The Church of St Mary and St Joseph is a 20th-century

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activities, ...

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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

The modern church was built in 1951-1954, as part of the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

Lansbury Estate The Lansbury Estate is a large, historic council housing estate in Poplar and Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is named after George Lansbury, a Poplar councillor and Labour Party MP. History Lansbury Estate is one ...

Live Architecture Exhibition, and was consecrated by Cardinal Godfrey in October 1960. It replaced an earlier church of the 1850s by

William Wardell William Wilkinson Wardell (1823–1899) was a civil engineer and architect, notable not only for his work in Australia, the country to which he emigrated in 1858, but for a successful career as a surveyor and ecclesiastical architect in En ...

that was destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Architecture

The building is listed Grade II. Its architect was

Adrian Gilbert Scott Adrian Gilbert Scott (6 August 1882 – 23 April 1963) was an English ecclesiastical architect. Early life Scott was the grandson of Sir Gilbert Scott ( George Gilbert Scott), son of George Gilbert Scott, Jr. (founder of Watts & Company in ...

, who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings. On a

Greek Cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

plan, it is built of steel girders and brick, with a reinforced concrete spire. On the outside, the plan becomes a series of rectangular blocks. It is notable for its elongated and tapered round parabolic arches (described as 'camel vaulted' at the time of its listing). Its mixed or

transitional style In interior design and furniture design, Transitional Style refers to a contemporary style mixing traditional and modern styles, incorporating old world traditional and the world of chrome and glass contemporary. Features The style combines cur ...

combines

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

or Jazz Modern with elements suggesting Hispanic Moorish, ancient Persian or Egyptian.

Gavin Stamp Gavin Mark Stamp (15 March 194830 December 2017) was a British writer, television presenter and architectural historian. Education Stamp was educated at Dulwich College in South London from 1959 to 1967 as part of the "Dulwich Experiment", then a ...

's description of 'Jazz Modern Byzantine' was used in the church's listing. The design has similarities to work by

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...

and to Adrian Gilbert Scott's own earlier St. James Anglican Church (Vancouver), and its parabolic arches informed his later work on St Leonard's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea. The interior contains stone reliefs of the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

by Peter Watts. The

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

is by William Wilson of Edinburgh.

External links

*
'Poplar – St Mary and St Joseph, Upper North Street, London E14' in ''Taking Stock: Catholic Churches of England & Wales''

'William Wilson: Print , Paint , Glass: 8 October - 13 November 2022', ''Royal Scottish Academy''

'Church of the Month', ''Londonosaurus''

Oliver Wainwright, 'Architects hark back to Festival of Britain with "vertical carnival"', ''The Guardian''

References

{{reflist Roman Catholic churches completed in 1954 Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster 1960 establishments in England 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom