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St Paul's, Cambridge

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Coordinates: 52°11′51″N 0°07′46″E / 52.197586°N 0.129446°E / 52.197586; 0.129446
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St Paul's, Cambridge
Parish Church of St Paul, Cambridge
St Paul's from Hills Road
Map
52°11′51″N 0°07′46″E / 52.197586°N 0.129446°E / 52.197586; 0.129446
LocationHills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1JP
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationChurch of England
Websitewww.stpaulscambridge.org.uk
Architecture
Architect(s)Ambrose Poynter, H. G. Elborne, Temple Moore
Years built1841
Administration
ProvinceProvince of Canterbury
DioceseDiocese of Ely
ArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of Cambridge
DeaneryCambridge South Deanery
ParishSt. Paul, Cambridge

St Paul's, Cambridge is a Church of England parish church situated 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to the south east of the city centre of Cambridge, on the corner of St Paul's Road with Hills Road. St Paul's is part of the Cambridge South Deanery in the Anglican Diocese of Ely.[1] The church is a Grade II Listed Building[2][3] and has a place in the history of the Gothic Revival due to criticism from the Cambridge Camden Society in the first issue of The Ecclesiologist.[4]

Since 2022, the vicar of St Paul's is Imogen Nay.[5]

History

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Charles Perry, later first Anglican Bishop of Melbourne, was the first Vicar of St Paul's, 1842–47.[6] Perry had bought the advowson for the living of St Andrew-the-Less, and instigated the construction of Christ Church, Barnwell in 1839, as well as St Paul's.[7] Perry was a "stout evangelical clergyman, equally opposed to ritualistic and rationalistic tendencies."[8] In retirement, he was one of the founders of Ridley Hall.[8]

According to Bray,[9] St Paul's was a conventional district in the parish of St Andrew-the-Less from 24 October 1842, and became a new parish in its own right on 4 July 1845, when it acquired some of the parish of St Andrew the Great.

Architecture

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Historic England designates the church a Grade II Listed Building for these main reasons:[2]

  • "Church of 1841 by Ambrose Poynter, with later additions."
  • "Historically significant as one of the new churches harshly criticised in the first issue of the Ecclesiologist, an important publication of the Gothic Revival but which possesses visual interest in its own right."
  • "The interior, in spite of reordering and change, retains spatial interest and some fixtures of note, particularly stained glass windows, and Temple Moore's work of the 1890s."

The nave and west tower were built in 1841 at cost of £5766 paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to designs of Ambrose Poynter. Poynter designed two other churches in Cambridge: Christ Church Cambridge (1839) and St Andrew the Great (1842–43).[10]

Poynter's original "design was vilified in the first issue of the Ecclesiologist by the Cambridge Camden Society in November 1841, for its lack of a chancel, for the use of brick instead of stone, and for the unornamented, late C16 or early C17 style."[2] The Cambridge Camden Society was established in 1839 for the study of "ecclesiastical antiquities".[11] The committee of the society published The Ecclesiologist from 1841 to 1868, arguing that architects should adopt a religious stance in their work.[11] The design was criticised because its "style of architecture and plan of internal arrangement should have been after some approved ancient model."[11] The following quotation (from the second edition of 1843) gives a taste of the article.

But there are many arrangements and details in this church which are on every other ground quite indefensible, even on the ground of cheapness. Such are the huge clock; the disproportionate octagonal Turrets; the great four-centered Belfry windows without cusping or mouldings; the figures 1 8 4 1 in the spandrils of the clock; the square clerestory-windows; the enormous windows in the Aisles; the mullions made to stand on the same plane as the wall; the square heads; the want of foliation; the jambs without mouldings; the graduated parapet of the Nave; the thin mullions and tracery of the east windows, the difference between the supports of the western and the other galleries; the startling contrast of the red brick and the white quoins of dressed ashlar; the trellis-work of black bricks; and many other things which time forbids us to notice.[12]

