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St Paul's Church is a
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 Lorrimore Square in the London Borough of Southwark. The church describes itself as St Paul's, Lorrimore Square.


History

The original church was designed by local ecclesiastical architect Henry Jarvis. This church was built in the 1850s during the tenure as rector of William Cadman. The original church, then known as St Paul's, Walworth, was a prominent centre for
Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...
; Choral Eucharist was the principal Sunday service as early as 1863. The
Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...
includes a plate of the original church. It was in the
Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
style, and was almost completely destroyed in the
London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
.


Post War

The current church was designed by firm Woodroffe Buchanan & Coulter and built in 1959–60. It 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 ...
. The building is a
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
,
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
buttressed form with a community centre on the ground floor and the church itself and church hall above. There is an organ loft at the west end and a small
Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...
behind the altar at the east. The "folded" roof is made of plate timber and coated in turquoise oxidised copper; it incorporates a series of triangles, symbolising the Holy Trinity. The external walls are a mix of brick, reclaimed stone from the original church, and artificial blocks, some incorporating multicoloured stained glass units. The interior includes artworks by Freda Skinner and Gerald Holtom. The key elements of the description in the listing are as follows: ''"Reinforced concrete in-situ frame supporting pre-cast timber and steel roof. Its facetted structure gives it triangulation and great strength, clad in copper. Wall infill of precast concrete blocks perforated and infilled with … coloured glass, and brick, over plinth formed of rubble stone from the earlier church destroyed in 1941. … Quirky elevations dominated by steep-pitched, faceted copper roof, with fleche over entrance, and with deep eaves. Six-bay church has concrete honeycomb concrete facade, with antique coloured glass infill, set between projecting concrete piers and under zig-zag gabled eaves. The Lady chapel forms a projection at East end, similar in style but with lower eaves. … The church is dominated by its soaring roof, lined in unpainted timber, with white painted ribs to emphasise this unusual structure. Fittings, including the pulpit, font, and crucifix all designed by ohnWimbleton. East end sculpture of the Risen Christ in Glory by Freda Skinner, symbolic of the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension, over altar with applique decoration by Gerald Holtom depicting the twelve apostles."'' Pevsner describes the church building as “a restless, somewhat self-consciously modern exterior”. The parish website has an extensive photographic archive of the fixtures and fittings. The church was the subject of a detailed article by 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 ...
as its Building of the Month in October 2010. The wood carving "The Risen Christ in Glory" is by Freda Skinner (1960); it has a cross 16 ft and the figure is 8 ft high.
RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130
’s online archive has a photograph of the church from 1962 on it, before the surrounding vegetation grew to its current height.


References


External links


Diocese of Southwark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls Church Newington Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Southwark Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Southwark Hyperboloid structures 20th-century Church of England church buildings