St Augustine's, Kilburn

Last updated

St Augustine's, Kilburn
St Augustine's Church, Kilburn Park Road, London NW6 - geograph.org.uk - 995846.jpg
St Augustine's, Kilburn
Location City of Westminster, London
CountryEngland
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Anglo-Catholic
History
Founder(s)Richard Carr Kirkpatrick
Dedicated1880
Architecture
Architect(s) John Loughborough Pearson
Years built1871–1897
Administration
Diocese London
Clergy
Bishop(s) Bishop of Fulham (AEO)
Vicar(s) Colin J. Amos
Archdeacon Archdeacon of Charing Cross

Saint Augustine's, Kilburn, is a Church of England church in the area of Kilburn, [1] in North London, England. Because of its large size and ornate architecture, it is sometimes affectionately referred to as "the Cathedral of North London", [2] although the church is not a cathedral in any official sense.

Contents

History

St Augustine's was founded by Richard Carr Kirkpatrick in the Anglo-Catholic tradition in 1870. By 1871, a foundation stone had been laid and the original "iron church" was subsequently replaced by a much more ambitious building, a Gothic Revival church designed by John Loughborough Pearson. It is listed as a Grade I building by Historic England. [3]

Architecture

Pearson's plans called for a red brick structure, vaulted ceilings, and extensive interior stone sculpture in a style reminiscent of 13th-century Gothic architecture. The church was consecrated in 1880, but the tower and spire, remarkable for such structures in the Victorian era, were not constructed until 1897–1898. [4] Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed the reredos (altar screens) for the high altar in 1930. He also designed the reredos of the Lady chapel and the Stations of the Cross. In 1878, two years prior to the dedication of the church, contemporary historian Edward Walford had already referred to St Augustine's, Kilburn, as "one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical structures in London." [5]

The spire measures more than 77 metres (253 feet) high. Completed in 1878, the nave measures nine metres (28 feet) wide with nine bays and a crossing that is bounded by transepts on the north and south sides. The religious art in various forms depicts most of the major biblical stories. Clayton and Bell created the stained glass windows, which include a large rose window depicting the Creation, nine clerestory windows (five depicting types of angels), nave windows depicting saints connected with England, a window depicting Saint Augustine and several other tall lancet windows. Paintings around the nave depict the healing ministry of Christ. The chancel and sanctuary are surrounded by densely-carved sculptural forms representing the Passion, Crucifixion, Entombment, and Resurrection of Christ, as well as the Apostles, saints and other religious iconography. The south transept leads to St Michael's Chapel with depictions of the Eucharist, sacrifice, angels and the worship of Heaven. The Lady Chapel presents frescoes of the Christ child and a later carving of Christ's Presentation in the Temple. [6]

Today

The church stands prominently to the south of Kilburn and the north of Maida Vale. It has two schools, St Augustine's Primary School and St Augustine's High School.

Congregational history

Richard Carr Kirkpatrick served as parish priest at Saint Augustine, Kilburn, from 1870 to 1907. He formed the church after his parish at St Mary's, Kilburn, where he served as curate, received an evangelical vicar unsympathetic to the Anglo-Catholic movement (also referred to as the Oxford Movement, "Tractarians" or disparagingly as "Puseyites" after one of the founders of the movement, Edward Bouverie Pusey). Kirkpatick clothed Emily Ayckbowm as the founding sister of the Community of the Sisters of the Church here in 1870. [7] Kirkpatrick was followed in the vicarage by:

The interior of St Augustine's Church was used in the filming of Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), for the church of the Reverend Duncan Nesbitt (played by Donald Eccles). In the scene, Nesbitt is hit by a poison dart, and begins hallucinating about one of the stained glass figures (a knight) coming alive and trying to kill him. This knight is noted for being the first fully photorealistic animated character in any feature film. [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Loughborough Pearson</span> British architect

John Loughborough Pearson was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation. He worked on at least 210 ecclesiastical buildings in England alone in a career spanning 54 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Cathedral</span> Catholic church in London, England

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, known as Westminster Cathedral, is the largest Roman Catholic church in England and Wales and the seat of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Frederick Bodley</span> English architect (1827–1907)

George Frederick Bodley was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and worked in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career. He was one of the founders of Watts & Co.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Agnes and St Pancras, Toxteth Park</span> Church in Liverpool, England

The Church of St Agnes and St Pancras is in Ullet Road, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is an active Anglican church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of Toxteth and Wavertree. Pevsner described it as "by far the most beautiful Victorian church of Liverpool...an epitome of Late Victorian nobility in church design".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Roman Catholic)</span> Church in County Armagh, Northern Ireland

St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland. It was built in various phases between 1840 and 1904 to serve as the Roman Catholic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Armagh, the original medieval Cathedral of St. Patrick having been retained by the state church, the Church of Ireland at the time of the split of the Irish Church during the Reformation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide</span> Church in Adelaide, South Australia

