Former Church Of Transfiguration

FORMER CHURCH OF TRANSFIGURATION

Built in 1881 by James Brooks, this former church stands on the west side of Algernon Road in Lewisham. It is constructed of red brick with limestone dressings and a Welsh slate roof.

The church comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, an outer north passage aisle, north and south porches, a southeast chapel, and northeast vestries.

Externally, the building presents a dramatic, tall composition that represents Brooks's elemental reinterpretation of 13th-century Gothic. The nave and chancel share a continuous roofline, marked at their junction by a striking tall flèche. This feature has a lead and slate-covered gable straddling the roof ridge in a north-south direction, from which rises an open octagonal stage topped by a spirelet. The east end fronts directly onto the road.

The chancel is arranged in three tiers. The lowest contains an arcade of five blind arches; the middle tier has three equal-height lancets; the upper tier features a pair of lancets and a cusped oculus set in the gable. The chancel is flanked by a chapel to the south and vestries to the north.

The side elevations are dominated by very tall, gaunt clerestory fenestration that differs between the chancel and nave. The chancel has three large lancets on either side; the nave has four two-light windows, each with a huge uncusped circle in the head. At the west end, blind arcade is surmounted by an immense wheel window containing two concentric rings and numerous spokes.

The interior has been subdivided into worship, community and office spaces across two levels. The original spatial arrangement is largely obscured, though parts of the massive arcade piers and brick arches remain visible. The former southeast chapel retains an impressive roof structure with a short hammerbeam and prominent arch braces creating a trefoil profile. The outer north passage aisle is still visible, displaying slender columns supporting stone moulded arches with capitals. Some Victorian stained glass survives in the east parts of the south side.

The building was altered internally, probably in the 1950s, and is now in use as a day centre for the deaf.

James Brooks (1825–1901) was one of the most respected Victorian church architects. Born at Wantage in Oxfordshire, he was articled to London architect Lewis Stride from 1847 and commenced independent practice in 1851. He became renowned for building a series of inner London brick churches from the early 1860s onwards, which addressed the pressing need to provide dignified, spacious church accommodation within modest budgets in rapidly expanding poor areas. He served as architect to the diocese of Canterbury from 1888 and later formed the partnership James Brooks & Son with his son, James Martin Brooks.