St Paul
Bow Common, Greater London
St Paul's Bow Common is the most famous and significant parish church to be built in Britain in the latter half of the 20th century.
When it was opened in 1871 the original East London Tabernacle was the second largest Nonconformist church in London. However it was destroyed by a German incendiary bomb during the Second World War, and its basement was subsequently used as a water reservoir for fire crews during the Blitz.
The new building was opened in 1955. The architect was Hubert Lidbetter, a Quaker who had previously designed the Friends Meeting House on Euston Road, as well as a number of other Quaker meeting houses around the country. He designed the auditorium as a modern take on a classic Nonconformist chapel with a prominent pulpit facing raked rows of pews that could accommodate about 500 people. It is a very large room that is unusually wide, with high windows and ceiling giving a sense of place and occasion. It has a balcony at the back and a baptistry built into the floor of the stage. Today it can seat about 350 people.
The wood flooring is hardwood (teak in the auditorium and oak parquet elsewhere) and the doors are oak with mahogany handles. These traditional features, as well as the internal and external brickwork, are combined in the structure with reinforced concrete which was a relatively new building material at the time. Among other things the reinforced concrete allowed the auditorium to have the dimensions and sense of space that it does.
It has been adapted for modern use, with several Sunday School Rooms and Offices, and 5 a side goal posts marked on the walls of the Top Hall. Half of the basement, affectionately known as “The Salt Cellar”, has been converted into a Community Centre used for Youth Clubs and a Night Shelter for neighbours from the local community.