St Augustine's, Kilburn

St Augustine's, Kilburn
St Augustine's, Kilburn
Location	City of Westminster,London
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic
History
Founder(s)	Richard Carr Kirkpatrick
Dedicated	1880
Architecture
Architect(s)	John Loughborough Pearson
Years built	1871–1897
Administration
Diocese	London
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Bishop of Fulham(AEO)
Vicar(s)	Colin J. Amos
Archdeacon	Archdeacon of Charing Cross

Saint Augustine's, Kilburn,is aChurch of Englandchurch in the area ofKilburn,^[1]in North London, England. Because of its large size and ornate architecture, it is sometimes affectionately referred to as "the Cathedral of North London",^[2]although the church is not a cathedral in any official sense.

History

St Augustine's was founded by Richard Carr Kirkpatrick in theAnglo-Catholictradition in 1870. By 1871, a foundation stone had been laid and the original "iron church" was subsequently replaced by a much more ambitious building, aGothic Revivalchurch designed byJohn Loughborough Pearson.It is listed as a Grade I building byHistoric England.^[3]

Architecture

Pearson's plans called for a red brick structure, vaulted ceilings, and extensive interior stone sculpture in a style reminiscent of 13th-centuryGothic architecture.The church was consecrated in 1880, but thetowerandspire,remarkable for such structures in the Victorian era, were not constructed until 1897–1898.^[4]SirGiles Gilbert Scottdesigned thereredos(altar screens) for thehigh altarin 1930. He also designed the reredos of theLady Chapeland theStations of the Cross.In 1878, two years prior to the dedication of the church, contemporary historian Edward Walford had already referred to St Augustine's, Kilburn, as "one of the finest examples ofecclesiastical structuresin London. "^[5]

The spire measures more than 77 metres (253 feet) high. Completed in 1878, thenavemeasures nine metres (28 feet) wide with nine bays and acrossingthat is bounded bytranseptson the north and south sides. Thereligious artin various forms depicts most of the major biblical stories.Clayton and Bellcreated thestained glass windows,which include a largerose windowdepictingthe Creation,nineclerestorywindows (five depicting types of angels), nave windows depicting saints connected with England, a window depictingSaint Augustineand several other talllancet windows.Paintings around the nave depict the healing ministry of Christ. Thechancelandsanctuaryare surrounded by densely-carved sculptural forms representing thePassion,Crucifixion,Entombment,andResurrectionof Christ, as well as theApostles,saintsand other religiousiconography.The south transept leads toSt Michael's Chapel with depictions of theEucharist,sacrifice,angelsand theworshipofHeaven.The Lady Chapel presents frescoes of the Christ child and a later carving of Christ'sPresentation in the Temple.^[6]

The nave (looking east)
The rood screen
The nave (looking west)
The sanctuary

Today

The church stands prominently to the south ofKilburnand the north ofMaida Vale.It has two schools, St Augustine's Primary School andSt Augustine's High School.

Congregational history

Richard Carr Kirkpatrick served as parish priest at Saint Augustine, Kilburn, from 1870 to 1907. He formed the church after his parish at St Mary's, Kilburn, where he served ascurate,received an evangelical vicar unsympathetic to the Anglo-Catholic movement (also referred to as theOxford Movement,"Tractarians" or disparagingly as "Puseyites" after one of the founders of the movement,Edward Bouverie Pusey). Kirkpatick clothedEmily Ayckbowmas the founding sister of theCommunity of the Sisters of the Churchhere in 1870.^[7]Kirkpatrick was followed in the vicarage by:

Philip Leary, 1907–1930
William Percy Theodore Atkinson, 1930–1954
Harold Riley, 1955–1975
Claude Eric Hampson, 1975–1977
Raymond John Avent, 1977–1987
Paul Tudor Rivers, 1987–1994
Anthony H. Yates, 1995–2011
Colin J. Amos, 2012–present

In popular culture

The interior of St Augustine's Church was used in the filming ofYoung Sherlock Holmes(1985), for the church of the Reverend Duncan Nesbitt (played byDonald Eccles). In the scene, Nesbitt is hit by a poison dart, and begins hallucinating about one of the stained glass figures (a knight) coming alive and trying to kill him. This knight is noted for being the first fullyphotorealistic animatedcharacter in any feature film.^[8]^[9]