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User:AnemoneProjectors/List of places of worship in Stevenage

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St Andrew and St George's Church in Stevenage is the largest parish church built in England since World War II.

Stevenage has an active network of Christian churches of many denominations. Many of the churches work together for town-wide projects under the banner of "Churches Together in Stevenage".[1] Stevenage also has a mosque. Alongside "Churches Together in Stevenage", Stevenage also has an "Interfaith Forum" dedicated to dialogue between different religious presences in the town.[2]

Overview and history of Stevenage and its places of worship

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The earliest settlement in Stevenage was on the site of the present St Nicholas' Church.[3][4] It was likely established in the 7th century.[5] The boundaries of Stevenage parish were defined at about 1100 and were unchanged for 850 years. Stevenage was in the Diocese of Lincoln. At this time, England was part of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe.[6] In the 16th century, protestant groups emerged, and catholics and protestants persecuted each other. There was religious upheaval during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I, from Henry's break with Rome in 1535 to Mary's death in 1558. Stevenage had as its rector at this time the Reverend Thomas Alleyne.[6] The Church of England (Anglican Church) emerged from these tumultuous years.[7] Alleyne was a protestant, and Stevenage was probably protestant in its outlook, as much of Hertfordshire was at this time.[8] Stevenage became part of the Diocese of London.[9]

As Stevenage expanded in the 1850s, a new church was needed as the population reached 2118. In 1861, a chapel-of-ease, the Holy Trinity Church, was built for the residents of new roads in the south of Stevenage who objected to the long walk to St Nicholas' Church,[10] especially as they would often find the church was full.[11] When the church opened, it was almost immediately too small for its congregation, so it was expanded in 1881.[12] In 1877, Stevenage was placed in the newly created Diocese of St Albans.[9]

The village of Shephall, which was historically separate from Stevenage, had a small wooden church, St Mary's, built in the 12th century, as a daughter to the larger church in nearby Aston.[13] Aston was briefly held by Reading Abbey and the church in Shephall was included in that holding.[13] Records from a Reading Abbey charter in 1151 show that the pastor of Aston was also the incumbent of the parish of Shephall.[3] The Prior of Reading Abbey and the Abbot of St Albans later came to an agreement to transfer the church in Shephall to the jurisdiction of St Albans.[14] The church was confirmed to the monastery of St Alban by Pope Honorius III in 1218.[15] St Mary's Church was transferred to the Diocese of London in 1550, the Diocese of Rochester in 1845 and to the newly created Diocese of St Albans in 1877.[16]

Stevenage was designated the first new town in 1946.[17] Shephall was entirely engulfed and lost its separate identity, becoming a neighbourhood of the new town.[13] Those concerned with the new town realised that new centres for people to meet were needed to create a sense of community, so several new churches would be built.[18] In 1955, the Reverend Eric Cordingly became rector of Stevenage and led the development and reorganisation of the Church of England in Stevenage. Each neighbourhood of the town would have its own church building and priest-in-charge, and there would be one large, centrally-located church as the parish church for the town, St George's (later St Andrew and St George's), to which the title of rector would be attached.[17] St George's took over from St Nicholas' as the civic church of the town.[19] St Nicholas' and its daughter church, the Holy Trinity, became daughter churches of St George's.[17]

There were then nine Anglican churches: St George's, St Andrew's, St Nicholas', Holy Trinity, St Mary's, St Hugh and St John's, St Peter's, All Saints and Christ the King.[citation needed]

In 1963, the Diocese of St Albans decided that St Andrew's Church was surplus to requirement.[17] St George's took over the parish of Bedwell in Stevenage, where St Andrew's Church was located, and the congregation of St Andrew's joined that of St George's.[19] This caused much unhappiness and annoyance for many years, as many of the congregation from St Andrew's had become emotionally attached to it.[17] In 1970, the ecclesiastical parish of Stevenage was divided into seven parishes, each with its own church and vicar (though St George's retained the title of rector),[19] so St Nicholas' regained its parish church status.[20] St George's Church then became responsible for the Bedwell neighbourhood area, the town centre and the Gunnels Wood Industrial Area.[19]

St George's Church was redesignated St Andrew and St George's in 1984, finally appeasing those upset by the closure of St Andrew's, and the old St Andrew's building was demolished in 1993.[17]

Administration

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The eight Anglican churches in the borough are administered by the Deanery of Stevenage. This is part of the Diocese of St Albans, whose seat is St Albans Cathedral. There are seven Anglican parishes in Stevenage; the parish of Holy Trinity, Stevenage includes two churches–Holy Trinity and Christ the King.[21] The Deanery of Stevenage includes three other parishes: Graveley, Knebworth and Aston, which are in the neighbouring districts of North Hertfordshire and East Hertfordshire. Part of the district of North Hertfordshire is included in the Anglican parish of the Holy Trinity, while small parts of Stevenage borough are within the Anglican parishes of Aston and Datchworth, the latter of which is in the Deanery of Welwyn Hatfield.

