Christ Church, Southgate, is a

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 Britai ...

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, ...

in Waterfall Road,

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

, London. It describes itself as a " liberal catholic Church of England parish". The building is grade II* listed with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

. In 2014 the church registered as an Inclusive Church. The church choir makes regular recordings and tours as well as supporting worship on Sundays at 10am and at Choral Evensong at 6.30pm.

History

In 1615, Sir John Weld, owner of the

Arnos Grove Arnos Grove () is an area of north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is centred north of Charing Cross. It is adjacent to New Southgate. The natural grove, larger than today, was for many centuries the largest woodl ...

estate, established the Weld Chapel, located to the west of Christ Church, at which local people were allowed to worship. In the 19th century, the Rev. James Baird, a minister of the Weld Chapel who had married into the Walker family who then owned Arnos Grove house, saw that the chapel was too small and dilapidated for current needs, and the Walker family donated land on which Christ Church was built. The architect was

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

(father of George Gilbert Scott Jr.). The church was consecrated by John Jackson, then Bishop of Lincoln and later Bishop of London, on 17 July 1862.

Choir

Christ Church Southgate has a strong musical tradition, dating back to the time of the Weld Chapel. The choir of Christ Church Southgate has been in existence since the first service held in Christ Church, when the choir was augmented by choristers from St Paul's Cathedral. Originally a choir of men and boys, it is now a mixed choir of adults and junior members. Notable alumni include the acclaimed organist and choral conductor

Martin Neary Martin Gerard James Neary LVO is an English organist and choral conductor. Neary was born in London, and read theology and music at Cambridge University. He was Organist and Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral from 1972 to 1988, and Org ...

. The choir sings for the main Parish

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

every Sunday at 10.00am and

Choral Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which beca ...

each Sunday at 6.30pm, performs regular concerts and tours to cathedrals around the UK and Europe.

Windows

The church is home to the largest collection of

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

stained glass windows in London by Morris, Marshall Faulkner & Company (later

Morris & Co Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (1861–1875) was a furnishings and decorative arts manufacturer and retailer founded by the artist and designer William Morris with friends from the Pre-Raphaelites. With its successor Morris & Co. (1875–194 ...

) with work ranging from 1861 to 1913 including windows by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painti ...

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of commo ...

John Henry Dearle John Henry Dearle (22 August 1859 – 15 January 1932) was a British textile and stained-glass designer trained by the artist and craftsman William Morris who was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Dearle designed many of th ...

and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

himself. Other features include fine windows 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 Faith & Hope window in the nave of the church, designed by Edward Burne-Jones was installed in memory of Letitia Catherine Hayes, sister of the British Imperial Statesman

John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, (4 March 1811 – 27 June 1879), known as Sir John Lawrence, Bt., between 1858 and 1869, was an English-born Ulsterman who became a prominent British Imperial statesman who served as Viceroy ...

, who resided at

Southgate House Southgate House is a grade II* listed building in Southgate, London. Built in the late 18th century, it was once the home of Isaac Walker, father of the Walker brothers, and later of John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence. From 1924 to 1987 it formed ...

. The great east window by Clayton & Bell was installed in 1862 in memory of Vincent Figgins Jnr, who continued the work of his father

Vincent Figgins Vincent Figgins (1766 – 29 February 1844) was a British typefounder based in London, who cast and sold metal type for printing. After an apprenticeship with typefounder Joseph Jackson, he established his own type foundry in 1792. His company ...

the type-founder.

Reredos

The reredos, installed in 1868, is a fine mosaic by

Antonio Salviati Antonio Salviati (18 March 1816 – 25 January 1890) was an Italian glass manufacturer and founder of the Salviati family firm. Biography A native of Vicenza, Salviati was a lawyer who became interested in glass work after participating in re ...

depicting the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

. The cartoon is by John Clayton of Clayton & Bell and is nearly identical to the Salviati reredos in Westminster Abbey, installed a year earlier.

The Walker family

The burial vault of

the Walkers of Southgate The Walkers of Southgate were an English cricketing family who lived at Arnos Grove house in Southgate, Middlesex, England. The family fortune was partly built through the brewing company Taylor Walker, and the Walker brothers – seven of t ...

is located in the churchyard, near the west door. The vault contains the remains of all seven of the famous cricketing Walker brothers. The churchyard also contains the vault of the Taylor family of Grovelands House who, with the Walker family, established the Taylor Walker Brewing Company. The Lady Chapel was decorated in 1905–06 with wall paintings by

Percy Bacon Brothers Percy Bacon Brothers was a firm which produced stained glass in London from about 1880 until the late 1930s. The firm was established by the painter and sculptor, Percy Charles Bacon (1860–1935). In about 1892 he was then joined in the busines ...

in memory of Issac and Sophia Walker of Arnos Grove and their children.

War memorials

The

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

memorial inside the church was designed by Charles Marriott Oldrid Scott, the grandson of George Gilbert Scott, following a design competition. It lists 146 men from the parish and includes the two sons of the famous detective

Frederick Porter Wensley Frederick Porter Wensley (28 March 1865 – 4 December 1949) served as a British police officer from 1888 until 1929, reaching the rank of chief constable of the Scotland Yard Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Serving in Whitechapel for ...

who lived in Powys Lane. Information on some of the men listed can be found in a booklet produced by the church. The Memorial was installed in 1921. Inside the church hangs a Tricolore presented to Group Captain Alfred Kitchiner 'Ken' Gatward and the Southgate Branch of the Royal British Legion at a ceremony in

Broomfield Park Broomfield Park was a association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, home of Airdrieonians F.C. (1878), Airdrieonians from 1892 until it was closed after the 1993–94 in Scottish football, 1993–94 football season. Aird ...

in 1949 to commemorate Operation Squabble.

Clergy

Incumbents including the Weld Chapel:

Angela Berners-Wilson Angela Veronica Isabel Berners-Wilson (born 1954) is a Church of England priest and chaplain. She is considered to be the first woman to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England. She was chaplain at the University of Bath from 2004 to 201 ...

, the first woman ordained a priest in the Church of England, served as

deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited l ...

at Christ Church between 1979 and 1982. Other notable curates have included John Yates.

Gallery

File:Weld Chapel, Southgate, 1862.jpg, The Weld Chapel (right) in 1862 during the construction of Christ Church Pam, David. (1982) ''Southgate and Winchmore Hill: A Short History''. London: Broomfield Museum. p. 8. File:Site of the Weld Chapel.jpg, Footprint of the Weld Chapel (1615-1861) now a Garden of Remembrance (built 1967) File:Lady Chapel, Christ Church Southgate.jpg, Lady Chapel, Christ Church Southgate (reordered 1905) with wall paintings by Percy Bacon Brothers and windows by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company File:The Choir of Christ Church Southgate in 1929.jpg, The Choir of Christ Church Southgate in 1929 File:St Matthew by William Morris (1861).jpg, St Matthew by William Morris (reputedly a self portrait) File:Christ Church, Southgate, London N14 - Window - geograph.org.uk - 1785940.jpg, Hope and Faith window by Edward Burne Jones File:Bradshaw, Walker, Donnithorne, grave Christ Church Southgate.JPG, The Walker Family Vault

References

External links

{{Churches in Enfield

Diocese of London Southgate, London Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Enfield Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the London Borough of Enfield