St Mark's Church, Silvertown

Last updated

St Mark's Church, Silvertown
St Mark's Church, Victoria Docks
London, Silvertown, former St Mark's church.jpg
St Mark's Church, Silvertown
51°30′9.7884″N0°2′34.4184″E / 51.502719000°N 0.042894000°E / 51.502719000; 0.042894000 Coordinates: 51°30′9.7884″N0°2′34.4184″E / 51.502719000°N 0.042894000°E / 51.502719000; 0.042894000
CountryEngland
Denomination Church of England
History
StatusDeconsecrated
Founded1857
Dedication 1862
Architecture
Years built1862
Closed1974

St Mark's Church, Silvertown or St Mark's Church, Victoria Docks is a former church building in Silvertown in east London, located on North Woolwich Road. It takes one of its names from the nearby Royal Docks. It was listed as Grade II* in 1971 [1] and now houses the Brick Lane Music Hall.

Contents

History

Construction

The church was founded as a joint church and school, housed in an iron building and opened in 1857. Samuel Sanders Teulon was taken on as the designer of a permanent church, which opened in 1862 and was promoted to a separate parish two years later, taking parts of Woolwich (centred on St Mary Magdalene Woolwich on the opposite bank of the Thames) and East Ham. The docks' manager Charles Capper was allowed to nominate the first vicar, but after that the bishop of London (or after 1884 the Corporation of the City of London) was made the parish's patron.

St Mark's also founded mission churches at St Matthew's, Custom House in 1860, which was later transferred to St Luke's Church, Canning Town before becoming a parish of its own in 1920. St Luke's itself was originally a mission church of St Mark's before being made a parish of its own on its permanent church's completion in 1875. St Mark's also opened the mission churches of St John's, North Woolwich in 1872 (which took the East Ham part of St Mark's parish in 1877 to become a parish church of its own) and St Barnabas' Church, West Silvertown in 1882 (which became a parish of its own in 1926). [2]

Redundancy

The building survived the war but the decline of the London docks in the 1960s led to a sharp drop in local population and major slum clearances in the area. The church was declared redundant in 1974 and its parish merged with those of two of its former mission churches, St Barnabas' and St John's – St Barnabas was also declared redundant, with St John's becoming the sole church for the resulting parish of North Woolwich with Silvertown. [3] The church building was bought in 1979 by Newham Council, with the intention of turning it into a museum. A major fire in 1981 largely destroyed the roof, which was replaced between 1984 and 1989.

Brick Lane Music Hall

After the fire the Brick Lane Music Hall took on the building, converting it to its present use in 2003 to host traditional music hall and variety shows. [4] Brick Lane Music Hall had opened in 1992 in the former Truman's Brewery building in Brick Lane, before moving to Shoreditch and then its present building. [5] It was established by Vincent Hayes, who had previously run and performed in Music Hall shows at the Lord Hood pub, where he was landlord during the 1980s.

The church's exterior was left largely unchanged, whilst a stage, bar, kitchen and lighting and sound equipment were added to the interior, with offices housed in the church's former vestry. [6] In 2004 a mural was painted on the wall behind the church's exterior war memorial, [7] whilst a new lighting and sound rig was installed in October 2006. Audiences are seated at tables in a cabaret-style arrangement and food is served during the interval at matinees and before the show in the evenings. Brick Lane Music Hall is licensed for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies as well as being involved in workshops for schools, as well as taking shows to community centres, care homes and hospices throughout the East End.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratford, London</span> Human settlement in England

Stratford is a town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. Until 1965 it was within the historic county of Essex. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, Stratford is situated 6 miles (9.7 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross, and includes the localities of Maryland and East Village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Ham</span> District in East London, England

West Ham is an area in East London, located 6.1 mi (9.8 km) east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Newham</span> Inner Borough of London, England

The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the same act. The name Newham reflects its creation and combines the compass points of the old borough names. Situated in the East London part of Inner London, Newham has a population of 387,576, which is the third highest of the London boroughs and also makes it the 17th most populous district in England. The local authority is Newham London Borough Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaistow, Newham</span> Town in East London, England

Plaistow is a suburban area of East London, England, within the London Borough of Newham. It adjoins Upton Park to the north, East Ham to the east, Beckton to the south, Canning Town to the south-west and West Ham to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvertown</span> Human settlement in England

Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, hundred of Becontree, and the historic county of Essex. Since 1965, Silvertown has been part of the London Borough of Newham, a local government district of Greater London. It forms part of the London E16 postcode district along with Canning Town and Custom House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Ham</span> Suburban district of London, England

East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Woolwich</span> Area of Newham in London, England

North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It is located on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel.

Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation was largely due to the creation of the dock. The area was part of the ancient parish of West Ham, in the hundred of Becontree, and part of the historic county of Essex. It forms part of the London E16 postcode district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Docks</span> Area in Newham, London

Royal Docks is an area and a ward in the London Borough of Newham in the London Docklands in East London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beckton</span> Human settlement in England

Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Barking, East Ham, West Ham and Woolwich. The development of major industrial infrastructure in the 19th century to support the growing metropolis of London caused an increase in population with housing built in the area for workers of the Beckton Gas Works and Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. The area has a convoluted local government history and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. Between 1981 and 1995 it was within the London Docklands Development Corporation area, which caused the population to increase as new homes were built and the Docklands Light Railway was constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Borough of West Ham</span> Historical local government district in the extreme south west of Essex

West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Custom House, Newham</span> Human settlement in England

Custom House is an area in the London Borough of Newham, in East London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvertown (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918–1950

Silvertown was a borough constituency returning a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom through the first-past-the-post voting system. The constituency was one of four divisions of the Parliamentary Borough of West Ham, which had at the time the same boundaries as the County Borough of West Ham. Although administratively separate since 1889, the area was formally part of the county of Essex; since 1965 it has been part of the London Borough of Newham in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennium Mills</span> Derelict former mill in London

The Millennium Mills is a derelict turn of the 20th century flour mill in West Silvertown on the south side of the Royal Victoria Dock, between the Thames Barrier and the ExCeL London exhibition centre alongside the newly built Britannia village, in Newham, London, England. The Mills are currently undergoing a major renovation as part of a £3.5billion redevelopment of Silvertown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's Church, North Woolwich</span> Church in United Kingdom

St John's Church, North Woolwich is a Church of England church in North Woolwich, east London. It also hosts a Roman Catholic congregation and so is sometimes known as St John with St Mary and St Edward, North Woolwich to include the dedications of this congregation's former churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Luke's Church, Canning Town</span>

St Luke's Church, Canning Town or St Luke's Church, Victoria Docks is a Church of England church, originally housed in a building on Boyd Road in the Royal Docks area of West Ham in east London.

St Peter's Church was a Church of England church on Upton Lane in the Upton Cross area of Newham, East London. Its origins were in a mission of St Mary's Church, Plaistow on Pelly Road, holding services in a barn then in an iron church. Joseph Lister's former home Upton House was bought by the bishop of St Albans in 1885, becoming the vicarage, whilst its garden provided the site for a permanent church, built in 1893 and given a separate parish the following year using parts of those of All Saints, St Mary's, Emmanuel and St Stephen's. The parish was merged into that of Emmanuel in 1962 - the church was left standing as a chapel of ease to Emmanuel, but its vicarage was demolished, the site being sold in 1968. Funds from that sale and the sale of the parish hall were intended for a new church, church hall and clergy house, but in 1972 St Peter's Church was declared redundant, demolished and its site sold off, leading to the scheme's abandonment three years later.

St Barnabas' Church, West Silvertown was a Church of England church in Silvertown, east London. It was opened in 1882 on Eastwood Road as a mission church of St Mark's Church, Silvertown. In the 1917 Silvertown explosion its chancel and iron hall were destroyed, leaving the church to use temporary buildings until the completion of a new church and the formation of a separate parish for it, both in 1926. The new parish was mainly drawn from St Mark's, though it also took a small part of the parish of St Luke's Church, Canning Town. The vicar of St John's Church, North Woolwich administered it after 1945. The parishes of St John, St Mark and St Barnabas were merged in 1974 to form the parish of North Woolwich with Silvertown.

St Cedd's Church was a Church of England church between Newham Way, and Chadwin Road, in Canning Town, east London, dedicated to Cedd, evangelist to Essex, in whose ceremonial county the church falls. Opened as a brick hall in 1903-1904 as a mission of St Andrew's Church, Plaistow, it had a mission district assigned using parts of the parishes of St Andrew's and St Luke's in 1905. That mission district was turned into a separate parish in 1936, for which a new redbrick church was completed in 1939. Part of the former parish of Holy Trinity Church was assigned to St Cedd's in 1961, though the latter is no longer an Anglican church. Fire damaged in 1995, it was restored and re-opened in 2007 to house the London Ghana Seventh-day Adventist congregation

References

  1. Historic England. "Former St Mark's Church (Brick Lane Music Hall) (1080963)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  2. A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1973; Pages 114–123
  3. "Seax – Catalogue: D/P 512" . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  4. "Brick Lane Music Hall". www.newham.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 January 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. "Brick Lane Music Hall". Brick Lane Music Hall. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  6. Moving heaven and earth for a music hall The Daily Telegraph , retrieved 30 November 2016
  7. "Brick Lane Music Hall Mural mural, Silvertown". London Mural Preservation Society. Retrieved 30 November 2016.