St Andrews Fulham Fields

St Andrew's Fulham Fields is a parish church built in 1873-4 by Newman and Billing, subsequently extended with alterations in 1894-6 by Aston Webb and E Ingress Bell, who also designed fittings in 1897. The chancel was enriched between 1900 and 1906 by Harry Hems & Sons and Messrs Powell, some work following designs by Alex C Forrester. A lych porch was added in 1909 by Alex C Forrester, a war memorial in 1922 by Scott Cockrill, and an internal church hall in 1972-4 by J A Lewis and Maxwell, New, Haile & Holland (the last not of special interest).

The church is constructed of stock brick with red brick and stone dressings, beneath slate roofs. It is aligned south-west to north-east, with a south-west tower originally at the south-west angle but now set back one bay from the west. The six-bay aisled and buttressed nave is followed by a chancel under a lower roof. Shallow north and south transepts are present, with a porch attached on the south side. East of the porch is a south chapel, extended by Webb and Bell. To each side of the tower are a south baptistery and choir vestries added by Webb and Bell. North of the chancel are a vestry and organ loft.

The exterior features a continuous moulded stone cill, flush stone and red brick bands enriched at impost level, and pierced stone bands at clerestorey impost level. Red brick eaves courses are dentilled over the clerestorey. Nave windows have two plain chamfered lights under cusped heads beneath stock brick arches picked out with a flush red brick band above. Clerestorey windows, arranged two per internal bay, have three traceried lights of different patterns on a pierced stone base with similar dressings to the nave windows. The east end window has five narrow lights under interlinked circular tracery, set on a raised stepped brick panel, with a single gable lancet above and a gable end cross. The north chancel window has three cusped lights. The north transept window has three lights. The west end has a pair of two-light windows with geometric tracery under an encircled quatrefoil set in the gable, which has a small gable end cross.

The gabled and buttressed south transept has a pair of narrow lights over the south entrance. The moulded stone entrance arch is flanked on each side by a single shaft with a cushion capital under a flush brick arch similar to the windows. Attached is a timber lych porch on a sandstone base with pebble-dash rendered and applied timber gable, inscribed on the barge boards "I BELIEVE IN THE UNION OF SAINTS" and on the tie beam "TODAY WITH ME IN PARADISE". To the east, the south chapel has a short gabled bay with chequerwork red brick and stone gable, a single window with encircled tracery, and lancets at lower level. The 1894-5 extension to the east has a brick parapet and three-light east window under a hoodmould with figure stops.

The tower is in three stages with diminishing angle buttresses and a facetted spire. A circular stair turret rises through the first stage in the south-west angle. The south entrance has a plain board door under a simple foiled head beneath an embellished tympanum. Each stage is marked by deep-toothed red brick bands and enriched stone bands. The second stage has a pair of tall narrow deep-set lights on each face. On each face of the third stage is a single louvred two-light bell chamber opening under a crocketted canopy. The angles of the spire have small aedicular canopies on shafts with foliate capitals. The brick spire has stone quoins and enriched stone bands. East of the tower is a semicircular baptistery added by Webb and Bell in 1895-6, with a conical roof and single foiled lights in flush stone surrounds. West of the tower is a single storey vestry with a deep brick parapet and stone mullion and transom windows, also added by Aston Webb and Ingress Bell. The north elevation is treated as the south and has an inserted rectangular simply chamfered stone doorway and a small porch with a moulded stone doorcase in the added westernmost bay.

Inside, the tower lobby retains unpainted brick walls with stone and red brick dressings. Doors are of ledge and brace construction with splayed iron hinges. The two westernmost bays of the nave are obscured behind the inserted 1970s hall. Nave arcades have drum piers, the first two bays with rich foliate capitals, the remainder roughly tooled and incomplete. Arcades have simple chamfered arches and a continuous drip mould from which engaged moulded stone shafts rise to support timber wall posts. The nave roof is scissor braced and visible to the west end. Aisle roofs are braced to the purlins, forming cusped panels on the underside. The clerestorey continues unbroken over the easternmost bay of the nave with the windows unglazed. All nave walls and arcades are painted, covering bands of geometric tiles and red brick on the outer walls and stencilled geometric decoration with stylised flowers on the underside of the arches. Pine nave pews are present.

The baptistery is treated as the nave walls and has a raised tile floor with a stone kerb. The roof is supported on unpainted timber braces set on stone corbels. A red tile band is inscribed "Suffer little children unto me". The font, which is also painted, has a moulded hemispherical bowl supported on foliate shafts and a drum base, set on an octagonal plinth. The entrance to the south chapel has a square central pier and responds with foliate capitals supporting an arch with an encircled opening. A braced archway opens onto the chancel. The chapel is sparsely furnished with a tile mosaic floor and altar plinth and a wrought metal altar with a timber balustrade.

