St Barnabas, Grove Road, Bethnal Green - East end (geograph 5618257)

St Barnabas Bethnal Green is a late 19th-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 * Ch ...

in Bow in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

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 ...

. It is an Anglican 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 nort ...

. The church is at the junction of Roman Road and Grove Road in the Bow West

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

of London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

History of the building

The building was initially built in 1865 as a Baptist chapel, to a design by William Wigginton, but was consecrated for the Church of England in 1870. It was built in a Gothic Revival style, built in yellow brick, banded with red and black. The church was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War. Following the end of the war the steeple was removed and the church rebuilt, retaining the tower and north and south walls. This remodelling was carried out by J Anthony Lewis of architects Michael Tapper & Lewis, who commissioned the sculptor

Don Potter Donald Steele Potter (21 April 1902 – 7 June 2004) was an English sculptor, wood carver, potter and teacher. Don Potter was born in Newington, near Sittingbourne, Kent, the son of a school teacher, and attended a private school. He joined ...

to create "The Four Evangelists" on the outside of the building (c.1957). Potter also created a font in Clipsham stone.

Activities

The PCC of St Barnabas Bethnal Green supports the

Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement OneBodyOneFaith, formerly the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM), describes itself as "UK-based international Charity which challenges homophobia and transphobia, especially within the Church and faith based organisations". History The Gay ...

and is only the second congregation to have affiliated as a body. From 2003 to 2012, the church played a key role in

St Barnabas Community Fete St Barnabas Community Fete (also known as Bowstock) was an annual fête and music festival held on Wennington Green in Mile End Park, Bow, London, England. It was run by local volunteers, who started the fete in 2003 as a non-religious, partic ...

(also known as Bowstock), whose director was the church's

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

, Father Brian Ralph.

References

External links

*
A Church Near You: St Barnabas Bethnal Green
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Barnabass Bethnal Green Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets 19th-century Church of England church buildings Diocese of London Bow, London