The critique in the second edition is toned down, however, following objections from senior church leaders to the first edition. Still, Augustus Pugin reprinted the original in his Present State of Ecclesiastical Architecture (1842–43), and suggested it be circulated as a warning Beware of the Camden, to be "hung up in terrorem in every church-competing architect's office".[4]: 295–6 

The chancel and vestry are additions of 1864, perhaps by H. G. Elborne. North and south transepts are additions to the nave in 1893, to designs of Temple Moore.[2][4]: 295 

The interior became a multi-use space in 1996, designed by Freeland Rees-Roberts.[4]: 295  Meeting rooms and porch were added 2012–13.[4]: 295 

The building features these stained glass windows:[4]: 295 

The former parsonage, built in St Paul's Road behind the church 1853–4, was designed by George Gilbert Scott for the then vicar, his brother, John Scott; it is now the Cambridge Muslim College.[4]: 296 

Today

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Imogen Nay was collated as Vicar of St Paul’s on Thursday, 1 September 2022.[5] She was ordained priest by the Bishop of Kingston in St Andrew's Church, Surbiton, on Petertide, 4 July, 2010.[13] She served as Rector of St Andrew's Church, Rugby,[14] and as Canon for Evangelism and Discipleship of Chelmsford Cathedral.[15]

Until 30 September 2021, the Vicar was Michael Beckett.[16][17][18] He is the author of Gospel in Esther,[19] a typological reading of the Book of Esther. The book is based on a series of sermons, in which Beckett interprets Esther herself as a female exemplar of Christ. In a foreword to the book, Stephen Sykes, a former Bishop of Ely, describes St Paul's as a "parish church long noted for its attentiveness to the work of preaching". Beckett also wrote the book Authentic Church, a reflection on his experience at St Paul's.[20]

Jon Canessa was Associate Priest until August 2021, when he was appointed as Lantern Initiative Lead at Newcastle Cathedral.[16][21] He studied at Ridley Hall and completed training for ordination at Westcott House. Alongside his role as Associate Priest, he was the Bishop's Officer for Homelessness[22] and chaired the Cambridge Churches Homeless Project.[23]

In September 2021, St Paul's hosted a four-day arts festival, ArtsFest 2021.[24]

List of Responsible Clergy

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The following list of clergy responsible for the parish is extracted from the record[9] of all clergy of the Diocese of Ely compiled by Gerald Bray. Following Bray's scheme, an "R" beside the date of termination means that the clergy resigned, retired or removed to another parish. Bray also documents all the curates who have served at St Paul's.

From Perpetual Curate To Notes
1842/10/24 Charles Perry 1847/05/14 R Curate in charge from 1842/10/24; then Perpetual Curate from 1845/01/02. Afterwards first Anglican Bishop of Melbourne.[8]
1847/05/30 John Scott 1862/07/30 R Brother of George Gilbert Scott[4]: 296 
1863/01/08 Henry Hall 1890/11/06 R
From Vicar To Notes
1891/01/10 Henry Paine Stokes 1917/11/20 R
1918/01/21 Johnston Carnegie Brown 1928/09/10 R
1928/10/11 John Arthur Gibson Ainley 1937/03/04 R
1937/04/07 Gerard William Joseph Gregson 1944/06/30 R
1944/10/03 William Hooker Rowdon 1947/08/21 R
1948/04/08 Kenneth Howard Hooker 1958/05/16 R
1958/06/21 Herbert Moore Carson 1965/02/16 R[25]

Herbert Carson[26] (1922–2003) graduated from Trinity College Dublin and was ordained in the Church of Ireland; he was Vicar of St Paul's for seven years from 1958, having been Vicar of St Michael's, Blackheath Park, London, during 1953–1958. He resigned the living of St Paul's in December 1964, and seceded from Anglicanism, because of misgivings about liturgy, Establishment, bishops, and infant baptism.[27] Subsequently, he was baptised as a believing adult with his wife Delphine. He assisted Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel London, before becoming minister of Hamilton Road Baptist Church, Bangor, in 1967. He was chairman of Evangelical Press, Darlington, during the 1970s. In 1982, he moved to become minister of Knighton Evangelical Free Church, Leicester, and retired in 1988.

