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

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

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's parish boundary with Bromley by Bow, and not in the parish of Bow ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

. It is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north ...

. 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, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. It replaced an earlier church that was designed by

Rohde Hawkins Major Rohde Hawkins (born 4 February 1821 in Nutfield, Surrey; died 19 October 1884, Holmwood, Surrey) was an English architect of the Victorian period. He is known for the schools and churches that he built. ''Note: Both his given names "Ma ...

in 1858 and financed by William Cotton of

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...

. 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 (and ...

, this church was largely destroyed in 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 opposin ...

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 (born June 1958) is an architectural historian with Historic England and a specialist in post-Second World War English architecture. Early life Born in June 1958 in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, she attended Bramcote Hills Grammar S ...

, '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 (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is form ...

, 1998) p.71-2 , St Paul's Bow Common is illustrated on the cover of the journal The Revd.

Gresham Kirkby Reginald Gresham Kirkby (1916–2006) was an English Anglican priest and anarchist socialist. Biography Kirkby was born in Cornwall on 11 August 1916. His mother and aunt were Methodist, but he was inclined towards Anglo-Catholicism from an earl ...

, a

Christian anarchist Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately an ...

, 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. Kirkby was succeeded by Revd. Prebendary Duncan Ross, who retired in October 2013. 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 Ralph Alexander Beyer (6 April 1921 – 13 February 2008) was a German letter-cutter, sculptor and teacher. He was most noted for his work on Basil Spence's new Coventry Cathedral where Beyer carved ''Tablets of the Words''.

. 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 The oldest known tesserae ...

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 "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techniques, as well as ...

(1963–68) is possibly the largest artist-created contemporary mosaic mural in Britain. The church is currently home to Lutyens's 'Outraged Christ'.

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 registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK". It carries out th ...

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 invo ...

, director of the

Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is form ...

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 current vicar is Mother Bernadette Hegarty.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls Bow Common

Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom 20th-century Church of England church buildings Churches completed in 1960 Diocese of London Bow Common