result.

When William was 19 he took over the family business and expanded it into shipping and whaling.

He was a city alderman, an MP, the Lord Mayor of London, and was eventually knighted in 1802.

When he died aged 76 in 1829 in Ramsgate his body undertook the journey of nearly 80 miles to Wanstead and was buried in the crypt.

Mr Keeling said: “Sir William Curtis was a very prominent and extremely wealthy man.

“A huge crowd saw off his cortège off on its journey to Wanstead which was quite a long way to go to say the least.”

Two further Lord Mayors are also entombed in the crypt.

Sir John Hopkins, a wholesale greengrocer who imported spices from the Far East, and Sir William Plomer, a brick and tile maker who was also the chairman of the Honourable Artillery Company.

In the aisle of the crypt sits a medieval font that was saved from the old church.

Sitting on top is a jar containing the heart of John Child, the 2nd Earl Tylney.

John inherited Palladian mansion Wanstead House in 1750 but spent most of his time travelling Italy.

He filled the Grotto and Temple, in the grounds of Wanstead House, now Wanstead Park, with elaborate artefacts from his travels.

He died in Naples in 1784, but because they could not send his body back by ship, a compromise was found.

Mr Keeling said: “His heart was put in a glass jar and sent to the crypt.

“It would have been difficult to bring a heart back in those conditions and the days before refrigerators.”

The crypt is set to open again to the public in around five years to check its structure.