All Saints' Blackheath is an Anglican

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, ...

Blackheath, London Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich and southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional ce ...

. Today a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, it was opened in November 1858 by the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and was designed by Benjamin Ferrey.

History

Until the early 19th century, the hamlet of Blackheath south of the common was served by churches in nearby

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, Lee,

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

and Charlton. In 1854, residents appealed for the building of their own church, and, in 1857, construction of a parish church was agreed. Land on the southern edge of the common was donated by

William Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth William Walter Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth (12 August 1823 – 4 August 1891), styled Viscount Lewisham until 1853, was a British peer and Conservative politician. Political career Legge was elected in 1849 as Member of Parliament (MP) fo ...

, and he laid the foundation stone on 26 October 1857. On

All Saints’ Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are know ...

, 1 November 1858, the Bishop of London,

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bo ...

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

the church, which had been designed by the architect Benjamin Ferrey; construction continued until 1867. From 1867 to 1905, the church formed part of the

Diocese of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signa ...

; it now falls under the

Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Dio ...

. The church hosted choirs assembled by Sir

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

and

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

; the opera composer

Alfred Cellier Alfred Cellier (1 December 184428 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor. In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing th ...

was organist from 1862 to 1866, playing an organ made by Hill & Son in 1859 (and later enlarged by them). A memorial screen commemorating local people who died in

World War I 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 ...

was unveiled inside the church in April 1920. All Saints' was given listed building status in August 1954.

Terry Waite Terence Hardy Waite (born 31 May 1939) is an English humanitarian and author. Waite was the Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he ...

, humanitarian and a

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

between 1987 and 1991, lived in Blackheath and worked at All Saints' Blackheath. For the five years of Waite's detention the vicar, Rev Henry Burgin, kept a candle lit in the church.

Architecture

Ferrey designed a church which was constructed with Kentish ragstone and has a spire on its south-west corner. Vestries were added in 1890 and a porch in 1899, both to designs by Arthur Blomfield.

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

described it as "Puginian … already old fashioned", adding it was "Remarkable for the way in which it is placed right into the heath. Surrounded on all sides by grass, it stands as if it were a model."

Associated buildings

A National School of Industry, founded in Blackheath Vale in 1825, was taken over by the All Saints' parish in 1867, becoming All Saints' Girls School. This moved to a new site in Blackheath Vale in 1878, and in 1939 became an infants and junior mixed school, All Saints' C of E Primary School. In 1924 the church appointed the recently retired

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

architect Charles Canning Winmill (1865-1945), who lived locally at 2 Eliot Place and attended the church, to design All Saints' Parish Hall, which was constructed on land donated by the 6th Earl of Dartmouth in nearby Tranquil Vale and opened in 1928.

References

{{Churches in Lewisham 19th-century Church of England church buildings Anglican Diocese of Southwark Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Lewisham Grade II listed churches in London