Lincoln Memorial Tower
Encyclopedia
The Lincoln Memorial Tower or Lincoln Tower is a Gothic revival tower in London
, housing small meeting rooms, that was opened in 1876 in memory of Abraham Lincoln
, and paid for partly by Americans. Once part of a complex of nineteenth century philanthropic institutions sited alongside a Congregational chapel, it is all that now remains of the original design. It is located at the corner of Westminster Bridge Road
and Kennington Park Road
close to Waterloo Station
and Lambeth North tube station
in London
, and is today a listed building associated with, and close to, Christ Church and Upton Chapel
.
on nearby Blackfriars Road, whose own chapel lease was due to expire. This larger site provided them with ample opportunity to fund-raise not only for a new Congregational chapel which they named Christ Church
, but also for a large complex of ancillary buildings.
The pastor of Surrey Chapel
at the time was the energetic Christopher Newman Hall
who had lectured and written extensively in support of Abraham Lincoln
and abolition
of slavery
during the American Civil War
. He raised funds in America for a permanent International Memorial in London, to Abraham Lincoln
, and incorporated this into plans for redevelopment of the former orphanage site.
The Lincoln Tower was opened on 4 July 1876, the centenary of American independence. The foundation stone had been laid two years earlier, on 9 July 1874, by the American ambassador, His Excellency General Schenk. The two main rooms in the tower were named the Washington and the Wilberforce rooms.
as an elevated structure above the centre of the new Congregational chapel. This was adapted in the final scheme by architects Paull and Bickerdyke, who kept much of the original design and detailing of the building complex as a whole, but gave greater prominence to the Lincoln Tower. This became a stand-alone building with its own ground floor and entrances, though still integral to the complex. As more memorial funds were raised, the new architects, like E.C.Robins before them, added a lofty spire; raising the tower 200 feet high. The spectacular spire incorporated E.C.Robins' concept for an architectural version of 'stars and stripes' - the use of a polychromatic colour scheme of red and white stones.
On the Tower's north entrance, above the apex of a large archway, a stone was added bearing the title Lincoln Tower. Under the paved basement the coffin of preacher Rowland Hill
was re-located from Surrey Chapel
, with a tablet inset into the interior wall above. There was another tablet in memory of his successor, James Sherman
, with a still larger tablet giving the name and purpose of the tower – to commemorate emancipation by the martyred Lincoln, the contribution of half the cost of the tower by American citizens, and as a pledge of international brotherhood.
The completed tower, built of Kentish Rag stone outside and Bath stone
within, and modelled on a Gothic style, was widely regarded at the time as one of the best examples of steeple and tower architecture in south-central London.
Today, the complex, with its integral Christ Church and Upton Chapel form a modernist backdrop to the surviving Gothic Revival tower. The Lincoln Tower, as well as the chapel and adjoining community office space, are presently owned by United Reformed Church
(as successors to the Congregationalists) and Baptists, and managed by church.co.uk, part of the Oasis Trust
charity. The chapel is also open as a cafe.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, housing small meeting rooms, that was opened in 1876 in memory of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, and paid for partly by Americans. Once part of a complex of nineteenth century philanthropic institutions sited alongside a Congregational chapel, it is all that now remains of the original design. It is located at the corner of Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road is a short, but busy, road in London, England. It runs on an east-west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark....
and Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road is a main road in south-east London, England, and is part of the A3 trunk road. It runs from Newington Butts at its Y-junction with Kennington Lane, south-west to the Oval, where the A3 continues as Clapham Road, towards Stockwell...
close to Waterloo Station
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
and Lambeth North tube station
Lambeth North tube station
Lambeth North tube station is a London Underground station in the neighbourhood of Lambeth, at the junction of Westminster Bridge Road and Baylis Road. It is on the Bakerloo line, between Elephant & Castle and Waterloo, and is in Travelcard Zone 1...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and is today a listed building associated with, and close to, Christ Church and Upton Chapel
Christ Church, Lambeth
Christ Church, Lambeth, was founded by the Rev Dr Christopher Newman Hall in the 1870s as a Congregational chapel forming part of a complex of new mission buildings, including the Lincoln Tower and a new premises for Hawkstone Hall...
.
