Former Places of Worship Research Project
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The Diocese of Diocesan Mission & Pastoral Committee (DMPC) Southwark and Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches (DAC) Former Places of Worship research project: booklet published in Autumn 2020 Photo: closed church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, now the Garden Museum The Diocese of Southwark The South London Church Fund and Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance is a company limited by guarantee (No 236594) Registered Office: Trinity House, 4 Chapel Court, Borough High Street, London SE1 1HW. Charity No 249678 Company Secretary: Ruth Martin Background to the project From approx. 2004 until 2015, the staff of the Pastoral Department, on behalf of the DMPC and DAC, carried out a research project to gain a more thorough knowledge of those buildings previously used for Anglican worship which were formerly connected with the Diocese of Southwark or its predecessor dioceses. Our thanks go in particular to Stephen Craven (previously Pastoral Department Administrator) and Andrew Lane (Deputy Diocesan Secretary, and Secretary to the DMPC and DAC) for their work on this project. Who is this booklet for? For the first time this booklet compiles, in one place, the results of the project’s findings. The resource is offered with the intention of assisting: • parishes wishing to explore the history of their former buildings; • academics and others carrying out research on topics such church architecture, or the history of the Anglican Church in South London and East Surrey; and • members of the public investigating their family history. Why might a church be ‘closed’? There are many reasons why these buildings have ceased to be used for regular services of Anglican public worship, including bomb-damage in the Second World War, ‘redundancy’ (formal closure), or replacement by newer church buildings. The options for the future of a church formally closed for worship are: • Conversion to a suitable alternative use, e.g. o Worship and/or complementary use by another Christian organisation, o Cultural, community, or commercial use (such as an arts centre, museum, or for a nursery), or o Residential; • Demolition, with the site being used to rebuild a new church or to sell off for redevelopment and alternative use; or • (in exceptional circumstances only) preservation by the Churches Conservation Trust. In the 21st-Century, very few churches (usually less than one a year) are permanently and legally ‘closed’ in the Diocese of Southwark. Where this does take place, it is often for the purpose of demolition of the old building and its replacement with a new church that is better suited to the current mission and ministry needs of the parish to serve its local community. Brief history of the Diocese of Southwark When researching the history of churches in the region it is important to be aware that the Diocese of Southwark, which covers South London and East Surrey, was founded a little over a hundred years ago. For more than a thousand years the area covered by the present Diocese of Southwark belonged to the Diocese of Winchester. In 1877 the area was added to the Diocese of Rochester. In 1905 the separate Diocese of Southwark was created, to include the whole of the county of London south of the Thames and the Parliamentary divisions of East and Mid Surrey. The Diocese was expanded further in 1985 when 32 parishes in and around Croydon were transferred from the Diocese of Canterbury. The area of London north of the River Thames is served by the Dioceses of London and (in East London) Chelmsford. Where to look for church records? For those researching church buildings or family history, the following archives may be helpful: • London Metropolitan Archives • Lambeth Palace Library (and the Church of England Record Centre) • the following County Record Offices o Surrey History Centre o Kent History and Library Centre o Hampshire Archives and Local Studies • the local history library and archives for the relevant borough or district council (examples include Lewisham Local Studies and Archives Centre or the Redhill Centre for Local and Family History) • the National Archives ‘Discovery’ web-catalogue, which holds over 32 million entries of records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 archives across the country. Websites, searchable online catalogues, and contact details can be easily found on the Internet. Please note: at Trinity House (the Diocese of Southwark’s offices), we do not have access to any registers of baptisms, marriages or burials. These are either retained by the local parish or deposited with the relevant archives (usually London Metropolitan Archives or Surrey History Centre). Also, we hold (at most) very limited information about