St Stephen's Church, Bush Hill Park facts for kids

Parish Church of Stephen, Bush Hill Park
St Stephen's Church and lychgate war memorial
51.6417°N 0.0786°W / 51.6417; -0.0786
Location	Park Avenue, EN1 2ET
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Tradition	Modern Catholic
Website	https://www.london.anglican.org/directory/st-stephen-bush-hill-park/
Quick facts for kids History
Founded	1901
Dedicated	1907
Architecture
Architect(s)	John Samuel Alder (1847-1919)
Style	Early English Gothic
Years built	1906-16
Administration
Deanery	Enfield
Archdeaconry	Hampstead
Episcopal area	Edmonton
Diocese	Diocese of London
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	(Vacancy)

St Stephen's Church is a Church of England church in Park Avenue, Bush Hill Park in the London Borough of Enfield.

The History

The first St Stephen's was a simple temporary building (’iron church’) put up in 1901 as a chapel of ease to All Saints Church in Edmonton. In 1906 work began on a permanent church to a gothic design by John Samuel Alder (1847-1919) with walls built of Stamford stone, with Welden stone for the corners. Bath stone is used for the windows and pillars and York stone for the steps. The church was lit by electricity. The chancel, lady chapel, organ bay, clergy and choir vestries and three bays of the nave and aisles were completed in 1907 at a cost of £6,000, and consecrated that year by the Bishop of London. In 1909 St Stephen's became a separate parish. Completion of the church, which in 1912 was estimated to cost a further £4,800, was achieved in 1916, but the planned-for tower and spire were never built.

The Design

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  Architect's drawing of St Stephen's Parish Church; seen from Park Avenue

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  Architect's drawing of St Stephen's Parish Church; interior

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  St Stephen's Parish Church, Bush Hill Park south-west entrance under the truncated tower

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  St Stephen's Parish Church, Bush Hill Park; the west front, from the street

In the 22 August 1917 edition of The Building News and Architectural Journal (p. 144) the completed building was described as follows:

It comprises of a nave 84ft long and 27ft wide; aisles of the same length and 12 ft wide; chancel 41 ft long and 24ft wide; lady chapel of the same length and 15ft wide; organ aisle and clergy and choir vestries, with folding doors between, to admit of use as one large room for parish meetings, etc. There are, in addition, a recessed baptistry at west end of nave, and a tower porch at west end of south aisle, and two other entrnnce porches. The nave and chancel are of lofty proportions, with traceried clerestory windows, and an opened timbered and panelled roof of arched form; and there are handsome arcades with stone pillars and richly moulded arches, dividing the nave and chancel from the aisles and lady chapel. Large traceried windows are a feature at east and west ends of the church. At present only the lower stage of the tower has been built, up to the height of clerestory window-sills; but, when completed, the tower and spire, rising to a height of 170ft will be an important feature, and a landmark for many miles round. The general style of the church is Decorated Gothic [...] the walls throughout, inside and out, are faced with Casterton free stone, roughly chiselled. The roofs are covered with rough red hand-made tiles, floors laid with marble mosaic, or with wood blocks under the seats, which are of oak. The accomodation provided is for 750 persons [...] and the builders Messrs. John Bentley & Sons, of Walthan Abbey.

The stained glass

St Stephen's church has a number of twentieth-century decorated windows.

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  Stained-glass depiction (c.1915) of St Stephen the Martyr.

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  Decorated window (c.1917) at the west end of the nave.

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  Stained-glass depiction (1920s) of St Paul the Evangelist in prison.

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  Stained-glass depiction (1952) of parish youth organisations.

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  Stained-glass window (1946) at the east end of the nave; a memorial to Helen Forbes (d.1938) the wife of the first Vicar.

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  Stained-glass depiction (1950s) of the Adoration of the Magi.

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  Sttained glass memorial (1969) to the first Vicar of St Stephen's, Edward Forbes (1863-1941).

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  Stained glass depiction (1960s) of St Thomas the Apostle.

The Pipe Organ

The parish's first pipe organ (1-manual and pedal) was built for the temporary church building by the firm of Henry Jones. It was later moved to the church of St Alphege Edmonton. The present 3-manual instrument was installed in 1908, built by the Norwich-based firm of Norman and Beard. As a mark of the importance of the St Stephen's organ to the nation's heritage, being of special interest and warranting every effort to preserve, it has been awarded an Historic Organ Certificate by the British Institute of Organ Studies, the amenity society for the British organ, which lobbies Government, Historic England and other national bodies.

The original cost of the present instrument was £1,150. The imposing carved organ case is a gift from the fitst vicar, Edward Forbes (1863-1941), as a memorial to his father.

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  St Stephen's Parish Church, Bush Hill Park - organ facade (1908)

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  St Stephen's Parish Church, Bush Hill Park - the chancel, showing the position of the organ

The Lychgate

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  St Stephen's Parish Church, Bush Hill Park; the luchgate seen from Park Avenue

The lychgate was built in 1922, as a war memorial.