St Michael's, Fulwell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Michael's Fulwell
Church of St Michael and St George
OS grid reference	TQ 14951 71798
Location	Fulwell, Teddington, London
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England Anglican
Website	https://www.stmichaelsfulwell.co.uk/
History
Founded	1913; reopened 2014
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II Listed
Architect(s)	J S Adkins
Closed	2000–14
Administration
Parish	St Michael & St George Fulwell; formerly St Peter & St Paul Teddington with St Michael & St George Fulwell
Deanery	Hampton
Archdeaconry	Middlesex
Episcopal area	Kensington
Diocese	Diocese of London
Province	Canterbury

St Michael's Fulwell is a special old church building in Fulwell. This area is part of Teddington in London. It belongs to the Church of England. The church first opened in 1913. It was closed for a while, from 2000 to 2014. Then, it reopened in early 2015 with a new group of people. It is now a Grade II listed building, which means it's officially recognized as an important historical place.

Church History

The Church of St Michael and St George Fulwell first opened its doors in 1913. It was designed by an architect named J S Adkins. While Adkins worked on many churches, St Michael's is special because it was entirely his own design. The building's style mixes different old church designs. These include Gothic Revival, Perpendicular, and Arts and Crafts influences.

In the 1980s, some changes were made inside the church. The back part of the main hall, called the nave, was divided. This created an upstairs balcony and a meeting room. Downstairs, a kitchen, an entrance area, and storage spaces were added.

In March 1990, St Michael's church joined with another local church, St Peter & St Paul Teddington. They became one larger church area.

However, in November 2000, St Michael's church closed down. Most of the things inside, like furniture and decorations, were taken out. The building was left empty and started to get old and damaged for 15 years. No one was sure what would happen to it.

Reopening and New Beginnings

St Michael's church reopened in 2015. A team from another church, St Peter's Fulham, helped make this happen. Other people from nearby towns like Teddington and Twickenham also joined them. The Bishop of Kensington, Paul Williams, asked a vicar named Ed Kendall to start a new church group there. Many local churches also helped support this new beginning.

The church started holding Sunday morning services in January 2015. Their goal was to "rebuild a gospel-centred community for Fulwell, Teddington and beyond." Soon after, they added an evening service too. At first, they used the side-chapel and some smaller rooms for services. These rooms were refurbished to make them nice.

By 2016, the morning group had grown too big for the small rooms. So, a temporary indoor tent was set up in the main part of the church. This helped keep the space warm during winter.

In 2017, a project called "Regenerate" began. The aim was to fix up the rest of the church building. For four years, people worked hard to raise money and plan the designs.

In 2019, the Parish of St Michael & St George Fulwell became its own separate church area again. It was no longer joined with St Peter & St Paul Teddington.

The main building work for the "Regenerate" project happened from August 2021 to July 2022. During this time, the church group met at St Peter & St Paul Teddington. A special service was held on Thursday, October 13, 2022. This service celebrated the completion of the work. Bishop Ric Thorpe led prayers to rededicate the church.

Church Services

St Michael's church holds services on Sundays. There are family services at 10:30 am and 4 pm. There is also a more relaxed evening service at 6:30 pm.