Isometric drawing of St Paul's Church Harringay
Architectural Drawing
ca. 1990 (made)
ca. 1990 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Located in a residential area of Harringay, North London, St Paul’s was designed by Peter Jenkins between 1988 and 1993 to replace a Victorian Gothic Revival church (built 1890-1) which was destroyed by fire on Ash Wednesday 1984.
Jenkins’ church combines traditional liturgical forms with contemporary design. The plan of the church is traditional, being narrow and rectangular with the entrance at the west end and the altar at the east. This was in part dictated by the confines of the site, but also by the church’s Anglo-Catholic liturgical tradition which preferred an axial, processional plan. This traditional plan is in contrast to the majority of contemporary churches, which locate congregations around a central altar in order to emphasise the participatory aspect of the Communion.
In scale, Jenkins’ design echoes that of its Victorian predecessor, which was built to a vast scale, able to seat 900, and visually dominated the area’s skyline. Despite being a much smaller church in capacity, seating just 140, Jenkins has maintained the church’s visual dominance, making it an architectural and spiritual focal point in the surrounding area. This aspect of the design generated serious opposition from the local council, which argued – unsuccessfully – that the new church should blend in with the surrounding architecture.
Jenkins’ church combines traditional liturgical forms with contemporary design. The plan of the church is traditional, being narrow and rectangular with the entrance at the west end and the altar at the east. This was in part dictated by the confines of the site, but also by the church’s Anglo-Catholic liturgical tradition which preferred an axial, processional plan. This traditional plan is in contrast to the majority of contemporary churches, which locate congregations around a central altar in order to emphasise the participatory aspect of the Communion.
In scale, Jenkins’ design echoes that of its Victorian predecessor, which was built to a vast scale, able to seat 900, and visually dominated the area’s skyline. Despite being a much smaller church in capacity, seating just 140, Jenkins has maintained the church’s visual dominance, making it an architectural and spiritual focal point in the surrounding area. This aspect of the design generated serious opposition from the local council, which argued – unsuccessfully – that the new church should blend in with the surrounding architecture.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Isometric drawing of St Paul's Church Harringay (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ink drawing on tracing paper |
| Brief description | Analytical isometric drawing of St Paul's Church Harringay, ink on tracing paper, by Peter Jenkins and drawn by Narenda Gajjar, London, ca. 1990 |
| Physical description | Isometric drawing of St Paul's Church Harringay (scale 1:100), depicting the floor sections of the building separated. Below, the ground works levelling the hillside and then built up as a stereotomic base for the nave and raised hearth as the sanctuary at the east end. The altar is shown in its final form as a menhir tomb standing on the sanctuary platform. Beyond the narthex a portal marks entry into the nave in the progress from the public realm towards the sanctuary as the focusof worship. The nave is enclosed in diaphragm wall, 600mm in width, brick diaphragms binding together by weaving into, the inner and outer brick walls. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Peter Jenkins |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Located in a residential area of Harringay, North London, St Paul’s was designed by Peter Jenkins between 1988 and 1993 to replace a Victorian Gothic Revival church (built 1890-1) which was destroyed by fire on Ash Wednesday 1984. Jenkins’ church combines traditional liturgical forms with contemporary design. The plan of the church is traditional, being narrow and rectangular with the entrance at the west end and the altar at the east. This was in part dictated by the confines of the site, but also by the church’s Anglo-Catholic liturgical tradition which preferred an axial, processional plan. This traditional plan is in contrast to the majority of contemporary churches, which locate congregations around a central altar in order to emphasise the participatory aspect of the Communion. In scale, Jenkins’ design echoes that of its Victorian predecessor, which was built to a vast scale, able to seat 900, and visually dominated the area’s skyline. Despite being a much smaller church in capacity, seating just 140, Jenkins has maintained the church’s visual dominance, making it an architectural and spiritual focal point in the surrounding area. This aspect of the design generated serious opposition from the local council, which argued – unsuccessfully – that the new church should blend in with the surrounding architecture. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | SPH(A)05 - Previous number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.106-2022 |
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| Record created | June 10, 2019 |
| Record URL |
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