Church Of St Michael And All Angels

Church of St Michael and All Angels

Parish church built in 1959-60, designed by the noted 20th-century church architect N.F. Cachemaille-Day. The building replaced a Victorian church of 1864 that was destroyed by enemy action on 5 February 1945. It stands on the west side of London Fields.

The church is constructed of pale brick laid in stretcher bond over a reinforced concrete frame, with a concrete shell roof covered in copper. An attached church hall to the west, of considerably less special interest, adjoins the main building.

Exterior

The church has a square plan with an entrance porch to the east and features a shallow segmental dome roof. The eastern wall is largely blind, dominated by a striking aluminium sculpture of St. Michael slaying the dragon designed by John Hayward, positioned above the wide projecting porch which has a flat roof, brick panels, and three openings set within a concrete frame. The north and south walls display the shallow profile of the roof clearly, with shallow clerestory lights and concrete mullions below. Exposed brick buttresses support the walls, with plain glass in bays near the bottom of each elevation.

Interior

The entrance is flanked by a vestry and chapel, with stairs to the gallery. The body of the church is an open-plan square space beneath the shallow concrete dome. The interior is strikingly lit by coloured clerestory glass on all sides, comprising brightly coloured pieces set into mortar and concrete mullions, all designed by Cachemaille-Day. The glass was made by the local firm of Goddard and Gibbs. Above the altar is a predominantly red window showing St. Michael.

Between the body of the church and the vestry and chapel is a set of apostles' windows designed by John Hayward, with a gallery above. The side walls below the clerestory windows are dominated by large Hayward murals depicting Old and New Testament scenes. These murals, executed on canvas and applied directly to the wall using the marouflage technique, include a Baptism of Christ on the east-facing wall behind the font, which sits a few steps down in front of the mural, and a pair of angels in the corners of the altar end. The altar, also designed by Cachemaille-Day, comprises a free-standing elongated octagon with a tall hardwood open frame and altar rail. Two pulpits are positioned one to each side. A formerly glazed partition behind the altar that divided the church from the hall has been blocked up. The combination of Cachemaille-Day's architectural design, the four-sided coloured stained glass creating varied effects throughout the day, the free-standing altar, and the Hayward-designed murals and apostle glass create a comprehensively strong and striking interior.

History

Cachemaille-Day, serving as Architect-Surveyor to the Archdeaconry of Hackney after World War II, designed several churches in the area. The War Damage Commission and the London Diocesan Fund provided funding. The foundation stone was laid on 7 November 1959 by the Bishop of Stepney, and the building was consecrated by the Bishop of London on 11 February 1961. Shortly after opening, nine murals designed by John Hayward were gifted to the church by the Austin Abby Memorial Trust Fund for Mural Paintings in Great Britain. The Victorian vicarage from the original church survives.