Christ Church on Brixton Road in Lambeth SW9 is an Art Nouveau and

Byzantine Revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Ortho ...

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 ...

built in 1902 by

Arthur Beresford Pite Arthur Beresford Pite (2 September 1861 – 27 November 1934) was a British architect known for creating Edwardian buildings in Baroque Revival, Byzantine Revival and Greek Revival styles. The early years Arthur Beresford Pite was born on 2 Se ...

for his brother-in-law, Rev William Mowll. The foundation stone of the new church was laid on 13 December 1898 by Princess Helena, and the old church was demolished in 1899. The foundation stone, by

Edward Johnston Edward Johnston, CBE (11 February 1872 – 26 November 1944) was a British craftsman who is regarded, with Rudolf Koch, as the father of modern calligraphy, in the particular form of the broad-edged pen as a writing tool. He is most fa ...

, was cut by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

in 1902. The church was consecrated by Edward Talbot, the Bishop of Rochester, on 5 December 1902. There is a prominent clock on the exterior of church, probably erected at the time of its construction. The outside pulpit in the south-west corner was designed by Weir, Burrows and Weir and was dedicated on 3 November 1907. The present church was built on the site of an earlier chapel, formerly the independent Holland Chapel, which was sold to Anglicans in 1835, enlarged and renamed "Christ Church" in 1855. The foundation stone of the new church hall was laid on 24 July 1897, and the building was completed in 1899. There are five stained glass windows in the church. One is St Paul preaching to the Athenians, by

James Powell and Sons The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were London-based English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained glass window manufacturers. As ''Whitefriars Glass'', the company existed from the 17th century, but became well k ...

, which had been in the previous church building. The other four are 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 Good Samaritan, a companion pair of the Sacrifice of Isaac and the Presentation by Hannah of her son Samuel to Eli, and The Resurrection. There was a Hunter organ in the earlier church, which was transferred to the new church in 1902. This was subsequently removed: it is now installed in St Osmund's Church, Derby. It was replaced by a Willis in 1919. This has been supplemented by a digital organ installed in 2007. Located in a recent addition to the church is Café van Gogh, named in recognition of

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, who lived briefly nearby at ''87 Hackford Road'', where there is now a Blue plaque and which is open to visitors.

References

External links

Southwark Diocese information on Christ Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christ Church, Brixton Road Churches completed in 1902 Brixton Road Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Lambeth Grade II* listed churches in London Brixton Art Nouveau architecture in London Art Nouveau church buildings in the United Kingdom Church buildings with domes