Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lord, Upper Clapton
The Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lord is a
The church's incumbents have included two patriarchs, an archbishop and a beloved, but the longest tenure of any of its active incumbents has been that of a lady, the Reverend Schroder. It has long served as a local landmark; its tower rises above most of the surrounding buildings and trees, so its entire stone steeple and the unusual statues that surround it are widely visible.
Location
The building is next to Stamford Hill Bus Garage on Rookwood Road,
It was built by
Architecture
The tower statuary and at least some internal stone carving were designed by
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Stone winged lion and bull on either side of the main door
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The building is described as "particularly idiosyncratic" by Cherry and Pevsner.[7] Bronze lion and bull at the base of the spire
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Detailed view of bronze statues at the top of the tower of the Georgian orthodox cathedral, Clapton, UK
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Winged ox on a corbel in the interior
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Lion and lamb
Enoch and Elijah
According to the Old Testament, the Prophets Enoch and Elijah did not die but ascended to Heaven. This had particular significance for the Agapemonites, so they had roundels made both on the outside of the tower and the interior of the church representing the chariot of Elijah and the Book of Enoch.[5] Enoch and Elijah were also depicted in the stained glass of the apse,[3] though this is no longer on public display.
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Chariot of Elijah inside the church
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Both roundels on the outside of the tower
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Scroll of Enoch inside the church
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Chariot of Elijah shaped weathervane
Stained glass
The stained glass windows were designed by the children's book illustrator and member of the
The sets at the west end depict the end of the world, which the Agapemonites believed was coming at any moment. The side windows contain floral patterns and depict the "new Eden" which they believed was to follow.
Millenarian imagery (west end)
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Then shall the Sun of Righteousness arise
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Sin and Shame
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Death and Disease
New Eden imagery (side windows)
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Art Nouveau stained glass in the nave with adjacent Georgian icons.
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Lilies
Wood carvings
Its hammerbeam roof is described by the English Heritage Trust as "splendid", who noted the benches, lectern and pulpit, and the pulpit's woodcarvings are attributed to Olive Morris, at one time a resident of the Agapemone and daughter of the builder Joseph.[10]
Church of the Ark of the Covenant
The church was built for the Agapemonites between 1892 and 1895 as the London base for their rising star John Smyth-Pigott who became their leader (the beloved) in 1899 after the death of the movement's founder. Aside from the prominent large statuary on and of the tower, an unusual feature of the church interior when it was the Ark of the Covenant was that instead of an altar it had a chair for "the beloved" – Smyth-Pigott.
The Agapemonites were a controversial nineteenth-century religious sect whose leaders had been
In 1903 (or September 1902 according to English Heritage[11]) Smyth-Pigott had to be protected by the police from a mob of thousands after he had declared himself to be Jesus Christ but declined to walk over Clapton Pond. He took refuge in the Agapemonite community in Spaxton and died there in 1927, he was buried in the grounds, and his grave was left open for some time in the expectation of his resurrection. As none of his grandchildren were willing to continue his ministry, the church steadily dwindled and the last of the ladies in the abode of love died in 1956. Sources vary as to whether the church was completely disused for the half-century between the events of 1903 and the arrival of the Ancient Catholic Church in 1956,[12] or whether some of the London Agapemonites had continued for a time to discreetly meet in the church's basement.[13]
Church of the Good Shepherd, Upper Clapton
From 1956 to 2007 the building was used by "the Ancient Catholic Church" and the building was known as the Church of the Good Shepherd.[5] The church was founded by Harry Nicholson, a priest and later Primate of the Catholic Apostolic Church. Nicholson had left the Apostolic church before he moved into the then disused Agapemonite church in 1956; he continued as Primate until his death in 1968. His successor as Primate was a Mr Schroder who continued the church until his death in 1985. The third and final leader of the Ancient Catholic Church was Mr Schroder's widow Pamela Schroder who, as Reverend Schroder, led the church for another 22 years until her own death. After Reverend Schroder's death a court case ruled that the church had in effect ceased with her death, and no longer existed to be the beneficiary of her will. So the Ancient Catholic Church was dissolved, and the days of the building's dedication to the Good Shepherd ended soon after.[12]
Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lord
The building became a
Most of the original features from the 1890s are still there, but an iconostasis bearing many Georgian icons shields the altar from public view, and with it some of the glass is hidden. It is reasonable to assume that an altar has replaced "The Beloved's" chair; this is quite likely to have occurred during the occupancy of the Ancient Catholic Church.
References
- ^ Ark of the Covenant (Former) then Church of the Good Shepherd (Former), Rookwood Road, Upper Clapton now Georgian Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Nativity of Our Lord". London Church Buildings. Retrieved 26 February 2022
- ^ ISBN 0140710493.
- ^ a b c d Crane’s own account of his stained glass". Victorian Web, November 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2022
- ^ English Heritage retrieved 28 February 2022 "Violet (also an architect) and Olive (a wood-carver and engineer) were residents at the Spaxton Agapemone. It is very likely that Violet was involved in the design"
- ^ a b c "(Former) Agapemonite Church of the Ark of the Covenant, Upper Clapton, London (Interior)". Victorian Web. Retrieved 5 January 2022
- ^ a b c d "The Former Ark Of The Covenant, Rookwood Roadroad". Historic England. Retrieved 1 July 2022
- ISBN 0140710493.
- ^ "The Rising Sun of Righteousness". Victorian Web. Retrieved 8 January 2022
- ^ british-history.ac.uk retrieved 27 February 2022
- ^ English Heritage retrieved 28 February 2022 "Olive is believed to have carved the pulpit, and possibly also the lectern"
- ^ English Heritage retrieved 28 February 2022 "an excitable mob of several thousand taunted the congregation and chased Smyth-Pigott's brougham across Clapton Common to shouts of 'hypocrite'."
- ^ a b "Court rules ‘Ancient Church’ is defunct". Church Times. Retrieved 8 January 2022
- ^ A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10, Hackney "closed 1920s" retrieved 8 January 2022
- ^ londonchurchbuildings.com retrieved 4 January 2022