Origins
The Lincoln Tower is built on the site of an orphanage for females, founded in 1758. When the orphanage closed in the mid nineteenth century, its site was acquired by trustees of the Surrey ChapelSurrey Chapel
The Surrey Chapel was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design...
on nearby Blackfriars Road, whose own chapel lease was due to expire. This larger site provided them with ample opportunity to fund-raise not only for a new Congregational chapel which they named Christ Church
Christ Church, Lambeth
Christ Church, Lambeth, was founded by the Rev Dr Christopher Newman Hall in the 1870s as a Congregational chapel forming part of a complex of new mission buildings, including the Lincoln Tower and a new premises for Hawkstone Hall...
, but also for a large complex of ancillary buildings.
The pastor of Surrey Chapel
Surrey Chapel
The Surrey Chapel was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design...
at the time was the energetic Christopher Newman Hall
Christopher Newman Hall
Rev. Dr. Christopher Newman Hall LLB , born at Maidstone and known in later life as a 'Dissenter's Bishop', was one of the most celebrated nineteenth century English Nonconformist divines...
who had lectured and written extensively in support of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He raised funds in America for a permanent International Memorial in London, to Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, and incorporated this into plans for redevelopment of the former orphanage site.
The Lincoln Tower was opened on 4 July 1876, the centenary of American independence. The foundation stone had been laid two years earlier, on 9 July 1874, by the American ambassador, His Excellency General Schenk. The two main rooms in the tower were named the Washington and the Wilberforce rooms.
Architecture and design
The original design by the architect E.C.Robins, developed in 1873, would have placed the tower and spireSpire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
as an elevated structure above the centre of the new Congregational chapel. This was adapted in the final scheme by architects Paull and Bickerdyke, who kept much of the original design and detailing of the building complex as a whole, but gave greater prominence to the Lincoln Tower. This became a stand-alone building with its own ground floor and entrances, though still integral to the complex. As more memorial funds were raised, the new architects, like E.C.Robins before them, added a lofty spire; raising the tower 200 feet high. The spectacular spire incorporated E.C.Robins' concept for an architectural version of 'stars and stripes' - the use of a polychromatic colour scheme of red and white stones.
On the Tower's north entrance, above the apex of a large archway, a stone was added bearing the title Lincoln Tower. Under the paved basement the coffin of preacher Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (preacher)
Rowland Hill A.M. , was a popular English preacher, enthusiastic evangelical and an influential advocate of small-pox vaccination. He was founder and resident pastor of a wholly independent chapel, the Surrey Chapel, London; chairman of the Religious Tract Society; and a keen supporter of the...
was re-located from Surrey Chapel
Surrey Chapel
The Surrey Chapel was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design...
, with a tablet inset into the interior wall above. There was another tablet in memory of his successor, James Sherman
James Sherman (minister)
The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
, with a still larger tablet giving the name and purpose of the tower – to commemorate emancipation by the martyred Lincoln, the contribution of half the cost of the tower by American citizens, and as a pledge of international brotherhood.
The completed tower, built of Kentish Rag stone outside and Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
within, and modelled on a Gothic style, was widely regarded at the time as one of the best examples of steeple and tower architecture in south-central London.
Modern context
Much of the Christ Church complex was destroyed in the Second World War, although the Lincoln Tower survived. In the 1950s a large commercial office block, with an integral Congregational and Baptist chapel and community office space, was planned where the nineteenth century Christ Church Congregational chapel and its school and meeting rooms (Hawkstone Hall) had stood.Today, the complex, with its integral Christ Church and Upton Chapel form a modernist backdrop to the surviving Gothic Revival tower. The Lincoln Tower, as well as the chapel and adjoining community office space, are presently owned by United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
(as successors to the Congregationalists) and Baptists, and managed by church.co.uk, part of the Oasis Trust
Oasis Trust
Oasis Trust is a UK-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by Rev Steve Chalke in August 1985, who had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years...
charity. The chapel is also open as a cafe.
External links
See also
- Lincoln MemorialLincoln MemorialThe Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
- Abraham Lincoln Memorial GardenAbraham Lincoln Memorial GardenThe Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden is a self-governing 100-acre woodland and prairie garden owned by the city of Springfield, Illinois and managed by the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation. The gardens are made up of two major units, the Jensen section bordering Lake Springfield, and...
- Abney Park CemeteryAbney Park CemeteryAbney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...