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All Saints' Church, Poplar, is a
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
in Newby Place, Poplar,
London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...
, and is the
Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of Poplar. It was built in 1821–3 to serve the newly created parish. The church was designated a
Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
on 19 July 1950.


History


Early history

The true foundations had been laid 425 years earlier, when in 1396, the small village of ‘Popelar’ with Blackwall had been granted to the
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monks of the Abbey of St Mary de Graces just by the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, and came to be known as one of the
Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...
in the parish of
Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...
. The settlements provided some of the labour-force for the expanding
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, including the militiamen at the Tower, as well as crops and livestock from the newly drained marshland. By the time the land was sold off to private families under
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, the Blackwall area had also established a thriving shipbuilding and repairing industry.


17th century

St Dunstan's, Stepney St Dunstan's, Stepney, is an Anglican Church which stands on a site that has been used for Christian worship for over a thousand years. It is located in Stepney High Street, in Stepney, London Borough of Tower Hamlets. History In about AD 952, D ...
, was then the Parish Church, and baptismal records from the early 17th century show that just over half the fathers in Poplar were occupied in river or sea trades. In 1614 the spice traders of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
set up their main shipyard at Blackwall with their headquarters in Poplar, served by a company Chapel (now
St Matthias Old Church St Matthias Old Church is the modern name given to the Poplar Chapel built by the East India Company in 1654, in Poplar in the East End of London. The church is designated a Grade II* listed building. St Matthias Old Church is one of the ver ...
) built in 1652 on Poplar High Street. Despite the ravages of plague, the population continued to grow, added to which there was an influx of
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
refugees to the area in 1685 who specialised in silk manufacture and weaving, starting the continuing tradition of the cloth trade in the
East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
.