St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Adelaide and Metropolitan of the Province of South Australia. The cathedral, a significant Adelaide landmark, is situated on approximately 1 acre (0.40 ha) of land at the corner of Pennington Terrace and King William Road in the suburb of North Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (Santa Fe)</span> Church in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salford Cathedral</span> Catholic cathedral in Salford, Greater Manchester, England

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist, usually known as Salford Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral on Chapel Street in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Salford and mother church of the Diocese of Salford, and is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John the Divine, Kennington</span> Church in London, England

St John the Divine, Kennington, is an Anglican church in London. The parish of Kennington is within the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. The church was designed by the architect George Edmund Street in the Decorated Gothic style, and was built between 1871 and 1874. Today it is a grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Nantwich</span> Church in Cheshire, England

St Mary's Church is an Anglican parish church in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It has been called the "Cathedral of South Cheshire" and it is considered by some to be one of the finest medieval churches, not only in Cheshire, but in the whole of England. The architectural writer Raymond Richards described it as "one of the great architectural treasures of Cheshire", and Alec Clifton-Taylor included it in his list of "outstanding" English parish churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town</span> Church in Cape Town, South Africa

St George's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, and the seat of the Archbishop of Cape Town. St. George's Cathedral is both the metropolitical church of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and a congregation in the Diocese of Cape Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Dykes Bower</span>

Stephen Ernest Dykes Bower was a British church architect and Gothic Revival designer best known for his work at Westminster Abbey, Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and the Chapel at Lancing College. As an architect he was a devoted and determined champion of the Gothic Revival style through its most unpopular years. He rejected modernism and continued traditions from the late Victorian period, emphasising fine detail, craftsmanship and bright colour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Saviour's, Pimlico</span> Church in England

St Saviour's is an Anglo-Catholic church in Pimlico, City of Westminster, London, England, located at the north end of St George's Square. It was constructed in the 1860s as part of Thomas Cubitt's development of the area on behalf of the Marquess of Westminster. The church was designed by Thomas Cundy, who had previously built St Gabriel's Pimlico a short distance away. As with St Gabriel's, St Saviour's was designed in the Gothic style and built in ragstone to emphasise the contrast with the classical stucco of its secular neighbours. The church is Grade II listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newry Cathedral</span> Church in United Kingdom, Northern Ireland

The Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Colman or Newry Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Newry, Northern Ireland. It acts as the seat of the Bishop of Dromore, and the Mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 200,000 people visited the cathedral each year. The cathedral sits on Newry's Main Street and is a Grade A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge</span> Church

Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge is a Grade II* listed 19th-century Church of England church in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, which had parish church status until 2011. It is commonly known in Trowbridge as 'The Church on the Roundabout', as it is encircled by a one-way traffic system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John's Church (Hagerstown, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. John's Church, or St. John's Episcopal Church, founded in 1786, is an historic Episcopal church located at 101 South Prospect Street in the South Prospect Street Historic District of Hagerstown, Maryland. It is the seat of Saint John's Parish, Diocese of Maryland, which covers most of Washington County, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Trenton, New Jersey)</span> Church in New Jersey, United States

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is an Episcopal cathedral located in Trenton, New Jersey, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Teresa of Avila, Birkdale</span> Church in Merseyside, England

The Church of St Teresa of Avila in Everton Road, Birkdale, Southport, Sefton, Merseyside, England, is an active Roman Catholic church in the diocese of Liverpool. It was built in 1897–98 and designed by the architectural partnership of James Sinnott, Bernard Sinnott & Daniel Powell. The church, together with its attached presbytery, is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

References

  1. Although in the Kilburn area, the church is located just within the boundaries of the City of Westminstersee map [ permanent dead link ] for exact location
  2. "History". staugustine.london. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  3. "A Church Near You" website, Church of England, accessed 2 March 2008, http://www.acny.org.uk/venue.php?V=15756%5B%5D.
  4. Humphrey, Stephen and James Morris, Churches and Cathedrals of London, New Holland Publishers (London), 2006.
  5. Edward Walford, Old and New London: Volume 5, British History website, accessed 2 March 2008, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45234
  6. Saint Augustine, Kilburn website, accessed 2 March. 2008, http://www.saint-augustine.org.uk/section/14 Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine .
  7. "Ayckbowm, Emily Harriet Elizabeth [known as Mother Emily] (1836–1900), Anglican nun" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/51385 . Retrieved 16 November 2021.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. "Visual and Special Effects Film Milestones". Filmsite. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  9. "Section 14: CGI in the movies". 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

51°32′00″N0°11′29″W / 51.5332°N 0.1915°W / 51.5332; -0.1915