St Michael and St George, White City explained

St Michael and St George, White City
Fullname:Parish Church of St Michael and St George, White City
Tradition:Anglican
Denomination:Church of England
Province:Canterbury
Diocese:Diocese of London
Episcopalarea:Kensington
Parish:White City
Archdeaconry:Middlesex
Deanery:Hammersmith and Fulham
Founded Date:1954
Architect:John Seely and Paul Paget
Style:Modernist
Years Built:1952-53
Dedicated Date:1953
Bishop:Bishop of Kensington
Curate:Revd Andy Rooney
Vicar:interregnum
Location:1 Commonwealth Ave, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 7QR
Country:United Kingdom
Coordinates:51.5124°N -0.2306°W
Pushpin Map:London
Website:St Michael and St George, White City

The church of St Michael and St George, White City, is the parish church of the White City estate in the W12 (Shepherd's Bush) district of west London.[1] The church and parish serves the White City public-housing estate that was begun in the 1930s and completed after the Second World War. The parish boundary also encompasses new developments to the north of the former BBC Television Centre on the site of the former White City Stadium.

Design and opening

The building was designed by the British architectural partnership of John Seely and Paul Paget and opened in 1954. It is described by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner in The Buildings of England London 3 North West, as:

"St Michael and St George, Commonwealth Avenue. 1952-3 by Seely & Paget, a humble, quietly modern L-shaped group of church and church hall, with shallow curved roofs. Exterior tympanum with naive painting. - (Wall paintimg above the altar by Brian Thomas)."[2]

Art

The large wall painting by Brian Thomas above the high altar depicts the parish's two patron saints with grazing sheep. As of 2019, it is no longer on display, obscured by a dossal curtain.

The painting in the tympanum is the result of a community arts project that was led by the artist Peter Pelz[3] (c.1990).

The large painted murals on the walls on either side of the sanctuary are the result of a 1985 community arts project led by the artist Debbie de Beer. A plaque on the north side of the sanctuary reads as follows:

"This mural was painted in 1985 by local people under the direction of Debbie De Beer. It shows scenes from 'The Way of the Cross', an ecumenical Easter play in the streets of Shepherds Bush in 1984."

Proposal to demolish

In November 2018 the Bishop of London made a formal proposal to demolish the current buildings and redevelop the site, "to include a new place of worship, improved community space and housing for Church ministry".[4] These plans are currently in abeyance.

Further image sources

Royal Institute of British Architects Library: Photographs of the building (1953-) by British Aluminium Co. and Bedford Lemere & Co.[5]

References

  1. https://www.london.anglican.org/directory/st-michael-st-george-white-city-estate/ ‘St Michael and St George, White City’
  2. The Buildings of England. London 3: North West by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner (Yale University Press, 1991), 204.
  3. http://www.dialoguesociety.org/tag/Peter-Pelz.html 'Peter Pelz'
  4. https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-11/09012019%20-%20Shepherd%27s%20Bush.pdf Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 Diocese of London. Parishes of St Stephen with St Thomas, Shepherd's Bush; St Luke, Hammersmith; and St Catherine, North Hammersmith. 28 November 2018
  5. Royal Institute of British Architects Library, shelf-mark P010588. Dual purpose church and church hall of St. Michael & St. George, White City, London, designed (1952-1953) by Seely & Paget. [Photographed by] British Aluminium Co. and Bedford Lemere & Co. - 20 photoprints: black and white; 4 photonegative.