| St Paul's, Cambridge | |
|---|---|
| Parish Church of St Paul, Cambridge | |
 St Paul's fromHills Road | |
 St Paul's, Cambridge | |
| 52°11′51″N0°07′46″E / 52.197586°N 0.129446°E /52.197586; 0.129446 | |
| Location | Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1JP |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | www.stpaulscambridge.org.uk |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Ambrose Poynter, H. G. Elborne,Temple Moore |
| Years built | 1841 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Province of Canterbury |
| Diocese | Diocese of Ely |
| Archdeaconry | Archdeaconry of Cambridge |
| Deanery | Cambridge South Deanery |
| Parish | St. Paul, Cambridge |
St Paul's, Cambridge is aChurch of England parish church situated 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to the south east of the city centre ofCambridge, on the corner of St Paul's Road withHills Road. St Paul's is part of theCambridge South Deanery in theAnglicanDiocese of Ely.[1] The church is aGrade II Listed Building[2][3] and has a place in the history of theGothic Revival due to criticism from theCambridge Camden Society in the first issue of The Ecclesiologist.[4]
Since 2022, the vicar of St Paul's is Imogen Nay.[5]
Charles Perry, later firstAnglican Bishop of Melbourne, was the firstVicar of St Paul's, 1842–47.[6]Perry had bought theadvowson for the living ofSt Andrew-the-Less, and instigated the construction ofChrist 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 ofRidley Hall.[8]
According toBray,[9] St Paul's was a conventional district in the parish ofSt 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 ofSt Andrew the Great.
Historic England designates the church aGrade II Listed Building for these main reasons:[2]
Thenave and west tower were built in 1841 at cost of £5766 paid by theEcclesiastical Commissioners, to designs ofAmbrose Poynter.Poynter designed two other churches in Cambridge:Christ Church Cambridge (1839) andSt Andrew the Great (1842–43).[10]
Poynter's original "design was vilified in the first issue ofthe Ecclesiologist by theCambridge 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]TheCambridge 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 hisPresent State of Ecclesiastical Architecture (1842–43), and suggested it be circulated as a warningBeware of the Camden, to be "hung upin terrorem in every church-competing architect's office".[4]: 295–6
Thechancel andvestry are additions of 1864, perhaps by H. G. Elborne.North and southtransepts are additions to the nave in 1893, to designs ofTemple 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 thesestained glass windows:[4]: 295
The former parsonage, built in St Paul's Road behind the church 1853–4, was designed byGeorge Gilbert Scott for the then vicar, his brother, John Scott;it is now theCambridge Muslim College.[4]: 296
Imogen Nay wascollated as Vicar of St Paul’s on Thursday, 1 September 2022.[5] She was ordained priest by theBishop of Kingston inSt Andrew's Church, Surbiton, onPetertide, 4 July, 2010.[13] She served as Rector ofSt Andrew's Church, Rugby,[14] and as Canon for Evangelism and Discipleship ofChelmsford Cathedral.[15]
Until 30 September 2021, the Vicar was Michael Beckett.[16][17][18] He is the author ofGospel in Esther,[19] atypological reading of theBook 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 formerBishop of Ely, describes St Paul's as a "parish church long noted for its attentiveness to the work of preaching". Beckett also wrote the bookAuthentic 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 atNewcastle Cathedral.[16][21] He studied atRidley Hall and completed training for ordination atWestcott 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]
The following list of clergy responsible for the parish is extracted from the record[9] of all clergy of theDiocese of Ely compiled byGerald 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 firstAnglican Bishop of Melbourne.[8] |
| 1847/05/30 | John Scott | 1862/07/30 | R Brother ofGeorge 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 fromTrinity College Dublin and was ordained in theChurch 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 fromAnglicanism,because of misgivings about liturgy, Establishment, bishops, and infant baptism.[27]Subsequently, he was baptised as a believing adult with his wife Delphine.He assistedMartyn Lloyd-Jones atWestminster Chapel London,before becoming minister of Hamilton Road Baptist Church, Bangor, in 1967.He was chairman ofEvangelical 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 | RRural Dean of Cambridge (1984–89); Honorary Canon ofEly Cathedral (1988–92); subsequently Senior Chaplain to theBishop 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] |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)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).
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.
