St Paul's, Harringay
Encyclopedia
The church of St Paul the Apostle, Wightman Road, Harringay
, London, N4, serves a traditional anglo-catholic
(Church of England
) parish, in north London. In ecclesiastical terms the parish is part of the Edmonton Episcopal Area
of the Diocese of London
. In political terms the parish is in the London Borough of Haringey
.
In 1984 the nineteenth-century church building was destroyed by fire, and the present iconic building was opened in 1993, designed by London architects Peter Inskipp and Peter Jenkins.
The parish of Harringay
is situated at one corner of what was formerly part of Hornsey
parish, adjacent to Stoke Newington
parish.
.jpg)
On 28 June 1892 the ecclesiastical Parish of St. Paul's Harringay was formed out of Holy Trinity Stroud Green, St. Anne's Stamford Hill
, and St. Mary's Hornsey
. The living was £387 net per year, with benefice.
In 1883, the Reverend Joshua Greaves was appointed vicar, and found at Harringay a fast growing housing estate rapidly covering open spaces and fields, but no church building. A temporary tin hut mission church was opened for worship on 23 December when there were six communicants and a collection of 14s 3d. The temporary church stood in Burgoyne Road.
The digging of the ground preparatory to building the first permanent church began on Tuesday 20 May 1890, and the foundation stone was laid by Lady Louisa Wolseley (1843–1920) on Saturday 31 May 1890. The church was consecrated on October 1, 1891, by Dr. Frederick Temple
, then the Bishop of London
.
. The building was in the style of 13th-century English Gothic architecture. It was constructed of Peterborough red brick with Bracknell stone dressings, with a chancel, south-east chapel and bellcot, north vestries, and an aisled and clerestoreyed nave of six bays with north-west and south-west porches, and when built the church seated 700. (NB The chancel and Lady Chapel, both in a later Decorated English Gothic style, were not completed until 1903).
At the entrance to the chancel
was an open, oak screen, and in the chancel itself were the choir stalls arranged collegiate fashion, leading up to an altar. A magnificent organ was made by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd
, and was latterly maintained by Hill, Norman and Beard Ltd., of Hornsey. The church's stained glass windows were designed by John Byam Liston Shaw
(1872–1919).
.gif)
The total length of nave and chancel when completed was 130 feet (39.62400 meters); the width 28 feet (8.5344 meters). The height from floor level was 37 feet (11.2776 meters). The building held 900 people.
A church hall was built in Cavendish Road, N4, and in In 1903 a new vicarage was built next to the church.
Joshua Greaves remained the Vicar for 40 years, until 1923. The incumbents succeeding him were, in chronological order: Appleton, Warren, Brassel, Cowen, Bond, Barraclough, Lloyd, Seeley, and Martin.
In 1932 were installed a new marble altar, marble font, and marble reredos
with a statue of Christ and other stone figures, all designed by Nugent Cachemaille Day (1896–1976). (The font was a war memorial to the fallen of the 1914-18 war).
On Ash Wednesday 1984 - during Seeley's incumbency - the church's roof caught fire, caused by negligent workmen then repairing it. The fire spread, and the church was destroyed.
In furnishing the new church there has been a significant investment in late twentieth-century British artworks, with the commissioning of pieces from four British artists who were working at the time of the building's creation, namely: the sculptors Danny Clahane, Stephen Cox, and Anton Wagner, and the furniture maker John Makepeace
.
Cox has provided the great shield-shaped reredos
on the east wall, made from enamelled metal and stone; the monumental altar table, and font (each made from Egyptian Imperial porphyry); and several porphyry candle holders, from the same source. Some of these are used on the altar, while others stand next to each of the three statues contained in the church.
The simple and restrained stone statues of St. Paul and of St. Anthony
are by Danny Clahane, while the traditional Walsingham
-style, painted wooden figure of the Virgin Mary is by Anton Wagner.
John Makepeace has contributed a one-metre high alms box, carved from a single piece of solid oak with distinctive deep-ridged ziggurat patterns on all four sides.
The magnificent mechanical-action organ was designed and built by Richard Bower, to fit within the organ case designed by the church's architects.
Harringay
Harringay is a residential area of North London, part of the London Borough of Haringey, United Kingdom. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the northern boundary of Finsbury Park up to the southern boundary of Duckett's Common, not far from Turnpike Lane.-Location:The...
, London, N4, serves a traditional anglo-catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
(Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
) parish, in north London. In ecclesiastical terms the parish is part of the Edmonton Episcopal Area
Bishop of Edmonton (London)
The Bishop of Edmonton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury, England...
of the Diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
. In political terms the parish is in the London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
.
In 1984 the nineteenth-century church building was destroyed by fire, and the present iconic building was opened in 1993, designed by London architects Peter Inskipp and Peter Jenkins.
The parish of Harringay
Harringay
Harringay is a residential area of North London, part of the London Borough of Haringey, United Kingdom. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the northern boundary of Finsbury Park up to the southern boundary of Duckett's Common, not far from Turnpike Lane.-Location:The...
is situated at one corner of what was formerly part of Hornsey
Hornsey (parish)
Hornsey was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex. It was both a civil parish, used for administrative purposes, and an ecclesiastical parish of the Church of England.- Civil parish :...
parish, adjacent to Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
parish.
1883: the first parish church
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish and Adeni Jewish community.Stamford Hill is NNE of Charing Cross.-History:...