The timber rood and beam of the chancel were installed in 1897 to designs by Aston Webb to commemorate Queen Victoria's 60th jubilee, and are set on chancel arch shafts with foliate capitals. The chancel roof has canted panels with moulded ribs and is painted. The reredos and altar, from 1900, are by Harry Hems and Sons. The reredos in Caen stone and lapis lazuli mosaic has a broad central panel with a cusped ogee canopy above which is a figure of Christ flanked by kneeling angels, each under a rectangular panel. To left and right are stone figures of St Michael and St Gabriel, each under a cusped ogee canopy. The altar, in memory of Rosa Adeline Gibbs (1874-97), is of Derbyshire alabaster with a Sicilian marble slab top, and base and jambs of Devonshire marble. The front panel has a blind cusped arcade formed of winged cherubim with roses in the spandrels.

The sanctuary walls, sedilia, credence tables and altar rails, all by Harry Hems and Sons, were installed to mark the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, which is commemorated in a brass plaque. The Caen stone and mosaic of the reredos continues to form ogee headed alcoves to each side of the sanctuary, incorporating a Bishop's chair and chaplain's seat to the north, and a sedilia for clergy to the south. A pair of marble credence tables was added in 1906. Altar rails are of alabaster with Maltese, St George and St Andrew crosses in blue and gold mosaic. Mosaic decoration of the east wall above the reredos, from 1902, was designed by Alex C Forrester, honorary architect to the church, and executed by Messrs Powell. It features opus sectile scrollwork and green, red and gold mosaic, depicting texts on a floral background, the arch inscribed "HE EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION".

New choir stalls with carved foliate panels and poppy head finials, and a carved timber pulpit on a stone base beneath a timber sounding board were installed in 1902 following an outbreak of dry rot, designed by Forrester and made by Harry Hems and Sons. Polychrome tile chancel and sanctuary floors are present. Stained glass includes two nave windows by Lavers and Westlake in memory of Joseph and Eliza Calkin from 1901, and in the south aisle dated 1899. The south chapel window from 1902 is by Paul Woodroffe in memory of Mrs Wright and her children. The vestry to north of sanctuary has a broad twelve-panelled door with twisted metal handles and is fitted with cupboards and drawers. The organ loft was moved to its current position in the north choir aisle in 1897. A war memorial from 1922 is by Scott Cockrill.

The church of St Andrew's Fulham Fields was designed in 1873-4 by Newman and Billing and is depicted in a contemporary watercolour. The population outgrew the capacity of the church so that in the mid and later 1890s it was altered and extended by Aston Webb and E Ingress Bell. They added vestries at the west end in 1894, converted the former clergy vestry to a side chapel in 1894-5, and added a west bay to the nave and relocated the baptistery in 1895-6. Plans began in 1897 to alter and enrich the chancel, first installing the rood beam designed by Aston Webb in 1897, and in 1900 the altar and reredos by Harry Hems and Sons. Work by Hems on the chancel continued to mark the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Between 1902 and 1903, Alex C Forrester, honorary architect to the church, completed the decoration of the east wall, replaced chancel floor and seating which were damaged by dry rot, and designed the pulpit. Both pulpit and seating were made by Harry Hems and Sons. In 1909 Forrester added the lych porch. In 1972-4 the west end of the church was divided from the main church to create a church hall, designed by J Antony Lewis and Maxwell, New, Haile & Holland. It replaced a hall on the corner of Vereker Road built in 1893 by JP & JEK Cutts which has been demolished. The former vicarage is to the north of the church.

Arthur Shean Newman (1828-73) and Arthur Billing (1824-96) collaborated to build a number of churches. Newman was son of architect and antiquary John Newman and succeeded his father in practice. They worked mainly in London, often in the poorer outer areas. Churches by Newman and Billing include St Luke, Hackney (1871-2; Grade II) and the restoration of the medieval church of St Dunstan, Stepney (Grade I).

Aston Webb (1849-1930) and E Ingress Bell (1836/7-1914) are best known for their collaboration on large public buildings such as Victoria Law Courts, Birmingham (1887-91; Grade I) and the Royal United Service Institute, Whitehall (1891-5; Grade II*). Both architects worked independently. Webb had a notable and wide-ranging practice including work on churches in Worcestershire and Wales, and his best known ecclesiastical commission, the restoration of the church of St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, London. Bell worked as a draughtsman and surveyor with the War Office and in private practice on domestic projects. He was a member of the Catholic Guild of St Gregory and St Luke and church work included the church of the Sacred Heart, Caterham (1881; Grade II). St Andrew's Fulham Fields and St Alban Hammersmith (1894-6 and also Grade II) are probably the only churches on which they collaborated.

Harry Hems (1842-1915/6) was a prodigious sculptor and wood carver, principally of ecclesiastical commissions. The firm was based in Exeter, and there are examples of his work throughout the south west, for example the restoration of Stowford church by Sir Gilbert Scott. Listed examples of his work in London include St Luke, Tooting and St Mark, Battersea Rise.