Chapel of St George and St Helena at former Dockland Settlement No. 1

Chapel of St George and St Helena at former Dockland Settlement No. 1

This chapel is an aisleless rectangular building aligned north to south, constructed of red-brown brick with Portland stone dressings and a tile roof. At the south end stands a narthex with a gallery above, and at the north end further galleries flank a raised sanctuary area with vestries beneath. The chapel formed the eastern side of the settlement's central quadrangle, with two domestic ranges projecting to the west.

The architectural style is late Gothic, modelled on the 15th and 16th century Old Hall at Lincoln's Inn, which had recently been restored by Sir John Simpson when the chapel was designed. The style incorporates Tudor-arched windows and doorways set in rectangular stone surrounds with carved quatrefoils and shields in the spandrels.

The gabled south front facing Vincent Street features a large seven-light window with Perpendicular tracery of 15th-century type, beneath which is a doorway with nook shafts. The north front to Cooper Street displays an elaborate rose window set in a slightly projecting centre section, flanked by two-light windows with transoms. This front bears the foundation stone, laid on St George's Day 1929 by Princess Mary. The western flank facing the quadrangle is symmetrically composed with a central doorway flanked by pairs of five-light windows with transoms. Above the doorway is a sundial inscribed 'Time passeth, God remains.' The parapet is crenellated and a small octagonal lantern crowns the roof-ridge.

The interior is a single aisleless space beneath a complex roof with two tiers of hammer-beams. Extensive Tudor-Gothic woodwork by Maile and Son Ltd includes a south gallery with a frontal of linenfold and tracery panels. The raised sanctuary area is enclosed on three sides by traceried oak screens; those to left and right support musicians' galleries with panelled frontals and vestries beneath, whilst that to the rear forms a reredos, its central panel now removed. Above the west doorway is a painted plaque commemorating a gift flag from the Whitehall Cenotaph 'in memory of the men of Dockland who gave all that man can give for England during the Great War'.

The great south window contains brilliantly-coloured stained glass by Reginald Bell, a member of the Clayton and Bell dynasty of glassmakers. The upper lights display a flamboyant tableau depicting the return of Our Lord in triumph to the earth, with St Michael and St Gabriel sounding a fanfare and all saints, modern as well as ancient, answering the call. St George in the foreground lays down his sword and St Helena holds up her fragment of the Cross, with a Canning Town child as the first to welcome Our Lord, holding out a bunch of wild flowers. The figures are arranged upon a great flight of steps in the manner of a High Renaissance painting. Below is a more muted scene showing the risen Christ appearing to local residents, with the industrial Thames shore in the background. The legend reads: 'To the glory of God this window has been placed here by the people of Dockland, mothers, men, boys and girls. Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'

Either side of the great window are war memorial windows with paired contemporary and medieval figures: a First World War soldier on the right with the Abbess of Barking, described as 'first promotor of social work in Medieval Essex', and a Second World War airman on the left with a 'Merchant Venturer of our London Docks', commemorating 'the continuous interest in our work by successive Lord Mayors of London'. Below the gallery are windows depicting the chapel's patrons, St Helena and St George, and others containing fragments of glass from windows destroyed in the Second World War. The rose window in the north wall has flame-coloured glass in concentric rings, apparently depicting the Heavenly Spheres. The two-light windows on each side depict Sir Galahad and King Arthur on the left and St Michael and King Alfred on the right. The windows to east and west contain heraldic glass, including the arms of various benefactors to the Mission.