Christ Church, Southwalk, London



Architect
R Paxton Watson
Date Built
1958 - 1959
Location
Blackfriars Road
Description
The Wikipedia page about Christ Church describes it as having, "...a barrel vaulted copper-clad roof supported on a concrete structure, off cavity walls, with intermediate concrete columns, off a concrete pile and raft structural foundations. The windows are single-glazed and of the metal casement variety with leaded lights. The doors, predominantly are of hardwood, and varnished. There is both stone and brick detailing around parapets, windows, the tower and brick-chamfered corbelling around the perimeter. The building was designed so that it could be a multi-purpose building with the chancel and nave backing directly onto a church hall. Between the two, sliding doors were incorporated."



This is the third church to stand on this site.  The first was built in 1670 with money from a legacy of a local businessman.  Unfortunately, it sank into the Lambeth Marsh and had to be demolished.  The builders of the second church learned from the unfortunate first church and set it on piles.  This church, seen in the engraving below, lasted for 200 years until it was destroyed during WWII bombing.