Church Of St Paul

Church of St Paul

Parish church built 1959-60 by H G Coulter of Woodroffe, Buchanan and Coulter, assisted by Walter William Chapman (Ministry of Education), John Wimbleton and Brian Walker. The church replaced an earlier building of 1854-6 by J Jarvis that was destroyed by bombing on 10 May 1941.

The building employs a reinforced concrete in-situ frame supporting pre-cast timber and steel roof sections. Its distinctive facetted structure provides triangulation and strength, clad in copper. Wall infill consists of precast concrete blocks perforated and infilled with antique coloured glass and brick, over a plinth formed from rubble stone salvaged from the destroyed church. Ground floor accommodation includes youth club rooms and offices, now adapted to offices and partly let to charities, with the church and church hall above reached via internal and external staircases, the two upper spaces linked by double doors.

The building's quirky elevations are dominated by a steep-pitched, faceted copper roof with a fleche over the entrance and deep eaves. The six-bay church features a concrete honeycomb facade with antique coloured glass infill, set between projecting concrete piers and beneath zig-zag gabled eaves. The Lady chapel projects at the east end in similar style with lower eaves. Set back beneath, the ground-floor offices are infilled in brick with renewed hardwood glazing, remaining in shadow. Office entrance is at the east end under the Lady chapel. On the south elevation, projecting steps set in rubblestone with steel balustrade lead to the church and adjoining hall entrance. A stone wayside pulpit stands to the side, accompanied by memorial stones and brasses from the old church and the Alexandra Institute. A projecting concrete A-frame under deep gabled eaves continues as semi-open fleche. The two-storey church hall alongside has some renewed fenestration, weatherboarding and remodelled roof, with a small demountable office inserted on the former stage area. The church interior itself remains remarkably little altered.

Double glazed doors lead to a vestibule from which one enters either the church or the hall. The church is almost square, emphasising the unity of the congregation at the Eucharist. It is dominated by its soaring roof lined in unpainted timber with white painted ribs emphasising its unusual structure. Fittings including the pulpit, font and crucifix were all designed by Wimbleton. An east end sculpture of the Risen Christ in Glory by Freda Skinner, symbolic of Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension, stands over the altar which bears applique decoration by Gerald Holtom depicting the twelve apostles. The risen Christ theme continues in the altar fittings. The pulpit is positioned close to the altar, symbolising the link between Eucharist and word, and there was originally deliberately no lectern. The font was designed for mobility to suit the nature of the service, reflecting the changing liturgical ideas of the time, during which the font's position remained most contentious. Bench seating, altar rails and bishop's chair form part of this ensemble. West doors are lined with hangings by Gerald Holtom, the central doors depicting St Paul's life. The Lady chapel contains a statue rescued from the old church and restored by Freda Skinner.

The unusual church form was suggested by the innovative precast timber roof structure, which was delivered in complete sections and hoisted by crane into position, and by the plan, which was progressive both in responding to changing liturgical thinking and in providing club and common room facilities for the Brandon Estate being built around it. Wimbleton had trained as an engineer, and the experimental timber roof system then being introduced by Beavis, timber importers, appealed to the designers. The firm later experimented with hyperbolic paraboloid roofs, such as at Hatfield baths. The triangular theme of the structure emphasises the importance of the Trinity in Eucharistic worship and of the Risen Christ in Glory represented in the east end figure and other fixtures.