, and St. Mary's Hornsey
Hornsey
Hornsey is a district in London Borough of Haringey in north London in England. Whilst Hornsey was formerly the name of a parish and later a municipal borough of Middlesex, today, the name refers only to the London district. It is an inner-suburban area located north of Charing Cross.-Locale:The ...
. The living was £387 net per year, with benefice.
In 1883, the Reverend Joshua Greaves was appointed vicar, and found at Harringay a fast growing housing estate rapidly covering open spaces and fields, but no church building. A temporary tin hut mission church was opened for worship on 23 December when there were six communicants and a collection of 14s 3d. The temporary church stood in Burgoyne Road.
The digging of the ground preparatory to building the first permanent church began on Tuesday 20 May 1890, and the foundation stone was laid by Lady Louisa Wolseley (1843–1920) on Saturday 31 May 1890. The church was consecrated on October 1, 1891, by Dr. Frederick Temple
Frederick Temple
Frederick Temple was an English academic, teacher, churchman and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1896 until his death.-Early life:...
, then the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
.
The building described
The new church was designed by the London architect George Michael Silley (b. 1834), and was built of red brick with Carsham-stone dressing, topped with a flècheFlèche
A flèche is used in French architecture to refer to a spire and in English to refer to a lead-covered timber spire, or spirelet. These are placed on the ridges of church or cathedral roofs and are usually relatively small...
. The building was in the style of 13th-century English Gothic architecture. It was constructed of Peterborough red brick with Bracknell stone dressings, with a chancel, south-east chapel and bellcot, north vestries, and an aisled and clerestoreyed nave of six bays with north-west and south-west porches, and when built the church seated 700. (NB The chancel and Lady Chapel, both in a later Decorated English Gothic style, were not completed until 1903).
At the entrance to the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
was an open, oak screen, and in the chancel itself were the choir stalls arranged collegiate fashion, leading up to an altar. A magnificent organ was made by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd
J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd
J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd is a British firm of organ builders established in 1828 by Joseph William Walker in London. Walker organs were popular additions to churches during the Gothic Revival era of church building and restoration in Victorian Britain, and instruments built by Walker are found in...
, and was latterly maintained by Hill, Norman and Beard Ltd., of Hornsey. The church's stained glass windows were designed by John Byam Liston Shaw
Byam Shaw
John Byam Liston Shaw , commonly known as Byam Shaw, was an Indian-born British painter, illustrator, designer and teacher.-Family:...
(1872–1919).
A church hall was built in Cavendish Road, N4, and in In 1903 a new vicarage was built next to the church.
Joshua Greaves remained the Vicar for 40 years, until 1923. The incumbents succeeding him were, in chronological order: Appleton, Warren, Brassel, Cowen, Bond, Barraclough, Lloyd, Seeley, and Martin.
In 1932 were installed a new marble altar, marble font, and marble reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
with a statue of Christ and other stone figures, all designed by Nugent Cachemaille Day (1896–1976). (The font was a war memorial to the fallen of the 1914-18 war).
On Ash Wednesday 1984 - during Seeley's incumbency - the church's roof caught fire, caused by negligent workmen then repairing it. The fire spread, and the church was destroyed.
1993: the current building
As can be judged by the images shown here, the interior of the church conveys a certain ordered calm that might be seen by some as sterile, but all thoughts of sterility are quickly dispelled on entering the building itself. It has been described as evoking "a numinous presence". Quite how this sense of the numinous is evoked by such a modestly sized space is hard to tell. The achievement will no doubt be a matter of contemplation among architectural connoisseurs and religious folk alike for a long time to come.In furnishing the new church there has been a significant investment in late twentieth-century British artworks, with the commissioning of pieces from four British artists who were working at the time of the building's creation, namely: the sculptors Danny Clahane, Stephen Cox, and Anton Wagner, and the furniture maker John Makepeace
John Makepeace
John Makepeace OBE, , is a British furniture designer and maker. He bought Parnham House, Dorset in 1976 and founded the Parnham Trust and the School for Craftsmen in Wood to provide integrated courses in design, making and management for aspiring furniture-makers, alongside but...
.
Cox has provided the great shield-shaped reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
on the east wall, made from enamelled metal and stone; the monumental altar table, and font (each made from Egyptian Imperial porphyry); and several porphyry candle holders, from the same source. Some of these are used on the altar, while others stand next to each of the three statues contained in the church.
The simple and restrained stone statues of St. Paul and of St. Anthony
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
are by Danny Clahane, while the traditional Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham is a title used for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The title derives from the belief that Mary appeared in a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, a devout Saxon noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England...
-style, painted wooden figure of the Virgin Mary is by Anton Wagner.
John Makepeace has contributed a one-metre high alms box, carved from a single piece of solid oak with distinctive deep-ridged ziggurat patterns on all four sides.
The magnificent mechanical-action organ was designed and built by Richard Bower, to fit within the organ case designed by the church's architects.
External Links
- Harringay Online's Harringay Timeline
- Harringay OnlineHarringay OnlineHarringay Online is a hyperlocal social network based in the neighbourhood of Harringay, north London.Started on July 1, 2007, Harringay Online was one of the first neighbourhood websites to be set up using social media technology. It was established with the stated aim of strengthening the...
video of interior of St Paul's on YouTube