The vicar of a church ravaged by fire at the end of last week promised to “rebuild” despite the “darkness” her and her parishioners are feeling.

Reverend Kate Harrison, vicar at St Mark’s in Hamilton Terrace, said that the church would “not be defeated” in a statement posted online.

The community surrounding the church in St John’s Wood has been shaken by the fire which ripped through the Grade II listed building late on Thursday evening (January 26).

At first the blaze only affected part of the ground floor and roof, but flames spread to the whole building before it was finally put out at 2.22am.

Ham & High: The fire at St Mark's Church took nearly three hours to put outThe fire at St Mark's Church took nearly three hours to put out (Image: PA Media)

But Rev. Harrison vowed that the church would not stop serving the parish despite the tragedy.

She said that the Candlemas service which was due to take place tomorrow morning (January 29) would go ahead as planned outside the church.

Rev. Harrison said: “We are heartbroken.

“St Mark’s has been a beacon of hope and light in a dark world for 175 years.

“As a church, we have worshipped together and loved our community – seeking to serve the parish. This will not stop. We may need to think creatively, but we will not be defeated.

“This Sunday, January 29, is Candlemas and our opportunity to shine Christ’s light into the darkness that we are feeling. We will be holding our service at 10.30am outside, please wrap up warm and bring a candle.

“The building might be broken, but St Mark’s is well and truly alive.”

She added: “We don’t yet know the extent of the damage, but we will rebuild.”

Jeremy Trott, claims director at Ecclesiastical Insurance, the church’s insurer, said that despite the extensive damage, “previous experience” suggests that “buildings can be restored”.

Ham & High: Firefighters continued to work at the scene of the blaze on Friday (January 27)Firefighters continued to work at the scene of the blaze on Friday (January 27) (Image: Joseph Reaidi)

Mr Trott said: “Seeing the images from the fire at St. Mark’s last night was heartbreaking and my thoughts go out to the church’s community who will be devastated.

“It’s always horrible to see catastrophic church fires – not only because of the damage caused to a beautiful Grade-II listed building, but also the impact on the local community.

“Sadly, this isn’t the first church fire we have dealt with in our 135 years of insuring churches, but we know from previous experience that buildings can be restored, despite the extensive damage.”

The London Fire Brigade said that the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Read Rev. Harrison's full statement online at www.stmarks.london.