Useful information
Patron
The Bishop
Episcopal Area
Croydon Episcopal Area
Deanery
Sutton Deanery
Archdeaconry
Reigate Archdeaconry
Details of the Church
Built
1930
Architect
Martin Travers/T F W Grant
Listing
2
The design was intended to resemble a Spanish mission chapel. The walls were originally whitewashed leaving exposed the decorative banding of dark red bricks. As the building occupies an elevated position it can be seen from quite a distance (e.g. from St. Helier Hospital) and its vivid green copper roof and simple belfry set amidst the surrounding two storey pan-tiled houses looks convincingly “continental”. Sir John Betjeman, who admired the building, described it as “Essoldo-moderne in a Hispano-Italian style”!
The overall impression is one of light and space. The building is basically a rectangle 113 x 47 feet. The forty foot high, strongly moulded ceiling gives dignity and strength. The altar and rood cross are the focal point. The absence of choir stalls and screen avoids any barriers between congregation and altar. The large gallery at the west end accommodates the organ. The narthex below the gallery was enclosed 1990.
