A small church built in 1930, initially as a parish hall and later converted and extended. 

The church was initially built as a parish hall, which was later converted into a church when the congregation grew with the expansion of Biggin Hill. The foundation stone was laid on 8 September 1930 and the church opened in January 1931.

In 1979-80 the surveyors Avery & Co. with J. W. Kennedy & Partners, of Catford, built a parish hall at right angles to the church, providing a hall, a kitchen and toilet facilities. In 1984 the church was extended to the (liturgical) west. The foundation stone for the extension was laid on 8 September 1984 by Fr Paul Hough. The extension was blessed on 4 December 1984 by Archbishop Bowen. The church was consecrated by Bishop Charles Henderson on 1 October 1985.

Description

The church is facing northwest. This description uses the conventional, liturgical orientation.

The church was built in 1930 as a parish hall. In 1980, the hall to the north was added, and four years later, the church was extended westward. The materials are brick laid in stretcher bond, with steel roof trusses. The attached hall is constructed of pre-cast reinforced concrete portal frames. The plan of the church is rectangular, with a hall attached at right angles on the north side, which is divided from the nave by a folding partition. On either side of the junction with the hall are small subsidiary spaces, including the repository at the northwest corner. In addition to the west entrance, there is a northwest entrance. The main facade is dominated by a tall gable-cross construction with a canopied porch between brick buttresses. There are two foundation stones (1930, 1984) inside the porch. On the cill of the window above the doorway is a statue of the patron saint.

At the west end is the narthex, contained in the 1984 extension with a slightly lower roof than that of the nave. It has a stone plaque commemorating the blessing of the extension and the consecration of the church. The north side of the nave has a door to a small repository, a statue of St Theresa, and the folding partition to the hall. The sanctuary has a statue of Our Lady to the left, matching stone sanctuary furniture and a timber crucifix. On either side of the sanctuary steps are iron rails, donated by the Osman family in memory of their infant son (died 2000). At the southeast is a small sacristy, partitioned off from the sanctuary. Nearby is a statue of St Joseph, and the organ. The south side of the nave has statues of St John Fisher and St Thomas More on corbels. In the southwest corner is a confessional (contained in the 1984 extension), and a statue of St Anthony.

Heritage Details