St Andrew, Stoke Newington, is a Grade II* listed Anglican parish church on Bethune Road in

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

(on the border of Stoke Newington), in the London Borough of Hackney,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The church, which is dedicated to

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

, is located at the junction of Bethune Road and Dunsmure Road in London N16.

History

A temporary iron church was established on Manor Road in 1876. On 23 September 1883 the parish of Stoke Newington, St Andrew was created from parts of the parishes of Saint Mary, Stoke Newington and Saint Thomas,

Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and origi ...

. It was one of several Hackney parishes listed by Charles Booth on his 1898–99 Poverty Map. The new parish's church, consecrated on 11 October 1884, was designed by Arthur Blomfield. The church's records, from 1883 to 1977, are held at the

London Metropolitan Archives The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its pr ...

Features

The interior is particularly striking, and features the extensive use of

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s, mostly by the Victorian designers

Heaton, Butler and Bayne Heaton, Butler and Bayne were an English firm who produced stained-glass windows from 1862 to 1953. History Clement Heaton (1824–82) Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London: Allen Lane, p. 371 ...

. Most of the murals have been painted directly onto the walls; only those at high level in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

are

marouflage Marouflage is a technique for affixing a painted canvas (intended as a mural) to a wall, using an adhesive that hardens as it dries, such as plaster or cement. History A French word originally referring to sticky, partly hardened scraps of pain ...

. The reredos paintings are on mahogany and portray the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

and the Apostles. The murals on the walls of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

depict the life of Jesus from the Annunciation to the Ascension. Figures from the Old Testament and the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

are in the chancel above the string course. Heaton, Butler and Bayne also designed most of the stained glass in the church's windows. The windows on the south side of the church did not survive damage by a bomb on 18 July 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The east window, dating from 1951, is by the Scottish stained glass artist William Wilson. The great west window was designed by

Burlison and Grylls Burlison and Grylls is an English company who produced stained glass windows from 1868 onwards. The company of Burlison and Grylls was founded in 1868 at the instigation of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Both John Bu ...

, largely as a

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, and was dedicated in 1919. It was rededicated on 15 November 2015 by the

Bishop of Stepney The Bishop of Stepney is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Stepney, an inner-city district in the London Borough of T ...

, the Rt Revd Adrian Newman, at a celebration marking the completion of the first phase of the ongoing repairs to St Andrew's Church. The church also includes an unusual First World War memorial listing those from the parish who served and returned. It has been restored and is now hung in its original position at the east end of the north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

. The font, designed by Blomfield in

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

, dates from 1884. Blomfield also designed the pulpit. The organ is by Walker and Sons.

Current activities

St Andrew's has a small faithful and diverse congregation. St Andrew's received a grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

in 2014 to replace the roofs over the south

and south

. Crumbling stonework and the west window have also been repaired. The chancel and north nave and aisle roofs remain to be done and substantial repairs are also required to the east window.

Services

The church's style of worship is liberal catholic. 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 ...

is held on Sundays at 10:30am, followed by tea, coffee and biscuits. Seeking Stillness is a time for meditation, silence and prayer is on Thursdays at 8pm. Children and young people are welcomed and celebrated. The first Sunday of the month is an All Age Eucharist where different people help to lead. And we also have ALL Age Church on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 2-3.30pm which is interactive worship with craft, bible story, games and food. The

priest in charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...

is the Revd Charis Enga.

References

External links