Church Of Our Lady Of Grace And St Teresa Of Avila

The Church of Our Lady of Grace and St Teresa of Avila is a Roman Catholic church located on Kings Road in Chingford, E4. The foundation stone was laid on 4 October 1930, and it was designed by architect GW Martyn. The church is built of brown brick in Sussex bond, with Ketton stone dressings, an oak timber frame, and a tiled roof, showcasing a Gothic Revival style.

The church features a west tower with two stages and a crenellated parapet. It has double cinquefoil-headed windows with hood mouldings and offset buttresses. The west front of the nave includes a large traceried window and a central arched door case flanked by sidelights. The nave has triple cinquefoil-headed light windows, also flanked by buttresses, and triangular rooflights. A large oak-framed south porch is adorned with patterned curved braces and carved bargeboards. The chancel maintains the same roof pitch and includes gabled transept chapels with large arched windows featuring triple ogees and a rose window at the east end.

Inside, the church has a Ketton stone arcade supported by octagonal columns. The roof, made of Austrian oak, is an unusual design that combines arched braces and a crown post on elaborately carved corbels. The west choir gallery is finished with limed and gilded linenfold panelling and features a staircase with finely carved animals on the newel posts and gallery front. The flooring consists of unglazed ceramic tiles in the nave, while the chancel and chapels are laid with green and white marble. The Lady Chapel contains a contemporary stained glass window and an altar with a painted reredos. The Sacred Heart Chapel features a moulded stone pedestal for the figure of Christ and a stained glass cinquefoil window depicting a Crown of Thorns. The High Altar is highlighted by an imposing stone reredos and elaborate limed and gilded oak panelling. This church is noted for its exceptionally fine materials and carving for the period, and the choice of Gothic Revival style is particularly distinctive for a Roman Catholic church.