Golders Green: St Michael and All Angels
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 247 876
The church is well-sited and quite a prominent feature in its area, especially since the tower was completed in 1960. Work, however, began as usual at the east end, and the chancel was built in 1910, with the north Lady Chapel and vestries following shortly after together with the first three bays of the nave and aisles. The second building phase comprised the two western bays of the nave and aisles and the west narthex which forms the baptistery, and finally the tower was erected thirty-five years later.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave of five bays with aisles and clerestory, north-west tower and north-east porch; chancel with north Lady Chapel and south vestries and passage aisles which continue behind the east wall as an ambulatory.
Description of Archaeology and History
The church was begun at the east end in 1910 to the designs of John T. Lee; the nave was completed westwards in 1925 to the designs of Caroe and Passmore and the north-west tower was built in 1960 to the designs of James Barrington Baker. The first part cost £5,590 and the completion of the nave £8,500.
Little can be discovered about Lee, but he was responsible for two churches in Paddington, both now demolished, St. Luke (1876) and St. Jude (1878), and for the later Emmanuel, Harrow Road, also in Paddington (1885). William Douglas Caroe was architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and responsible for several churches in north-west London of good quality in a refined Arts and Crafts manner which was continued after his death in 1938 by his partner Herbert Passmore. James Barrington-Baker was a parishioner whose work also included the restoration of St. John, Vartry Road, Tottenham, in 1953 (now demolished).
Exterior Description
The church is well-sited and quite a prominent feature in its area, especially since the tower was completed in 1960. Work, however, began as usual at the east end, and the chancel was built in 1910, with the north Lady Chapel and vestries following shortly after together with the first three bays of the nave and aisles. The second building phase comprised the two western bays of the nave and aisles and the west narthex which forms the baptistery, and finally the tower was erected thirty-five years later. The first two phases were carried out in a style which combines Perpendicular proportions and massing with lancet windows, and it is interesting how Caroe and Passmore followed Lee's design but introduced slight variations in the details in order to make the difference in date clear. Barrington Baker's design for the tower was entirely a product of its time and is not even Gothic.
The east wall of the chancel has a triple lancet set high in the low-pitched gable and a low extension at the foot housing the ambulatory. At each corner are buttresses decorated with shallow ogee-headed niches near the top. On the north and south walls there are windows at clerestory level to light the chancel above the chapel on the north and the vestries on the south. The chapel also has a triple lancet in the east wall and a foundation stone laid by Isolina Harriet Perrin on 24th May 1913. The north wall has one paired light and one single light window.
The nave is of five bays with paired lights to the bays of the aisles and triple lights to each bay of the clerestory. The three eastern bays which were erected with the chancel in 1910 have plain heads, but the subtle difference introduced by Caroe to mark the change in date is that the windows in the two western bays built to his designs have cupped heads. There are two doorways in the eastern bays of both aisles. The bays are divided from each other by tall gabled buttresses and there are flying buttresses to the clerestory supporting the stone arches which span the nave inside.
The tower at the north-west corner of the nave was consecrated on 10 October 1960 by the Bishop of London. It is square, of three stages of which the lowest forms the main entrance to the building. This is provided with a large doorway in the north wall facing the street under a shallow gable, the door itself being deeply recessed under two receding arches. At each side are buttresses and on the wall above is a carving in white stone of St. Michael Conquering Satan. At the next level on this front is a skeleton clock face. The west face has three-light windows to all three stages, of which the uppermost are louvred and serve the belfry. An octagonal turret at the south-west corner gives access to the middle floor from ground level. The tower has a plain parapet within which rises a timber cupola on eight columns painted white.
The west wall of the nave balances the design of the east chancel wall in that it has a large window set high in the wall and a projecting narthex or baptistery below, but the proportions are very different and the window is of six lights grouped 1-4-1 with transoms and cusped heads in the Perpendicular style.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
1944
The east window consists of three lancets filled with glass in 1944 and represents Christ Enthroned in Glory surrounded by prophets, saints and angels, Old Testament on the right hand and New Testament on the left.
Stained Glass
c.1914
The east window of the north chapel is also of three lights and represents The Virgin and Child flanked by The Archangels Gabriel and Michael, by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.
Stained Glass
1914
North chapel north wall I: St. Elizabeth and St. Joseph
Stained Glass
c.1914
North chapel north wall II: St Anne
Stained Glass
1928
North chapel north wall III : Anne & Simeon
Stained Glass
1944
North aisle I : St. Martin
Stained Glass
1922
North aisle II : St. Alphege and Queen Bertha.