Buildings with listed status

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In England, a building or structure is defined as "listed" when it is placed on a statutory register of buildings of "special architectural or historic interest" by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, a Government department, in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.[22] English Heritage, a non-departmental public body, acts as an agency of this department to administer the process.[23] There are three grades of listing status. Grade I, the highest, is defined as being of "exceptional interest"; Grade II* is used for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; and Grade II, the lowest, is used for "nationally important" buildings of "special interest".[24]

Stevenage has two Grade I listed buildings, 10 Grade II* listed buildings and 114 Grade II listed buildings. Of these, four are churches, all Anglican. St Nicholas' Church was designated Grade I listed on 18 February 1948[25] and St Mary's Church was designated Grade II* listed on the same day.[26] The Holy Trinity Church was designated Grade II listed on 30 September 1976 for the reason that "It is a vigorous High Victorian church by a well-known church architect and was extended in a sympathetic style in the 1880s" and "It contains a number of fixtures of interest".[27] St Andrew and St George's Church was designated Grade II listed on 25 September 1998.[28]

Grade Criteria[24]
Grade I Buildings of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important.
Grade II* Particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II Buildings of national importance and special interest.

Open places of worship

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Name Image Location Denomination/
Affiliation 		Grade Notes
All Saints Church Pin Green
51°55′08″N 0°10′44″W / 51.9188°N 0.1788°W / 51.9188; -0.1788 (All Saints Church, Stevenage) 		Anglican/Methodist – This church opened in 1974 as England's first multi-faith church.[29] Until July 2013, it was shared by Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic congregations. Anglicans and Methodists now meet as a single congregation.[30]
Broadwater Chapel   Broadwater
51°53′01″N 0°10′11″W / 51.8837°N 0.1696°W / 51.8837; -0.1696 (Broadwater Chapel, Stevenage) 		New Testament Church of God –
Bunyan Baptist Church   Old Town Baptist –
Christ the King Symonds Green Anglican – This church was formerly shared by Anglican, Roman Catholic and United Reformed Church congregations.[30] It is part of the benefice of Holy Trinity, Stevenage.[31]
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints   Bedwell Latter-day Saint – This chapel opened in September 1959.[32]
Church of the Transfiguration   Old Town Roman Catholic –
City of David Church Town Centre Redeemed Christian Church of God – [33]
Friends Meeting House   Bedwell Quaker – [34]
Grace Community Church   Shephall Newfrontiers – [35]
High Street Methodist Church   Old Town Methodist – [36] Oak Church, a youth-focused Anglican Church, also meet here.[37]
Holy Trinity Church   Old Town Anglican II Holy Trinity was built in 1861 as a chapel-of-ease for St Nicholas' Church, which was then the Parish Church of Stevenage. It was more than doubled in size in 1881. The original 1861 part of the church has since been converted to a parish room. The original architect was A. W. Blomfield.[38]
Kingdom Hall Pin Green Jehovah's Witnesses –
Longmeadow Evangelical Church   Broadwater Evangelical – [39]
Salvation Army Corps   Bedwell Salvation Army – [40]
Stevenage Seventh-Day Adventist Church Broadwater Seventh-day Adventist –
St Andrew & St George's Church   Bedwell Anglican II [41]
St George's Cathedral   Broadwater Coptic Orthodox –
St Hilda's Church Shephall Roman Catholic – [42]
St Hugh & St John's Church Chells Anglican/Methodist – [43]
St Joseph's Church   Bedwell Roman Catholic – The church was originally built in 1957, but was rebuilt and had its orientation reversed in the 1980s following roof problems, with only the tower remaining from the original building. In 2016 and 2017, the orientation was reversed again and a sanctuary, clerestory and new roof were added and the Lady Chapel was moved.[44]

[45]

St Mary's Church   Shephall Anglican II* [46]
St Nicholas' Church   Old Town Anglican I The oldest part of this church is the tower, which dates to around 1100. The rest of the church has been extended and modified many times since. The church contains many items of interest, such as an ancient stone font with medieval carved wooden cover, a carved reredos dating from around 1890, a medieval rood screen that was rediscovered in 1841, having been lost since the time of the Reformation, and six 14th-century misericords.[47]
St Paul's Church Broadwater Methodist – [48]
St Peter's Church   Broadwater Anglican – [49]
Stevenage Muslim Community Centre Pin Green Muslim – [50]
Whomerley Spiritual Church & Centre Broadwater Spiritualist – [51]
United Reformed Church   Bedwell United Reformed Church – [52]

Former places of worship

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Name Image Location Denomination/
Affiliation 		Grade Notes Refs
St Andrew's Church Anglican – Demolished in 1993.
St John's Church Chells Methodist – Built 1964, congregation joined with the Anglican St Hugh's in 1975, initially using both buildings. This one was later sold. It became the Stevenage Resource Centre.