1965/06/21 John Gwyn Joseph Gwyn-Thomas 1977/11/21 [28]
1978/09/19 Michael Robert Wedlake Farrer 1992/07/31 R Rural Dean of Cambridge (1984–89); Honorary Canon of Ely Cathedral (1988–92); subsequently Senior Chaplain to the Bishop of Ely (1992–95).[29]
1993/03/02 Michael Shaun Beckett Priest in charge from 1993/03/02; then Vicar from 1994/09/11.[30][25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "A brief history of the Diocese of Ely". The Church of England Diocese of Ely. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "CHURCH OF ST PAUL". Historic England. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Church Heritage Record 614042 Cambridge: St Paul". The Church of England. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Bradley, Simon; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014). The Buildings of England: Cambridgeshire. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-20596-1.
  5. ^ a b "Tony Barnfield: New Vicar at St Paul's Hills Road". Cambridge 105 Radio. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Perry, Charles (PRY823C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  7. ^ Robin, A. De Q. (2006) [1974]. "Charles Perry (1807–1891)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 5. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Harris, Charles Alexander (1896). "Perry, Charles (1807-1891)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 45. pp. 29–31.
  9. ^ a b Bray, Gerald (2014). Ely Clergy Lists (Second ed.). Printed in four copies, one of which was deposited with the Diocese of Ely, another with the diocesan archivist in the Cambridge University Library, a third with the Cambridgeshire Record Office, where it has been available to the general public, and the fourth at Lambeth Palace, where it was housed in the research library there.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Lander, Jeremy (1982). The Caius Building Estate in Barnwell (PDF) (Diploma in Architecture). Cambridge University School of Architecture.
  11. ^ a b c Ray, Nicholas (1994). Cambridge Architecture: A Concise Guide. Cambridge University Press.
  12. ^ "New Churches". The Ecclesiologist. I (Second Edition): 9–12. 1843. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Petertide ordinations". www.churchtimes.co.uk. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Appointments". www.churchtimes.co.uk. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Appointments". www.churchtimes.co.uk. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  16. ^ a b "About us". St Paul's, Cambridge. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Resignations and retirements". Church Times. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Tony Barnfield's Sunday Supplement 05/09/2021". Cambridge 105 Radio. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  19. ^ Beckett, Michael (2002). Gospel in Esther. Paternoster Press. ISBN 978-1842271377.
  20. ^ Beckett, Michael (2022). Authentic Church. Austin Macauley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-3984243-4-0.
  21. ^ "Appointments". Church Times. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021. The Revd Jonathan Canessa, Bishop's Officer for Homelessness, and Assistant Curate (Associate Priest) of St Paul's, Cambridge (Ely), now Lantern Initiative Lead and Hon. Assistant Curate (Associate Priest) of Newcastle Cathedral (Newcastle).
  22. ^ "Cambridge Churches Homeless Project". Diocese of Ely. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  23. ^ "A practical and compassionate response to rough sleeping in Cambridge". Cambridge Churches Homeless Project. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  24. ^ Page, Charlotte (10 August 2021). "Four-day festival with 'top draw musicians' to take place in central Cambridge". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 15 August 2021. A four-day arts festival is set to welcome an "absolutely top draw lineup of musicians, writers, thinkers, visual artists, and craftspeople". St Paul's Church on Hills Road, Cambridge, will open its doors for its bi-annual festival of musical performances, comedy, workshops, talks, and a one-of-a-kind art exhibition.
  25. ^ a b "The Benefice of Cambridge (St Paul)". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Church House Publishing. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  26. ^ Kingdon, David (January–February 2004). "Herbert Moore Carson (1922–2003)" (PDF). Reformation Today. 197: 17–18. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  27. ^ Carson, H. M. (1969). Farewell to Anglicanism. H. E. Walter Ltd. ISBN 0854-79391-7.
  28. ^ "John Gwyn-Thomas". Banner of Truth. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  29. ^ "Deaths". Church Times. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  30. ^ "The Revd Michael Shaun BECKETT". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Church House Publishing. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
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