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Three floor plans of St Paul's Church Harringay

Architectural Drawing
1992 (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.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThree floor plans of St Paul's Church Harringay (generic title)
Materials and techniques
ink drawing on tracing paper
Brief description
Three floor plans of St Paul's Church Harringay, ink drawing on tracing paper, Peter Jenkins, London, 1992
Physical description
A drawing depicting the floor plans (scale 1:50) of St Paul's Church Harringay at undercroft level, the ground floor and organ gallery. The drawing shows the processional cross in its socle at the north end of the sanctuary steps.
Dimensions
  • Height: 844mm
  • Width: 1189mm
Credit line
Given by Peter Jenkins
Production
Presentation drawing for publication
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
  • Taken from notes by Peter Jenkins (Clare Lodge, Practice Archivist, 25/02/2016) "Plans at undercroft level, the ground floor and organ gallery, at 1:50 scale. Presentation drawing for publication in ink on AO tracing paper, undated but made in early 1992. Note the processional cross in its socle at the north end of the sanctuary steps."
  • Seeley, John, 'Phoenix Rising, St Paul's, Harringay' in Church Building (Summer 1990), p. 45
  • 'Clare Melhuish reports on the new church' in Church Building (Summer 1990), pp. 46-47
  • 'Detail: St Paul's, Harringay by Peter Inskip & Peter Jenkins' in Architecture Today, 17 (April 1991), pp. 88-89
  • Glancey, Jonathan, 'A temple of simplicity to soothe the soul', in The Independent, Wednesday 4 August 1993, p.13
  • Dorment, Richard, 'Putting high art above the altar', in The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, August 25, 1993, p. 12
  • Maxwell, Robert, 'Sacred Space: Inskip and Jenkins in Haringey' in Architecture Today, 43 (November 1993), pp. 36-41
  • 'New Church of St Paul, Harringay (GB)' in Eurozinc (1993), p. 13.
  • 'St Paul's Harringay, Review by Clare Melhuish and Michael Jones-Frank' in Church Building, Issue 28 (July/August 1994), pp. 31-33
  • 'Spiritual Elevation, St Paul's Church, Wightman Road, Harringay, London N4', in Brick Bulletin (Autumn, 1994), pp. 18-20
Other number
SPH(A)09 - Previous number
Collection
Accession number
E.110-2022

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Record createdJune 10, 2019
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