St Mary's Church Playford
St Mary's Church is a pretty village church. It is home to the obelisk memorial erected in memory of Thomas Clarkson, friend of slaves. Thomas Clarkson lived at Playford Hall in the latter years of his life, was instrumental with William Wilberforce in the abolition of slavery. A collection of railed Clarkson graves can be found in the churchyard.
Another set of railed graves beside them are to the Biddell-Airy family. In 1835 George Biddell-Airy was appointed Astronomer Royal, a post which he served for almost half a century. His greatest legacy is probably the invention of Greenwich Mean Time and the positioning of Greenwich at the centre of world time measurement.
More information can be found about these two amazing gentlemen on our website and on leaflets found inside the church, which is always open.