St Michael's Church is the principal

Church of England Parish Church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

for

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

in north central London. The present building, built in the late 19th century, was designed by

George Frederick Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott and worked with C. E. Kempe. He was in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career and was ...

and

Thomas Garner Thomas Garner (1839 – 30 April 1906) was one of the leading English Gothic Revival architects of the Victorian era. He is known for his almost 30-year partnership with the architect George Frederick Bodley. Early life Born at Wasperton H ...

in a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style.

History

Saint Michael's began as a

church planting Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

mission in 1877 under the direction of Father Edward Bainbridge Penfold. The congregation first met for

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

at 5A Camden Road, a few doors away from the current church in a building which now houses a

betting shop In the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, a betting shop is a shop away from a racecourse ("off-course") where one can legally place bets in person with a licensed bookmaker. Most shops are part of chains, includi ...

. A service was celebrated in the shop to begin the celebrations for the parish's 125th anniversary in 2002. The church was named in remembrance of the church of St Michael Queenhithe, demolished in 1876 to fund the Camden mission. The present building was the first London church designed by Bodley and Garner and is built of brick with stone dressings in the decorated Gothic style. 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 ...

, begun in 1880, was consecrated by Bishop Walsham How on

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

1881. The

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

and the north chapel were added between 1892 and 1894 and consecrated by William Temple

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, later

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. A north west tower was planned but never built. The west front was restored in 2005 and a new roof was completed in August 2007. There is a small community garden next to the church with a War Memorial. The interior has a continuous, stenciled waggon ceiling covering both nave and chancel. The high altar in the chancel is surmounted by a stenciled

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

depicting the

Risen Christ The resurrection of Jesus () is Christian belief that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, starting—or restoring—his exalted life as Christ and Lord. According to the New Testament writing, Jesus wa ...

with seven

lamps Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or ligh ...

hanging above. There is also a threefold

Sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, typically made of stone, located on the liturgical south side of the altar—often within the chancel—intended for use by the officiating priest, deacon, an ...

in the south wall of the Sanctuary. The north chapel has a stone quadripartite ribbed vaulted ceiling and an

Easter Sepulchre An Easter Sepulchre is a feature of Late Medieval British and Irish church interior architecture. Description The Easter Sepulchre is an arched recess generally in the north wall of the chancel, in which from Good Friday to Easter day were deposi ...

. The South Aisle contains the organ and a side chapel at the east end, a Calvary Scene and a shrine of

Our Lady of Walsingham Our Lady of Walsingham is a title given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by Catholics and high-church Anglicans. According to tradition, the title is linked to a Marian vision experienced in 1061 by Lady Richeldis de Faverches, an Angl ...

. A set of fourteen

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

surround the nave in both the north and south aisles. At the west end there is a

Font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

with an intricate 19th century cover. Since 2015 the Church has hosted a contemporary art installation behind the font by the Royal Academy's Maciej Urbanek. The Work, titled 'HS', presents an abstract and subversive take on the classic image of the Holy Spirit descending as beams of light. It won the 2015 ACE Award for Art in a Religious Context. The church is Grade II* listed, for its interior. In 1954 the parish of St Michael's subsumed those of All Saints, Camden Town (which had become a Greek Orthodox church in 1948) and St. Thomas,

Agar Town Agar Town (also known as Ague Town, Hagar Town, Agar-Town and Agar-town) was a small, historically poor neighbourhood of St Pancras, London, St Pancras in central London. Most of the area was demolished making way for St Pancras railway station ...

, Wrotham Road (whose 1864 building was demolished due to war damage). From 2003 to 2023 St Michael's formed part of the Old St Pancras Parish, with

St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...

, St Mary's Church, Somers Town, and

St Paul's Church, Camden Square St Paul's Church is a church dedicated to Paul the Apostle on Camden Square in Camden, north London. It is called St Paul's because the estate was owned originally by the canons of St Paul's Cathedral. It was built in 1849 to designs by Freder ...

- all four are now independent parishes again.

Parish work

It has an active ministry to the homeless and refugees in the area, and regularly speaks out on local social issues. It featured in the BBC series ''The Power and the Glory'' and hosted the launch of the new '

Faithful Cities ''Faithful Cities'' was a report on urban life by the Church of England, produced by the Commission on Urban Life and Faith. Its findings were launched by John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, and Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Micha ...

' report (on which occasion John Sentamu, Archbishop of York and Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury also dedicated the new parish rooms at the side of the church). In March 2008 its priest, Father Nicholas Wheeler (licensed to the parish on 21 September 1996, and also Team Rector of the St Pancras Team Ministry) left to become Anglican Priest Missioner in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He was replaced as Team Rector and priest of St Michael's by Philip North, previously Shrine Administrator at

Walsingham Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Expl ...

who departed at the end of 2014 to become Bishop of Burnley. He was succeeded by Father Thomas Plant. The church is linked to St Michael's Church of England Primary School.Homepage
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Gallery

Image:St Michael, Camden Road - Stained glass window (geograph 3326205).jpg Image:St Michael, Camden Road - Pulpit (geograph 3326195).jpg Image:St Michael, Camden Road - Reredos (geograph 3326192).jpg Image:St Michael, Camden Road - Statue (geograph 3326190).jpg Image:St Michael, Camden Road - East end (geograph 3326153).jpg Image:St Michael, Camden Road - Interior (geograph 3326218).jpg Image:St Michael, Camden Road - Interior (geograph 3326210).jpg

Notes

External links

Church history project websiteListing websiteWebsite of Glorious Undead Church who also meet at St Michaels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael's Church, Camden Town Churches completed in 1894 19th-century Church of England church buildings Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Grade II* listed churches in London

Diocese of London Gothic Revival church buildings in London Camden Town

George Frederick Bodley church buildings