St Paul's Church, Harringay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Paul's, Harringay
Parish Church of St Paul the Apostle
St Paul's Church, Harringay, as seen in June 2007
St Paul's, Harringay Location in Greater London
51°34′42″N 0°06′14″W / 51.5784°N 0.1039°W / 51.5784; -0.1039
Location	Wightman Road, London, N4
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Tradition	Anglican
History
Founded	28 June 1892
Dedicated	1883 & rededicated 1993
Architecture
Architect(s)	Peter Inskip and Peter Jenkins
Style	A modern interpretation of a classical Greek megaron
Years built	1882–83 & c. 1990–93
Administration
Parish	Harringay
Deanery	East Haringey
Archdeaconry	Hampstead
Episcopal area	Edmonton
Diocese	Diocese of London
Province	Canterbury

The Church of St Paul the Apostle is a special church located on Wightman Road in Harringay, north London. It serves the local community as a parish church. This means it's a church for people living in the Harringay area.

The church is part of the Church of England, which is the main Christian church in England. It belongs to the Edmonton Episcopal Area within the Diocese of London. The area is also part of the London Borough of Haringey.

Sadly, the original church building from the 1800s was destroyed by a fire in 1984. The amazing new building you see today opened in 1993. It was designed by architects Peter Inskip and Peter Jenkins.

In September 2018, the church got a fresh start with help from Christ Church Mayfair. Today, there are two services every Sunday. There's a Holy Communion service at 9:30 AM and a more relaxed service at 11:00 AM.

The First Church Building (1883)

St. Paul's church in c. 1930.

Back in 1883, Reverend Joshua Greaves became the vicar of Harringay. He found that the area was growing very fast. New houses were being built everywhere, but there was no proper church building.

So, a temporary church was set up in a tin hut. It opened for worship on December 23rd. This temporary church was located on Burgoyne Road.

Building the Permanent Church

Work on the first permanent church building began on May 20, 1890. Lady Louisa Wolseley laid the foundation stone on May 31, 1890. The church was officially opened and blessed on October 1, 1891, by Dr. Frederick Temple, who was the Bishop of London at the time.

On June 28, 1892, the area around St. Paul's Harringay officially became its own church parish. It was created from parts of other nearby parishes.

What the First Church Looked Like

The first church was designed by an architect named George Michael Silley. It was built using red bricks and special stone. It had a tall, pointed spire called a flèche. The building looked like a 13th-century English Gothic church.

It had a main area called a chancel, a south-east chapel, and a bell-cot. There were also north vestries and a large main hall called a nave. The church could hold about 700 people. The chancel and Lady Chapel were finished later, in 1903.

Inside, there was a beautiful oak screen at the entrance to the chancel. The choir stalls were arranged in a special way, leading up to the altar. The church also had a magnificent organ. Its stained glass windows were designed by an artist named John Byam Liston Shaw.

The chancel before its destruction by fire in 1984

When fully built, the church was about 130 feet long and 28 feet wide. The ceiling was 37 feet high. It could hold up to 900 people.

A church hall was built nearby on Cavendish Road. In 1903, a new house for the vicar, called a vicarage, was built next to the church.

Joshua Greaves was the Vicar for a long time, 40 years, until 1923. In 1932, new marble features were added. These included a marble altar, a marble font, and a marble reredos behind the altar. The font was a special memorial to those who died in World War I.

Sadly, on March 7, 1983, the church's roof caught fire. Workmen were repairing a hole in the roof when the fire started. The fire spread quickly and destroyed the entire church.

The Current Church Building (1993)

The inside of the new church has been described as having a "spiritual presence." It feels very special and peaceful.

When the new church was furnished, many new artworks were added. These pieces were made by four British artists. They were sculptors Danny Clahane, Stephen Cox, and Anton Wagner, and furniture maker John Makepeace.

Stephen Cox created a large, shield-shaped reredos for the east wall. It is made from special enamelled metal and stone. He also made the large altar table and the font. Both are crafted from a rare stone called Egyptian Imperial porphyry. Cox also made several porphyry candle holders.

The simple stone statues of St. Paul and St. Anthony were made by Danny Clahane. The traditional wooden figure of the Virgin Mary was created by Anton Wagner.

John Makepeace designed a unique alms box. It is one meter tall and carved from a single piece of oak. It has cool, deep zig-zag patterns on all its sides.

The church's organ was designed and built by Richard Bower. It fits perfectly into the organ case created by the church's architects.

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  Interior of the new church, looking west.

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  Interior of the new church, looking east.

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  Statue of St. Paul, by Danny Clahane (carved stone, c. 1994).

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  Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Anton Wagner (carved and painted wood, c. 1994).