19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, to escape the heavy duties levied on cargoes discharged within the City itself, massive capital expenditure was risked in the building of docks eastward of the Pool of London. In 1800 the
West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Follow ...
were dug out manually across the northern reach of the
Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ham ...
, principally by Irish immigrant labourers. The dock companies built the main road in 1803 (now
Commercial Road Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), through ...
and
East India Dock Road East India Dock Road is a major arterial route from Limehouse to Canning Town in London. The road takes its name from the former East India Docks in the Port of London, and partly serves as the high street of Poplar. To the west it becomes Co ...
) between
Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...
and Poplar and in 1806 the
East India Docks The East India Docks were a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible. History Early history Following the successful creation of the We ...
were opened. The new construction work destroyed many homes and impoverished the lives of the local inhabitants. Subsequent employment at the docks and wharves was always subject to the vagaries of the weather and of market forces. However, by 1811 the population of Blackwall and Poplar was over 7,000 and in the next 50 years it increased to 43,000. A new wealthy class of merchants began to move into the area and in 1817 Parliament enacted a law which made Poplar a parish in its own right. A book sealed in the reign of
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, setting out the rights and responsibilities of the new parish, remains in the church archives. Among its pages is the remarkable statement “that the Rector retains the right to close off the East India Dock Road to prevent noise during the time of Divine Service.” The Poplar Vestry set about acquiring a suitable plot of land on which to build a parish church with adjoining graveyard and rectory. The site eventually purchased consisted of a house, garden and field owned by Mrs Ann Newby, and in 1820 the Vestry invited designs for a building that would reflect Poplar's new independence and prosperity. Of the 36 that were received, the design by Charles Hollis was chosen. He had recently been appointed architect of the new parish church of St John the Baptist Church, Windsor (a replacement building completed in 1822), which is in contrasting
Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
. Hollis had worked as a clerk to a prominent
parishioner A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
in
Poplar, London Poplar is a district in East London, England, the administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. Five miles (8 km) east of Charing Cross, it is part of the East End of London, East End. It is identi ...
, and he submitted his design under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
'Felix'. Nevertheless, when his design was selected there were accusations of preferential treatment. The
West India Dock Company The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Followi ...
wrote a letter of complaint to the
Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, supported by a report by John Rennie in favour of another design, but in vain.''Between Poplar High Street and East India Dock Road: All Saints' Church and Rectory''
''
Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Ar ...
'': volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs (1994), pp. 176–180.
The architect's original scale model is on display in the Church. Hollis also designed the
Rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...
. A relatively expensive church for the period, All Saints was built from granite and
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...
by the engineer Thomas Morris (whose grave lies outside to the north of the Church door). The initial budget was £20,000 but the whole project cost just over £33,000, paid for out of the rates and with loans from two parishioners, John Stock and George Green provided in two tranches in 1821 and 1823. However this supplanted a year or so later by a loan on better terms from the
West India Dock Company The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Followi ...
. The foundation stone was laid on 29 March 1821 by the Bishop of London. The Church was consecrated on 3 July 1823, and a living established under the patronage of
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
. This was sufficient for the first Rector, the Revd. Samuel Hoole, to be driven to Divine Service from the Rectory in a horse and carriage. His successor is buried immediately opposite the front door of the Church, and gave his name to Bazely Street (originally known as Bow Lane). The
Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
s of the portico are surmounted by a façade of more
Corinthian style The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
rising to an elegant steeple about 160 feet high. The tower supports a
ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of ten bells, originally supplied at a cost of £1,060 and still rung by the church's bell ringers. The bells were all cast by Thomas Mears II of the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells a ...
in 1822; they were overhauled by
John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...
in 1926. Inside the Church there were grand galleries on all sides, and a pulpit which could be cranked up and raised in height for the benefit of large congregations. Above the original organ (which had been installed at a cost of £675) there were additional galleries to accommodate the children of the
Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
Institute. One of the six
Beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official of a church or synagogue who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties on the ...
’s staffs which were used to keep the children in order is still on show in the Church. The status of All Saints as a Civic Church was marked by the royal coat of arms now to be seen on the organ gallery, but which was originally positioned on the capital over the altar. The small altar was made of cast iron and contained a chest for valuables; it is now to be found in the Sacrament Chapel on the north side of the sanctuary. The altar was embellished at a later date by
Martin Travers Howard Martin Otho Travers (19 February 1886 – 25 July 1948) was an English church artist and designer. Travers was born in Margate, Kent, educated at Tonbridge School, entered the Royal College of Art in 1904, and was awarded its Diploma in A ...
, who also designed the tabernacle for the
reserved sacrament During the Mass of the Faithful, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transu ...
. Behind the altar was a stained glass window, the design of which was criticised so much that it is said the artist committed suicide. It was soon covered by a curtain and eventually bricked up altogether in the 1890s, at which time under the influence of the
Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
the Church took on a High Church Catholic style. Great steps were built up to the new carved high altar which was commissioned from
Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...
by the Rector, the Revd Arthur Chandler, later
Bishop of Bloemfontein The Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. History The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by † Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town ...
. Thirty years earlier his predecessor, The Revd Thomas Nowell, had to respond to a different influence – the sudden collapse in 1866 of some major City investment banks which resulted in the swift demise of the local shipyard industry, followed by the great
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic in the same year. The gentry began to vacate Poplar for the healthier climes east of London. An elegant brass plaque at the east end of the Church honours the Rector for his tireless work trying to improve the social condition of his increasingly poor parishioners. This tradition of local Church involvement and support continued over the period of great social change at the start of the 20th century with the growing political activism of working people. The churchyard on the north side of the church was re-ordered as a public garden by the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association (also known as the MPGA) is a charity in London for the purposes of the preservation of public parks and gardens, established in 1882. It facilitated the creation of new public open spaces, including f ...
in 1893, and laid out by the Association's landscape gardener
Fanny Wilkinson Fanny Wilkinson (1855–1951) was a British landscape designer. She was the first professional female landscape designer in Britain, and responsible for the design and the layout of more than 75 public gardens across London in the late 19th centu ...
. Wilkinson's successor,
Madeline Agar Madeline Agnes Agar (21 May 1874 – 30 November 1967) was a British landscape designer. She was an early professional female landscape designer in Britain, and responsible for the design and the layout of a number of public gardens across London ...
, laid out the rest of the churchyard in 1905, and it was opened in 1906.


