St Paul's Bow Common is a 20th-century

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Bow Common Bow Common was an area of common land, that lay on Bow Common Lane in what is now the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Despite the name, the common lay just inside Mile End, Mile End's parish boundary with Bromley by Bow, and not in the parish o ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

. The church is at the junction of Burdett Road and St Paul's Way in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. It replaced an earlier church that was designed by Rohde Hawkins in 1858 and financed by William Cotton of

Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...

. Consecrated by Bishop

Charles James Blomfield Charles James Blomfield (29 May 1786 – 5 August 1857) was a British divine and classicist, and a Church of England bishop for 32 years. Early life and education Charles James Blomfield was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the eldest son (an ...

, this church was largely destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and demolished in the 1950s.

Architecture

The modern church was built in 1958–60, and the building is listed Grade II*. Its architects were Robert Maguire and Keith Murray.

Elain Harwood Elain Harwood Hon.FRIBA (10 June 1958 – April 2023) was a British architectural historian with Historic England and a specialist in post–Second World War English architecture. Early life and education Harwood was born on 10 June 1958 in B ...

, 'Liturgy and architecture: the development of the centralised eucharistic space', ''The Journal of the Twentieth Century Society , Twentieth Century Architecture 3: The Twentieth Century Church'' (

The Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20), founded in 1979 as The Thirties Society, is a British charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. It is formally recognised as one of the National ...

, 1998) p.71-2 , St Paul's Bow Common is illustrated on the cover of the journal The Revd. Gresham Kirkby, a Christian anarchist, was the architects' engaged client, championing the

Liturgical Movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

principles and continuing as parish priest until 1994. St Paul's is one of the clearest and earliest centralised churches from this movement. "It is rated one of the best post-war buildings in Britain".

Artworks

The bold lettering wrapping around the porch reads 'Truly this is none other but the house of God. This is the Gate of Heaven' (Genesis 28:17), and was designed and cast in situ by Ralph Beyer. An mosaic by Charles Lutyens in

tesserae A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae In early antiquity, mo ...

of coloured

Murano glass Venetian glass () is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Traditionally it is made with a Soda–lime glass, soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techn ...

(1963–68), ''Angels of the Heavenly Host'' is possibly the largest artist-created contemporary mosaic mural in Britain. The church was initially home to Lutyens' ''Outraged Christ'' sculpture in 2011, subsequently moved more permanently to

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...

. Artist Rose Finn-Kelcey's installation ''Angel'' covered the church's 78 square metre facade from February to July 2004. Commissioned by Art and Sacred Places, it was the joint winner of the 2007/2008 ACE Award for ‘Art in a Religious Context’.

Legacy

On 7 November 2013, the church won the

National Churches Trust The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British Charitable organization#United Kingdom, registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community ...

Diamond Jubilee Award for best Modern Church built in the UK since 1953. The awards were judged by architecture critic

Jonathan Glancey Jonathan Glancey, is an architectural critic and writer who was the architecture and design editor at ''The Guardian'', a position he held from 1997 to February 2012. He previously held the same post at ''The Independent''. He also has been in ...

, director of the

Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20), founded in 1979 as The Thirties Society, is a British charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. It is formally recognised as one of the National ...

Catherine Croft, president of the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association Sherry Bates, and trustee of the

Richard Carr-Archer. The building was described by the judges as the ‘embodiment of the groundswell of ideas about Christian worship’ and a ‘hugely influential signpost for future Anglican liturgy’.

Present day

The Revd Gresham Kirkby was succeeded by the Revd Prebendary Duncan Ross, who retired in October 2013. The current vicar is Mother Bernadette Hegarty. St Paul's is part of the Bow Group of Anglican churches, together with Bow Church (St Mary and Holy Trinity); All Hallows, Bow; St Paul's, Old Ford and St Barnabas Bethnal Green.

References

External links

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