History Files Church Index

Over the past few weeks one of my favorite flickr groups has been overrun with submissions from the History Files sharing a wide range of modern churches. They have a large church index on their website as well with a great number of buildings of which I have only been able to scratch the surface. It looks like it will be a very useful resource in the future. One new discovery (for me) from their site is the church of Our Lady and St George, Walthamstow.

Designed by Inkpen Downie and completed in 1998, this building replaces an early church destroyed by fire earlier in the decade. A few of the particular elements are already somewhat dated, though less than many other churches of the same period. And it shares much of the proportion and massing which is so admirable in the brick parish churches of the inter-war period. On the whole I expect it will age gracefully.

The interior appears to strike a nice balance between a linear basilica and a purpose-built concentric seating arrangement. The thrust altar platform, corona, and curvilinear pew benches combine to emphasize the centrality and prominence of the altar.