20th century

In the recession years of the 1920s, which particularly affected the docks, All Saints Church reflected the times again by simplifying its ritual and decoration; the interior was painted white and the old adjustable pulpit was removed. The Church took a leading role in cementing the community of this targeted area of dockland during
the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
of the Second World War. Many of the finest edifices of Poplar were destroyed and bombs constantly damaged the Church building, although this did not dissuade hundreds of people from using the
crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
as an air-raid shelter. Late in the war, however, a
V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...
rocket devastated the building, destroying the east end and bringing down the roof. Post-war restoration in the 1950s saw the removal of the galleries and the placing of a new organ gallery at the west end, equipped with choir stalls and housing the large reconditioned Hunter organ brought from Clapham Congregational Church and reconditioned by
Mander Organs Mander Organs Limited formerly N.P Mander Limited was an English pipe organ maker and refurbisher based in London. Although well known for many years in the organ building industry, they achieved wider notability in 2004 with the refurbishment ...
. Structurally, the roof had to be supported by a high steel grid, masked by four substantial pillars and the plaster-covered beams in the ceiling. The restored high altar was placed under a new and massive
baldacchino A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...
, but more recently this canopy has been cut in half and the front section placed against the east wall to form a kind of
reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...
. A restoration appeal in the 1980s was launched to carry out essential repair work to the tower and outside of the Church, whilst the redecoration of the inside took place in 1991 through the voluntary efforts of parishioners and by means of an anonymous donation of labour and scaffolding from a local builder. The Churchyard was re-landscaped and totally refurbished with a grant from the
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
in 1999. In 1964 the Parish of Poplar was formally established as the first Team Ministry in the London Diocese, combining nine different parishes in an area now recognised as one of the poorest in terms of overcrowding, unemployment and multiple deprivation, all under the shadow of the
Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...
development. A modern parish centre has been created out of the crypt space below the Church, from which bodies were removed in 1989 and re-interred in the Parish Guild Ground at the
East London Cemetery The East London Cemetery and Crematorium are located in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham. It is owned and operated by the Dignity Funeral Group. History The cemetery was founded in 1871 and laid out in 1872 to meet the increasing dema ...
. In order to construct the new crypt centre the pews had to be temporarily removed and the Church floor broken up. This was replaced by a modern steel and concrete structure and a new floor incorporating a heating and air-conditioning system. The Crypt is also used for meetings and conferences. In 1999 the decision was taken to re-open St Nicholas' Church on the
Aberfeldy Estate Aberfeldy Village is an urban village in a part of Poplar that was once part of Bromley in London, England, which is in the process of being redeveloped in a joint venture between Poplar HARCA and Willmott Dixon. It was known as the Aberfeldy ...
, and a growing congregation now worships there.


See also

*
All Saints DLR station All Saints is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Poplar in East London. The station is named after nearby All Saints, a Church of England parish church dating from 1821 to 1823. The station entrance is on the East India Dock Road, th ...
which takes its name from the church *
List of churches and cathedrals of London This is a list of cathedrals, churches and chapels in Greater London, which is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The list focuses on the more permanent churches and buildings which identify themselves as places of Chris ...


References


''Between Poplar High Street and East India Dock Road: All Saints' Church and Rectory''
''
Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Ar ...
'': volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs (1994), pp. 176–180.


External links

*
Postcard view of the churchWebsite for All Saints' ChurchDiocese of London website entrySteeplejacks working on the steeple in 1924
{{Authority control Poplar Religious organizations established in 1821 Grade II listed churches in London Churches completed in 1823 19th-century Church of England church buildings 1821 establishments in England Poplar Diocese of London Poplar, London