| All Saints Church, West Dulwich | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | George Fellowes Prynne |
All Saints Church is a Grade I-listed Gothic Revival church in West Dulwich, South London.[1] It was built 1888—1897 and designed by George Fellowes Prynne.
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The church is an important example of the work of George Fellowes Prynne, a pupil of George Edmund Street.
During World War II in June 1944, a V1 Flying Bomb landed near the church, shattering the stained glass windows and damaging the roof[2]. Services continued in the crypt until the church was restored after the war.
The building's interior was destroyed by fire on 9 June 2000. There was uncertainty as to whether the church would be restored after the fire, but a campaign to restore the church was completed in April 2006. The western end of the church now has a modern entrance in contrast with the Gothic architecture of the remainder of the building.
The site slopes dramatically down from Lovelace Road to Rosendale Road. The east end of the church is lofty and the whole church, with the exception of the incomplete west bay, is situated over crypt spaces, which are extensively used by the wider community. The northeast corner of the building has four storeys of accommodation. A enclosed staircase rises to church floor level across the east elevation.
The building is vast in scale even though incomplete. The nave was intended to be three bays longer with an apsidal western baptistry. A flèche was intended over the chancel arch, flanked by a tall slender tower. Only the base of the flèche exists and the present bell turret by J. B. S. Comper of 1952 is a modest substitute. The west porch is another post-war addition.
The church is brick built with stone dressings and steep-pitched slated roofs. The aisles have individual double-pitched roofs with deep valley gutters alongside the nave's clerestory. There is a four-bay nave, the west bay being incomplete with no clerestory and what was intended to be a temporary slated gable end. It is flanked by narrow aisles and porches (now used for other purposes). The nave is flanked by the Lady Chapel in the north aisle and All Souls Chapel in the south aisle. The apsidal chancel is enclosed by a narrow ambulatory. To the north the Lady Chapel has its own arcaded chancel with ambulatory. To the south of the chancel the space is occupied by the organ chamber and vestries.
The church serves as home of the Lambeth Orchestra[3] and the Dulwich Symphony Orchestra.[4] Following the restoration a private nursery was installed in the basement.