References

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  1. ^ "stevenagechurches.org.uk". stevenagechurches.org.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Stevenage Interfaith Forum". Stevenage Interfaith Forum. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b Ashby 2002, p. 11–12
  4. ^ Whitelaw 1999, p. 143–145
  5. ^ Madgin 2002, p. 6-7
  6. ^ a b Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 277
  7. ^ Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 278
  8. ^ Ashby 1982, p. 42
  9. ^ a b Ashby 1999, p. 3
  10. ^ Ashby 2002, p. 58
  11. ^ Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 280
  12. ^ Ashby 1995, p. 44
  13. ^ a b c Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 98
  14. ^ Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 99
  15. ^ Spicer 1984, p. 18
  16. ^ Spicer 1984, p. 19
  17. ^ a b c d e f Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 284–285
  18. ^ Ashby 2002, p. 99
  19. ^ a b c d Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 201
  20. ^ Ashby & Hills 2010, p. 285
  21. ^ "Holy Trinity, Stevenage". The Church of England. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  22. ^ "Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c. 9)". The UK Statute Law Database. Ministry of Justice. 24 May 1990. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  23. ^ "History of English Heritage". English Heritage. 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Listed Buildings". English Heritage. 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  25. ^ "Church of Saint Nicholas, Stevenage, Hertfordshire". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  26. ^ "Church of Saint Mary, Stevenage, Hertfordshire". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Church of the Holy Trinity, Stevenage, Hertfordshire". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Parish Church of St Andrew and St George, Stevenage, Hertfordshire". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  29. ^ Pritchard, Oliver (5 October 2014). "England's first multi-faith church holds 40th annual flower festival in Stevenage". The Comet. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  30. ^ a b Dunne, Martin (30 May 2013). "Stevenage churches face closure due to lack of priests". The Comet. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  31. ^ "Christ the King". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  32. ^ "Stevenage church celebrates 50th anniversary". The Comet. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  33. ^ "City of David Church". rccgstevenage.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  34. ^ "Religious Society of Friends". Churches Together in Stevenage. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  35. ^ "Grace Community Church". grace-community-church.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  36. ^ "High Street Methodist Church". Churchest Together in Stevenage. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  37. ^ "Contact Us". Oak Church Stevenage. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  38. ^ "A very brief history of the building". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  39. ^ "Longmeadow Evangelical Church". longmeadow-church.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  40. ^ "Salvation Army Stevenage". The Salvation Army. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  41. ^ "St Andrew & St George Church". The Church of England. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  42. ^ "Roman Catholic Church of St Hilda". Diocese of Westminster. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  43. ^ "About us - St Hugh & St John's, Chells". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  44. ^ "St Joseph, Bedwell Crescent, Bedwell, Stevenage (Roman Catholic)". Hertfordshire Churches in Photographs. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  45. ^ "Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph". Diocese of Westminster. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  46. ^ "St Mary". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  47. ^ "About us - St Nicholas". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  48. ^ "St Paul's Church". Churches Together in Stevenage. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  49. ^ "St Peter's Church". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  50. ^ "Stevenage Muslim Community Centre". smcc786.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  51. ^ "Contact us". Whomerley Spiritual Church and Centre. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  52. ^ "United Reformed Church". stevenageurc.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-18.

Bibliography

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  • Ashby, Margaret (1982). The Book of Stevenage. Barracuda Books. ISBN 0860231755.
  • Ashby, Margaret, ed. (1999). St Nicholas' Church, Stevenage: Recent Research I. The Friends of St Nicholas' Church Trust in association with Cambridge University Board of Continuing Education. ISBN 0860231755.
  • Ashby, Margaret; Hills, Don (2010). Stevenage: A History from Roman Times to the Present Day (1st ed.). Scotforth Books. ISBN 978-0752424644.
  • Ashby, Margaret (1 March 2002). Stevenage History & Guide (2nd ed.). Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0752424645.
  • Madgin, Hugh (2004). Stevenage: A History & Celebration. Frith Book Company. ISBN 1904938477.
  • Spicer, C. M. (1984). Tyme out of Mind: The Story of Shephall near Stevenage in Hertfordshire. S. M. Spicer and D. M. de Salis. ISBN 0950990701.
  • Whitelaw, Jeffrey W. (1999). Hidden Hertfordshire (3rd ed.). Countryside Books. ISBN 1853060259.

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