St Michael and All Angels Church, Barnes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Michael and All Angels Church, Barnes
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Location	Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
History
Founded	1867 (congregation); 1891 (building)
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Charles Innes
Completed	1893
Administration
Deanery	Richmond & Barnes
Archdeaconry	Wandsworth
Diocese	Southwark

St Michael and All Angels Church is a historic Church of England church located in Barnes. It is found in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. This church is considered a Grade II listed building, meaning it is an important historical site. You can find it at 39 Elm Bank Gardens, London SW13 0NX.

The Story of St Michael's Church

This section tells you about how St Michael and All Angels Church came to be.

How the Church Began

The church community started in 1867. At first, they met in a building on Archway Street. This building was used as both a school and a church. Later, in 1878, a temporary church was put up next to the school. This temporary church was sometimes called a "tin tabernacle" because it was made of corrugated iron.

Building the Church You See Today

The church building you see now was built between 1891 and 1893. The person who designed it was Charles Innes. He was an architect and also a member of the church community. Charles Innes also designed parts of another nearby church, St Mary's Church, Barnes. In 1936, a vestry was added to St Michael's. A vestry is a room in a church where clergy prepare for services. It was built to match the style of the main church.

Famous Connections: Barbara Pym

Did you know a famous writer used to go to this church?

Who Was Barbara Pym?

Barbara Pym was a well-known novelist. She lived in Barnes from 1949 to 1961. During this time, she attended St Michael and All Angels Church. She was even a member of the Parochial Church Council. This council helps manage the church.

St Michael's in a Book

Barbara Pym often wrote about churches in London in her novels. St Michael's Church was the inspiration for the church in her 1955 novel, Less Than Angels. In the book, she describes a special church service called a High Mass on Whitsunday.

Here is a small part of what she wrote about the church:

So as to make sure of their favourite seat they had arrived rather too early, and there was nothing to do but look around the church which, like so many suburban churches, had been built at the beginning of the present century and had no ancient monuments or outstanding architectural features. Everything that could be was beautifully polished, from the altar candlesticks and lectern to the memorial tablets to late vicars... As it was a Festival the servers were in their lace-trimmed cottas and Father Tulliver was wearing a particularly splendid cope.

This shows how she saw the church as a place that was well cared for and had a special atmosphere during services.

Images for kids

• 

  St Michael and All Angels Church, Barnes.