HISTORY OF ST BARNABAS

THE EARLY YEARS In 1825 nearly all of what is now Kensington was served by just one church, St. Mary Abbots. Hitherto there had been no more than farms, family estates and a cluster of small villages round it, but housing developments were quickly spreading some distance from the church and the church commissioners decided to build two daughter churches; St Barnabas to serve the West and Holy Trinity Brompton, the East. The church was built in 1826-29 on land donated by Lord Holland and was designed by Lewis Vulliamy (1791-1871) and is one of the earliest churches in the revived Tudor Gothic Style. The cost, including architect's fees and incidentals, was £10,938, and was designed to seat 1,330. The later extensions of chancel and church vestries in the early 1900’s are only noticeable from the lane behind the vicarage. The body of the church is raised above a semiunderground crypt giving it dignified height in relation to its length and width. There was never a graveyard because the sanitary authorities were by then discouraging burials in the centre of London. The adjacent vicarage was built in 1855 and an additional wing added in 1882.

NOTABLE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES Nave The roof is notable for its great unsupported span, the largest of any church of its time, the load being taken by the external buttresses. The ceiling was decorated in its current ornate style to mark its centenary in 1929, and was extensively repaired and re-painted in 2009-10. The gallery was added sometime around 1900. The memorials beneath the galleries reflect their times. Early tablets relate to burials in the crypt, a practice which ceased when public cemeteries were promoted beyond built up areas. Notable memorials are to Byam Shaw (artist) and Jean Ingelow (poetess). The stained glass windows are typically “Victorian” but the stained glass windows adjacent to the organ and those opposite are notable, being specimens of PreRaphaelite art and craft, designed by Sir Edward Burne -Jones and executed by Morris and Co., of Merton, Surrey. The stained glass window in the north wall of what is now the Church Room was designed by Byam Shaw, a noted artist in the Arts and Crafts style: he was choirboy and sidesman at St Barnabas for many years. The earliest window (1851) is now in the west wall above the gallery, having been moved there in 1895 from its original position in the east wall, making room for the present larger window at the east end.

Chancel The present chancel was built in stages. In 1861 Vulliamy’s shallow altar recess was replaced by a 30-foot extension to accommodate ritual services (a form of service being revived by the Oxford Movement). The first organ, date unknown, was an early Walker organ placed in the gallery with the choir. It has been repaired, reconstructed and enlarged by Walkers at various times and is now considered a fine recital instrument. In 1877-8 the organ and choir was moved from the West balcony into the newly completed chancel. In 1907 a further 15–foot extension was made (funded by the developers of Oakwood Court who were ordered to pay compensation to the church for loss of air and light), to accommodate the memorial reredos. The altar was moved to its present position in the late 1940s so that the Holy Communion Service could be conducted entirely facing the congregation. The striking reredos of Christ in Glory is a major feature of the church, and was added around 1907. It was designed by Arthur Reeve in memory of the Rev G. R. Thornton, vicar from 1882 to 1905.

MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS In 1990, with a now rapidly growing congregation, the main crypt was dug out and developed into a hall-space with fully equipped kitchen. It was named after John Howard, a long-standing member of St Barnabas, and is now used extensively by

church and community alike. In 1997 new stairs were built leading down from the Church Room to the Crypt and a Crypt Foyer was created below the Church Room. In 1995 the pews were removed from the Nave and replaced with the current chairs, to enable the space to be used more flexibly for services and other events. The Church floor was raised and a baptistery installed on the newly raised chancel platform. In 2004 the external stonework was extensively repaired and cleaned and in 2008, the church room and remaining North Crypt rooms were finally re-developed with better heating and lighting. The Mark Thomas Room was named after a long-standing church warden who, having worked tirelessly on the building project, died just days before work commenced. The glass screen and doors separating the Church Room and church were also installed.

Following years of under-investment, over £2 million has been raised by the congregation since 1985 to repair and re-furbish the building.

THE CHURCH’S MISSION AND MINISTRY th

Attendance at the church peaked in the late 19 century with over 1500 attending one of 5 services on a Sunday. Throughout the period 1910 to the 1960’s, the church had reasonable congregations, with 200 plus members on the electoral roll. However by the early 1980’s, numbers had dropped considerably. Despite a joint venture with the Methodist church, attendance recorded at the 8am service in 1984 is 6 and at 10.30, was just 24. Various schemes were proposed to either re-develop the church building or close it altogether. Several factors contributed to this decline: church-going was dwindling throughout the country and the lack of resources seriously hindered any effective outreach. As traffic on Addison Road increased, the church found itself on a busy main road, with no immediate parking and a now somewhat arbitrary parish that no longer formed a cohesive social community. Many churches during this period were slow to recognise the need for a more proactive approach to mission, rather than expecting people to come simply because the church was ‘there’.

THE CHURCH PLANT Closure of the church was averted when Revd John Irvine, then Curate at Holy Trinity Brompton was invited to become ‘Priest-in-Charge’, along with a team of 100, to revitalise the life and worship of St Barnabas.

Initially welcomed with some reservations by the congregation, this ‘experiment’ of church planting brought immediate life and growth. With more funds available, the roof was repaired and a new heating system installed. A more informal, contemporary style of worship service in the evening began to draw a large number of young adults and courses such as Alpha enabled people to invite their friends, many of whom became Christians and formed part of the growing, gathered congregation. St Barnabas has almost always been in the evangelical and ‘low-church’ tradition. The influence of the Charismatic movement was a feature of the Planting team, and today the Church’s worship would be described as largely contemporary and informal. A diverse community of all ages and nations, it’s

mission is to help people encounter the person of Jesus Christ, be ignited in their faith and service of him, and be equipped to serve the communities its members represent.

23 Addison Road, London W14 8LH Tel: (020) 7471 7000 Email: [email protected] Web: www.stbk.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/STBKchurch