Stained Glass
1920
North aisle III : St. Hilda and St. Aidan
Stained Glass
1941
North aisle IV: St. Mellitus, Bishop of London
Stained Glass
1930
North aisle V: St. Hugh of Lincoln and St. Thomas of Canterbury
Stained Glass
1916
South aisle I : An Angel with a Chalice
Stained Glass
1923
South aisle II : An Angel with a staff and Flask
Stained Glass
1925
South aisle III : An Angel with Lilies and a Scroll inscribed "Hail Mary"
Stained Glass
1954
South aisle IV: St. Nicholas of Myra with the Pickled Boys and a Christmas Tree
Stained Glass
1918
South aisle V : St. John the Baptist
Stained Glass
1929
West wall I : two lights, The Manifestation of Christ, by Hung
Stained Glass
1929
West wall II : two lights , The Presentation in the Temple, by Hunt
Interior
Interior Description
The doorway into the tower gives access to the west narthex of the nave. This, which opens to the nave through three tall and elegant arches under the window, has two small two-light windows in the west wall filled with stained glass, and under the central arch stands the font. The floor throughout the nave and aisles is on one level, paved with wood blocks and seated with chairs. The interior of the church is well lit by the west window and is coolly coloured with white plastered walls and pale grey stone dressings, the general effect being one of considerable dignity. The piers of the nave arcades rise to the level of the sills of the clerestory windows and from this point wide stone arches span the nave from side to side, articulating the timber vault in the way which Pearson favoured when he could not provide a stone vault. The piers have chamfered edges and enclose the smaller arches to the nave arcades, above which a second order of arches embrace the clerestory windows, with blind panels at each side of the three lights. The pent roofs of the aisle also have stone arches at each bay.
The chancel arch is carried on plain responds at each side of the opening, and flanking the arch are tall narrow arches opening into small aisles which run the length of the chancel to link up with the ambulatory behind the east wall, a motif which is sometimes traced back to Gerona Cathedral. The moulded course which encircles the nave at the sill level of the clerestory and forms simple capitals for the nave piers also forms the capitals for the responds of the chancel arch and continues round the chancel walls, an example of the subtle yet simple way in which the two building dates of the body of the church are nevertheless integrated with each other. The north and south wall of the chancel each have two tiers of arches, the lower taller and themselves subdivided by a shallow gallery which houses the organ on the south side. Access to these galleries is by two staircases, one in a turret at the north-east corner and one at the south-west. The upper row of three arches frames the clerestory windows which provide most of the light for the chancel.
The chancel is separated from the nave by a low stone wall and the floor is one step above that of the nave, and is laid with black and white marble paviours. The sanctuary is spaciously laid out with a step at the communion rails and three further steps before the footpace. A tall reredos against the east wall takes up the space between the altar and the triple east window, which is filled with stained glass. The roof over the sanctuary is painted like a ceilure with roses, lilies and sacred monograms. On the south side of the sanctuary are three sedilia and a credence shelf on moulded stone bases but themselves made of wood. The vestries are entered through a door in the south chancel aisle or from the south nave aisle and the north chapel similarly communicate with both nave aisle and chancel aisle. The chapel has a piscina under a cusped ogee arch set in the south wall.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
The altar in the chancel is of oak, the front divided into panels with the Agnus Dei carved in relief in front of a sunburst in the centre and two angels at each side; there are also scrolls with appropriate texts painted on the background.
Reredos
c.1938
The reredos to the high altar was erected in c.1938 to the designs of James Barrington-Baker and dedicated in 1939 as a memorial to the first incumbent of the church; it is very tall, of three bays (the middle one wider than the outer two) with gothic cresting at the top terminating in angels bearing shields painted with the implements of the Passion. Against the panels, which are painted blue, is a crucifix, and at the foot is a gradine of oak carved with vine trail with a rectangular aumbry in the centre.
Reredos
1931
The reredos in the north chapel is of oak panelling.
Pulpit
c.1930
The pulpit dates from c.1930 and is of oak, square with canted corners and blind tracery, the tester in a similar style.
Lectern
1925
The lectern is of 1925, a large oak pedestal with good pierced tracery decoration on the front of the desk and delicate cresting.
Font (object)
The font is octagonal on an octagonal panelled stem with the Agnus Dei in a shield on the east face of the bowl; an oak spire shaped cover hangs from a counterweight.
Organ (object)
1915
The organ is a small two-manual instrument of eight speaking stops situated in the south chancel gallery, built by J.W. Walker and Son.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 247 876
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Submit a change
If you notice something incorrect or missing, please explain it in the form below and submit it to our team for review.