The Barn Church, Kew facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Barn Church, Kew |
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| St. Philip and All Saints | |
The Barn Church, Kew
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| Location | Atwood Avenue, Kew, Richmond TW9 4HF |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Dedication | St Philip |
| Dedicated | 4 February 1929 |
| Consecrated | 1 May 1928 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Edward Swan |
| Years built | 1928 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | brick, timber |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Kew, St Philip & All Saints |
| Diocese | SOUTHWARK |
| Division | Wandsworth Archdeanery |
| Subdivision | Richmond and Barnes Deanery |
The Barn Church, Kew, also known as St Philip and All Saints, is a special church in England. It was the very first church in England to be built from an old barn and then officially opened for worship. You can find it in Kew, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
This unique church was built in 1929. It was made using parts of a 17th-century (or even older) barn that came all the way from Oxted in Surrey. In 2002, the west end of the church was changed into a large community room with a viewing area above. The main worship area was also updated in 1998.
St Philip and All Saints is part of a combined church area with St Luke's Church, Kew. They share the same leader, Rev Dr Melanie Harrington, who started in June 2021. The church is part of the Church of England and works with other local churches in Kew. Most people living in this area work in central London.
Contents
What Happens at the Church?
The church holds a worship service every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.
The church building and the hall next to it (built in 1967) are important places for the local community. There aren't many other community spaces nearby. Many activities for children happen here, including a nursery school, a group for parents and toddlers, and ballet classes.
The Barn Church's Story
Before the Barn Church was built, local churchgoers met at St Peter's. This was a hall built in 1910. It was later taken down in the 1990s. Now, a building with homes for older people stands there.
Moving a Historic Barn
The new church was built using wooden beams from an old barn and its stables. These buildings were located at Stonehall Farm in Hurst Green, Oxted, Surrey. The original barn was shaped like an 'L' and was built in the 1600s. Some of its wooden beams might have even been used on ships before!
In 1926, the barn's owners, Uvedale Lambert and his wife Cecily, offered it to the Diocese of Southwark. The diocese wanted to build 25 new churches. They decided to move the barn to North Sheen, which is now part of Kew. The land for the church was kindly given by Hugh Leyborne Popham.
Edward Swan from Oxted was the architect who designed the church. Mr J J Fuller from Chiswick was the builder. The church cost only about £5,000 to build, not including the inside decorations. This made it one of the cheapest churches of its size ever built!
The Lambert family gave the barn to the church. Their relatives, the Hoare family, also gave a lot of money. Walter Hoare from Basingstoke even provided special bricks and tiles. These bricks were two inches thick, just like the ones used when the barn was first built. The stone slabs in the church's entrance areas are the original floor from the barn where grain was threshed.
The windows of the church look like those at Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire. The church's tower frame was copied from Tandridge Church. It was made from wood cut at South Park, Bletchingley. The church bell was a gift from Holy Trinity Church in Wandsworth. The pointy top of the church, called a broach spire, was copied from St Swithun's Church, Martyr Worthy near Winchester.
In 1928, the barn was carefully taken apart at Stonehall. Each wooden beam was numbered so it could be put back together correctly. These beams were then loaded onto lorries and driven to North Sheen. There, the barn was rebuilt into the church you see today. You can still see the numbers on the beams! Very few changes were made to the original barn structure. The roof was changed slightly to make the side aisles wider, and brick walls were added instead of wooden boards. However, the stone base of the church is original.
Official Opening
The first stone of the church was laid by Mrs Philip Hoare. It was officially blessed by the Bishop of Woolwich on May 1, 1928. May 1st is a special day for St. Philip in the church calendar. The church was then officially opened by the Bishop of Southwark on February 4, 1929.
The church was built to remember several members of the Hoare and Lambert families who had passed away. A special plaque inside the church lists their names.
Inside the Church
The lady chapel (a small chapel dedicated to Mary) was set up to remember Uvedale and Cecily Lambert. The wood used for this chapel came from a large cedar tree that fell in a churchyard in 1927. The chairs in the main worship area are also made from this wood. The beautiful stained glass window in the lady chapel was designed in 1999 by Christine Flint Sato. It remembers her father, Peter Flint, who was a churchwarden for 20 years.
The wooden panels in the main worship area came from Black Charles in Kent. Most of the new oak wood used in the church's fittings was given by Mrs Philip Hoare.
The pulpit, where sermons are given, was carved by Geoffrey Hoare. It is a copy of a famous pulpit in Hereford Cathedral. The plain decorations on the ends of the choir-stalls came from a church in Fleet Street, London. They were removed during renovations in the 1860s and bought by Henry Gerard Hoare.
The altar rails are in a style from the 1600s and came from Writtle Church in Essex.
The font, used for baptisms, is a copy of one in Aldenham, Hertfordshire. It is made from "Surrey" marble dug from South Park, Bletchingley. Children from North Sheen helped pay for it.
The Church Organ
The church has an old organ from 1894. It was put in the church to remember Father John Alban, the first leader of the Barn Church. It has two keyboards and 13 different sounds.
Church Hall and Changes to the West End
In 1967, a hall was built next to the church. The architect was George E Cassidy.
In 2002, the west end of the Barn Church was changed by Keith Murray. The long main area was split into two parts: one for worship and another for community use. This community area has a viewing gallery above it. Oak wood was used in these changes to match the original wood inside the church.
People Who Led the Church
Some notable people have served at the Barn Church. Timothy Beaumont, Baron Beaumont of Whitley, who was a leader of the Liberal Party, was the priest-in-charge from 1986 to 1991. David Frayne, who later became the dean of Blackburn Cathedral, was also a vicar at the Barn Church before that.
Other Churches Inspired by the Barn Church
The unique story of the Barn Church in Kew inspired another church to be built. In 1930, St Alban's, Cheam was constructed using old barns and materials from Cheam Court Farm. This farm might have been connected to Nonsuch Palace, a royal palace built by King Henry VIII. Edward Swan, the architect of the Barn Church, also helped design St Alban's.
See also
- Barn Church, Culloden, Scotland
- Barn Church (Troy, Michigan)
- St Alban's, Cheam
- St Anne's Church, Kew
- St Luke's Church, Kew
- Uvedale Lambert
