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Churches of the British Isles

Gallery: Churches of North London

by Peter Kessler, 2 January 2011

Enfield Part 2: Churches of Enfield Lock

Providence Chapel

Providence Chapel, Enfield Lock, lay either on the north-east corner of Putney Road and Hertford Road (shown here) or the southern side of Putney Road where Cranbourne Court now stands. Strict Baptists moved here from Enfield Highway Baptist Chapel in 1875, surviving until 1973. Alma Hope Chapel, New Road, Ponders End, existed in 1875-1896, and a nearby mission hall in Alma Road was registered in 1879 by the Ponders End Mission. It closed in 1896.

Totteridge Road Baptist Church

Totteridge Road Baptist Church is on the southern side of Totteridge Road, midway along. It was founded in 1868 with help from Spurgeon for members who had met in Enfield Highway Congregational Chapel. Although originally described as Particular Baptists, the congregation has always permitted open communion and belonged to the Baptist Union. The present, larger, church was built in front of the older one in 1871. The original building became a hall, replaced in 1933.

Ordnance Road (Wesleyan) Methodist Church

Ordnance Road (Wesleyan) Methodist Church is on the north-west corner of Ordnance Road and Raynton Road. A small brick chapel was opened in 1859 on Grove Road (which cannot be found in 2010). In 1879 it was replaced by an iron chapel in Ordnance Road. This was replaced by a brick chapel and schoolroom in 1904. The present cruciform building was opened in 1957, south of the 1904 church, which in 1973 served as the church hall (since replaced by housing).

The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul

The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul Enfield Lock occupies a narrow, cluttered site at the south-east corner of Ordnance Road and Chesterfield Road. The church was built in 1928 to serve as a chapel of ease to St James Enfield Highway, and was intended to replace the Garrison Chapel of the Royal Small Arms Factory in nearby Enfield Lock, which existed in 1882 and which closed in 1921. The new church was a plain brick building close to the corner of the street.

The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul

The church was damaged by bombs in the Second World War and was later demolished. The present church was built a little to the east, from the designs of Romilly Craze, and was consecrated in 1969. It is a brick building with a simple plan and tall, three-light windows, a western narthex and baptistery, and a south-western tower. Curiously the building is very reminiscent of art-deco London Underground architecture of the 1930s. In 1969 it gained its own parish.

All photos on this page by P L Kessler.

 

 

     
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