St Alban's Church is a former church located in

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

, in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

, England. It was dedicated to

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...

, the first English

Christian martyr In Christianity, a martyr is a person considered to have died because of their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at th ...

. The building, which is

Grade II* listed 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 ...

, is still owned by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

but is now leased to the Landmark Arts Centre for use as a venue for concerts and exhibitions.

History

In 1683

Charles Duncombe Charles Duncombe may refer to: *Charles Duncombe (English banker) (1648–1711), English banker, MP and Lord Mayor *Charles Duncombe, 1st Baron Feversham (1764–1841), English MP *Charles Duncombe (Upper Canada Rebellion) (1792–1867), American p ...

acquired a property opposite the

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, ...

of St Mary's Teddington from The Marquis of Winchester, and named it Teddington Place. The church was built directly opposite St Mary's Church, on part of the grounds of Teddington Place. The house, renamed Udney Hall, was torn down in 1946. The site is now the location of Udney Hall Gardens. The foundation stone of the new church was laid in 1887. The design of the new church, which was built in 1889 and

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

in 1896, was commissioned by its first vicar, Rev. Francis Leith Boyd, who had been appointed as Vicar of Teddington in 1884 when he was 28, officiating at the parish church of St Mary. It was designed in the

French Gothic style French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathedra ...

by architect William Niven(1846-1921) - William was born in Pershore and worked with sir George Gilbert Scott on the restoration of the chapter house at Westminster Abbey - he lived at Udney House while working on St Alban. Niven's name is engraved on the external wall at the west end of the south aisle wall. Most of the stonework is in Doulting limestone from near

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. The finer grain material used internally in partitions is

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest o ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

from

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The internal fittings were by A H Skipworth. The location of the pulpit, halfway down the nave, follows the French style. Its simple canopy was replaced in 1902 by a design in carved oak, embellished by

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

representations of three orders of angels. The window on the eastern side of the north transept, featuring

Jonah and the Whale Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...

, was designed by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lichg ...

and was modelled on a window in

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. The original stained glass windows mostly date from the 1890s, much of it vandalised, was by W.F.Dixon. The east window of St Alban and

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

windows (St. Peter, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John, St. Paul) are by Morris (Westminster) (1953). The window on the west wall was made in about 1850 by

Ward and Hughes Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows. History Ward and Hughes was proceeded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created large windo ...

and had been originally installed in St Peter’s Church,

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. Rescued in 1987 by the London Stained-Glass Repository of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass, it was dismantled and re-leaded for installation here in 1992. The congregation had attempted to build a massive church, based on the

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

and, though never designated as a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, St Alban’s was known informally as "the Cathedral of the Thames Valley". Funds ran short, and a planned tower was never built. A wall, intended to be temporary, was placed at the west end; also, the nave is shorter than in the original design. In 1967 the church congregation reverted across the road to the historic but much smaller church of St Mary's. The building ceased to be used in 1977 and sat empty and vandalised for several years. In 1985 the video for the song "

The Sun Always Shines on TV "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." is a song by Norwegian band A-ha, released as the third single from their debut studio album, ''Hunting High and Low'' (1985). The song was written by guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Pål Waaktaar. In some commerci ...

", by the Norwegian pop band

A-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

, was filmed in the church building. It also featured in a 1997 episode of the science fiction detective TV series ''

Crime Traveller ''Crime Traveller'' is a 1997 science fiction detective television series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes. Anthony Horowitz created the series and wrote every e ...

''. Local residents, including Jean Brown (who started the campaign and later became President of the Landmark Arts Centre, holding that post until her death in 2011) and Irene Sutton, secretary of the Friends of St Alban's, campaigned to save the deconsecrated church and to establish it as a local community and arts centre. In 1993 the temporary wall was replaced with a permanent one as part of the adaptation of the building for its new use.

The building today

The building is now operated by the Landmark Arts Centre, an independent charity, which delivers a wide-ranging arts and education programme for the local and wider community. Its activities include arts classes, concerts and exhibitions. In addition to its classes and events, the Centre is open to general visitors on weekdays from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm and a number of surviving architectural features can be seen.

References

External links

Official website: Landmark Arts Centre

Images of the church interior and in 1899

Photographs of St Mary's and St Alban's in 2016

Teddington Parish Church (St Mary with St Alban & St Peter & St Paul)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Albans Church, Teddington 1896 establishments in England 1977 disestablishments in England 19th-century Church of England church buildings Arts centres in London Churches completed in 1896 Churches in Teddington Former Church of England church buildings Former churches in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Gothic Revival church buildings in London