these former places of worship, except in rare cases where the diocese retains ownership of the building. What is the DMPC? The Diocesan Mission & Pastoral Committee (DMPC) is a statutory committee established by the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 and is part of the Diocesan Council of Trustees (DCT). The DMPC reviews the arrangements for pastoral supervision and care in the Diocese and makes recommendations to the Bishop. Amongst other matters, the DMPC’s oversight might include what is known as ‘pastoral reorganisation’: team and group ministries, union of benefices, creation of new benefices/parishes, changes in parish boundaries, ‘redundancy’ (legal closure) of parish churches, etc. What is the DAC? The Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) is a statutory committee set up under the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018. The DAC gives advice to parishes and to diocesan officials and boards/committees/councils on matters affecting current places of worship in the diocese, including: • the grant of faculties, • the architecture, archaeology, art or history of a place of worship, • the use or care of a place of worship, • the use or care of the contents of a place of worship, or • the use or care of a churchyard or burial ground. It is also an advisory body to the Bishop, DMPC, and others on the planning and design of new places of worship, or the closure of former places of worship. Included amongst the DAC’s membership are those who, between them, have: • knowledge of the history, development and use of church buildings, • knowledge of Church of England mission, ministry, liturgy and worship, • knowledge of architecture, archaeology, art and history, and • experience of the care of historic buildings and their contents. ---------------------------- Thank you for your interest in this topic, and we hope you will find this resource useful. Jackie Pontin Luke Tatam Deputy Diocesan Secretary DAC Secretary and DMPC Secretary FORMER PLACES OF WORSHIP IN THE DIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK Please find below an alphabetical list of former places of worship in the Diocese of Southwark, which serves as an index to the individual ‘factsheets’ which comprise the remainder of the booklet. Each factsheet includes, wherever possible, the following information (believed to be correct as at July 2007 or whenever the factsheet was last verified): • The current status of the building (e.g. demolished or converted) • The Local Authority area (e.g. Borough of Croydon) • The build date and build architect • The postal address and postcode • The grid reference of the site • The listed status of the building (e.g. Grade II, Grade II* or Grade I) • Whether a CPW / CCC report was done (usually prior to demolition) • Which is the relevant County Record Office (NB where a reference code is given that begins with ‘LMA’, this refers to the London Metropolitan Archives.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Battersea, St Mary-Le-Parc (1) Addiscombe, Gordon Hall Battersea, St Mary-Le-Parc (2) Addiscombe, Parkview Chapel Battersea, St Matthew's Mission Chapel Addiscombe, St Mary Magdalene Battersea, St Peter Battersea, St Stephen Battersea, St Philip the Apostle B Battersea, St Luke Balham, St Crispin Bermondsey, Cambridge University Balham, St John the Divine Mission Balham, St Paul Bermondsey, Christ Church Barnes, Castelnau Mission Hall Bermondsey, Clare College Mission Battersea Park, All Saints Bermondsey, St Andrew Battersea, Caius College Mission Chapel Bermondsey, St Crispin (1) Battersea, Christ Church Bermondsey, St Crispin (2) Battersea, Katherine Low Settlement Bermondsey, Katharine Mission Bermondsey, St Luke Battersea, St Aldwin Bermondsey, St Paul Battersea, St Andrew Bermondsey, St Peter's Mission Hall Battersea, St Bartholomew Bermondsey, St Saviour Battersea, St George the Martyr Bermondsey, St Stephen (Mission Church) Battersea, St George with St Andrew Bermondsey, St Thomas Battersea, St James (Mission Church) Blackfriars Road, Christ Church Battersea, St John Blackheath, St German's Chapel Blackheath, St John's Mission Hall Charlton, St Paul Blackheath, St Peter's Chapel Charlton, St Richard Bletchingley, St Andrew Charlton, Sundorne Mission Hall Bletchingley, St Mark's Chapel (South Cheam Common, St Philip Park) Cheam, Lumley Chapel Box Hill, St Andrew Cheam, Mission Church Brixton Hill, St Saviour (1) Chessington Chapel Brixton Hill, St Saviour (2) Chipstead, Mugswell Mission Brixton Road, Christ Church Clapham Park, All Saints Brixton, Beehive Mission Room Clapham Park, St Stephen Brixton, St Catherine (Mission Church) Clapham, St Bede Brixton, St Matthew Clapham, St James Brixton, St Paul Clapham, St Mary Brixton, Sussex Road Mission Hall Clapham, St Paul (Mission Church) Brockley, St Cyprian (1) Clapham,