Christ Church, Southgate, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in Waterfall Road,

Southgate SouthGate is a shopping centre in Bath, Somerset, England, It is home to over fifty shops, ten restaurants, 99 homes and an 860-space underground car park. It replaced a shopping centre which was demolished in 2007. The new centre developed b ...

, London. It describes itself as a " liberal catholic Church of England parish". The building is

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. In 2014 the church registered as an

Inclusive Church Inclusive Church is an organisation founded in 2003 that advocates for the full inclusion of all people regardless of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, and sexual o ...

. The church choir makes regular recordings and tours as well as supporting worship on Sundays at 10am and at Choral Evensong at 6.30pm.

History

In 1615, Sir John Weld, owner of the

Arnos Grove Arnos Grove () is an List of areas of London, area of north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is centred north of Charing Cross. It is adjacent to New Southgate. The natural grove (nature), grove, larger than today, was f ...

estate, established the Weld Chapel, located just west of Christ Church, at which local people were allowed to worship. In the 19th century, the Rev. James Baird, a minister of the Weld Chapel who had married into the Walker family who then owned

Arnos Grove house Arnos Grove, originally known as Arnolds, is a grade II* listed house in Cannon Hill, Southgate, London. History The house was built after the London banker James Colebrooke bought the Arnolds estate in 1719 or 1720. Dumayne, Alan. (1987) ''S ...

, saw that the chapel was too small and dilapidated for current needs, and the Walker family donated land on which Christ Church was built. The architect was

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

(father of George Gilbert Scott Jr.). The church was consecrated by John Jackson, then Bishop of Lincoln and later Bishop of London, on 17 July 1862. The Weld Chapel was demolished in 1863 and its site remains marked in the old churchyard outside the west door of the church.

Choir

Christ Church Southgate has a strong musical tradition, dating back to the time of the Weld Chapel. The choir of Christ Church Southgate has been in existence since the first service held in Christ Church, when the choir was augmented by choristers from St Paul's Cathedral. Originally a choir of men and boys, it is now a mixed choir of adults and junior members. Notable alumni include the acclaimed organist and choral conductor

Martin Neary Martin Gerard James Neary LVO (born 28 March 1940) is an English organist and choral conductor. Neary was born in London in 1940 and was a chorister of the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace from age eight, singing at the christening of Char ...

. The choir sings for the main Parish

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

every Sunday at 10.00am and

Choral Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

each Sunday at 6.30pm, performs regular concerts and tours to cathedrals around the UK and Europe.

Windows

The church is home to the largest collection of

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...

stained glass windows in London by Morris, Marshall Faulkner & Company (later

Morris & Co Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (1861–1875) was a furniture, furnishings and decorative arts manufacturer and retailer founded by the artist and designer William Morris with friends from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Pre-Raphaelites. With ...

) with work ranging from 1861 to 1913 including windows by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth, Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his mos ...

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of common ...

John Henry Dearle John Henry Dearle (22 August 1859 – 15 January 1932) was a British textile and stained-glass designer trained by the artist and craftsman William Morris who was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Dearle designed many of t ...

and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

himself. Other features include fine windows by

Clayton & Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...

. The Faith & Hope window in the nave of the church, designed by Edward Burne-Jones was installed in memory of Letitia Catherine Hayes, sister of the British Imperial Statesman John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, who resided at Southgate House. The great east window by Clayton & Bell was installed in 1862 in memory of Vincent Figgins Jnr, who continued the work of his father

Vincent Figgins Vincent Figgins (1766 – 29 February 1844) was a British typefounder based in London, who cast and sold metal type for printing. After an apprenticeship with typefounder Joseph Jackson, he established his own type foundry in 1792. His company ...

the type-founder.

Reredos

The reredos, installed in 1868, is a fine mosaic by

Antonio Salviati Antonio Salviati (18 March 1816 – 25 January 1890) was an Italian glass manufacturer and founder of the Salviati (glassmakers), Salviati family firm. Biography A native of Vicenza, Salviati was a lawyer who became interested in glass work af ...

depicting the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

. The cartoon is by John Clayton of

and is nearly identical to the Salviati reredos in Westminster Abbey, installed a year earlier.

The Walker family

The burial vault of

the Walkers of Southgate The Walkers of Southgate were an English cricketing family who lived at Arnos Grove house in Southgate, Middlesex, England. The family fortune was partly built through the brewing company Taylor Walker, and the Walker brothers – seven of t ...

is located in the churchyard, near the west door. The vault contains the remains of all seven of the famous cricketing Walker brothers. The churchyard also contains the vault of the Taylor family of Grovelands House who, with the Walker family, established the Taylor Walker Brewing Company. The Lady Chapel was decorated in 1905–06 with wall paintings by

Percy Bacon Brothers Percy Bacon and Brothers was a firm which produced stained glass, church furnishings, and decorations. The firm was set up in 1892 by stained glass artist and sculptor, Percy Charles Haydon Bacon, and operated for many years from 11 Newman Stree ...

in memory of Issac and Sophia Walker of Arnos Grove and their children.

War memorials

The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

memorial inside the church was designed by

Charles Marriott Oldrid Scott Charles Marriott Oldrid Scott (1880–1952) was an English architect who is often best remembered for being the son of John Oldrid Scott and grandson of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott), both of whom were architects, as was his uncle ...

, the grandson of George Gilbert Scott, following a design competition. It lists 146 men from the parish and includes the two sons of the famous detective Frederick Porter Wensley who lived in Powys Lane. Information on some of the men listed can be found in a booklet produced by the church. The Memorial was installed in 1921. Inside the church hangs a Tricolore presented to Group Captain Alfred Kitchiner 'Ken' Gatward and the Southgate Branch of the Royal British Legion at a ceremony in

Broomfield Park Broomfield Park was a association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, home of Airdrieonians F.C. (1878), Airdrieonians from 1892 until it was closed after the 1993–94 in Scottish football, 1993–94 football season.It w ...

in 1949 to commemorate Operation Squabble.

Clergy

Incumbents including the Weld Chapel:

Angela Berners-Wilson Angela Veronica Isabel Berners-Wilson (born 1954) is a Church of England priest and chaplain. She is considered to be the first woman to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England. She was chaplain at the University of Bath from 2004 to 201 ...

, the first woman ordained a priest in the Church of England, served as

deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek ...

at Christ Church between 1979 and 1982. Other notable curates have included John Yates.

Gallery

File:Weld Chapel, Southgate, 1862.jpg, The Weld Chapel (right) in 1862 during the construction of Christ Church Pam, David. (1982) ''Southgate and Winchmore Hill: A Short History''. London: Broomfield Museum. p. 8. File:Site of the Weld Chapel.jpg, Footprint of the Weld Chapel (1615-1861) now a Garden of Remembrance (built 1967) File:Lady Chapel, Christ Church Southgate.jpg, Lady Chapel, Christ Church Southgate (reordered 1905) with wall paintings by Percy Bacon Brothers and windows by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company File:The Choir of Christ Church Southgate in 1929.jpg, The Choir of Christ Church Southgate in 1929 File:St Matthew by William Morris (1861).jpg, St Matthew by William Morris (reputedly a self portrait) File:Christ Church, Southgate, London N14 - Window - geograph.org.uk - 1785940.jpg, Hope and Faith window by Edward Burne Jones File:Bradshaw, Walker, Donnithorne, grave Christ Church Southgate.JPG, The Walker Family Vault

References

External links

Christ Church web site
{{Churches in Enfield

Diocese of London Southgate, London Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Enfield Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the London Borough of Enfield