CHURCHES.

In 1086 there was a priest on Robert son of Corbutio's manor of Leyton, (fn. 1) and another on Hugh de Montfort's manor, later Cann Hall, Wanstead. (fn. 2) The church of Leyton was granted to Stratford Abbey with the manor about 1200 by Richard Corbutio (fn. 3) and descended with the manor until the partition in 1650. Abbott's third descended with his third of the manor to the corporation of Lincoln, from whom it was purchased in 1794 by John Pardoe, except for the next presentation to the vicarage, which had previously been sold. (fn. 4) The other two-thirds of the advowson passed to the Gansels, who presented to the vicarage in 1738 and 1754. (fn. 5) The heirs of Gen. William Gansel (d. 1774) sold their two-thirds to Nicholas Corsellis in 1783. (fn. 6) Thomas Spurrier of Walsall presented his son, Thomas Hector Spurrier, in 1797, having purchased the next turn of the corporation of Lincoln; but by 1811 the advowson was vested solely in the Pardoes. (fn. 7) Between 1870 and 1874 the advowson became vested in Edward Jones Brewster, vicar of Leyton 1873–80. (fn. 8) He died in 1898 and his representatives presented in 1899 and the Simeon Trustees in 1900. Since 1907, when his widow died, the living has been in the gift of the Simeon Trustees. (fn. 9)

In 1254 the rectory was valued at 10 marks (fn. 10) and in 1291 at £5 6s. 8d. (fn. 11) By agreements made in 1222 and c. 1480 the tithes of Leyton were apportioned between Stratford Abbey and Haliwell Priory, whose endowment by the de Valognes family had included tithes in the manor of Ruckholt. (fn. 12) After the Dissolution the tithes which Haliwell Priory had held appear to have descended with the priory's Leyton estate until 1570, when they were held by Walter Morgan and his wife Jane. (fn. 13) In 1598 they were held by Thomas Vaughan, (fn. 14) but no later reference to them has been found. The great tithes were partitioned in 1650, but only descended with the advowson in the case of Abbott's third share. Ozler's share descended to Robert Haselar, who sold it in 1773 to Robert James of Leyton, from whom it passed to his son, Richard. (fn. 15) Swanley's share was devised by Gen. William Gansel to his nephew, David Jebb, from whom it was purchased by Richard James in 1801. (fn. 16) James's two-thirds were in the hands of his executors in 1831 (fn. 17) and of William Frith of Hackney (Mdx.) by 1840. (fn. 18) In 1843 Frith's two-thirds were commuted for £246; the remaining third, the property of John Pardoe, was commuted for £123. An area of 281 a. was exempt from tithe as demesne land of Stratford Abbey. (fn. 19)

The vicarage, a poor one, is first mentioned in 1254, when it was said to be scarce worth 40s. (fn. 20) It was valued at £1 13s. 4d. in 1291, (fn. 21) £7 12s. in 1535, (fn. 22) and £30 in 1604. (fn. 23) Its endowments were listed in 1650 as a vicarage house, an acre of glebe, small tithes worth £16 a year, and £3 a year charged on the manor of Leyton; this was being augmented by £50 out of New Barns in West Ham. (fn. 24) In 1656 the vestry ordered that the vicar, Philip Anderton, should receive £100 a year, the balance being made up by free contributions. (fn. 25) In 1661 the value was again £30, (fn. 26) but in 1669 the inhabitants agreed to subscribe £69 a year to support their new incumbent, John Strype. The agreement implies that his predecessor, John Cox, had been assisted in the same way. (fn. 27) The augmentation of the living was discussed by Strype with the bishop in 1687, but in 1703 its basic value was apparently still £30. (fn. 28) An offer by Ozler in 1697 to sell his share of the great tithes to the bishop, to settle them on the vicarage, came to nothing because the bishop hoped he might be persuaded to devise them. (fn. 29) John Dubordieu estimated that in 1738–9, his first year as vicar, he received about £94 from all sources, including contributions. (fn. 30) This suggests that the income was still being augmented by subscription. By 1831, however, the gross income was £554. (fn. 31) The increase may be explained partly by the multiplication of fees with a growing population, but mainly by the enhanced value of the small tithes, which were commuted in 1843 for £394, plus 1s. per head of cattle turned out on the tithable lammas lands. (fn. 32) The small tithes had probably grown at the expense of the great tithes, which they exceeded in 1843. A similar situation is found at East Ham, (fn. 33) though there is no evidence of the details of the process in Leyton. In 1685 the vicar's glebe comprised two separate half-acres in the common marsh; (fn. 34) in 1843 the total was 3 r. 37 p. (fn. 35)

A vicarage house existed in 1537. (fn. 36) It was stated in 1650 to be ruinous and not fit to live in; in 1652 the churchwardens were paying rent for part of it occupied by a poor woman. (fn. 37) A cobbler was later living there rent free. (fn. 38) In 1677–8 a new vicarage designed by Richard Sadleir of Leyton was built on the north side of Church Road, at the junction with Leyton High Road, at a cost of £216 of which £140 was borne by Strype. (fn. 39) It was enlarged in 1849. (fn. 40) A new vicarage was built in the garden in 1893. (fn. 41) The old vicarage continued to be used as a church house until it was destroyed by bombing in 1941. (fn. 42) It was a two-storeyed brick building with a symmetrical front, sash windows, and a pedimented doorway. The interior fittings included an original staircase with turned balusters. (fn. 43) The vicarage of 1893 was sold to the corporation in 1958 with the whole vicarage site, and was demolished in 1959. In 1961 a block of flats called John Strype Court was completed on the site. (fn. 44) A house in Vicarage Road is now occupied as a vicarage.

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries the patronage seems to have been neglected and the cure badly served. Three vacancies between 1561 and 1617 were filled by the bishop by lapse. (fn. 45) George Johnson, vicar 1565–75, who was also vicar of Walthamstow and non-resident, provided a curate at Leyton whose preaching was said to be inaudible. (fn. 46) Robert Godfrey (1585–1617) was listed in 1604 amongst insufficient or negligent preachers. (fn. 47) Robert Domvile (c. 1626–1638) was questioned at the metropolitical visitation of 1636 on unspecified inconformities, though he denied them. (fn. 48) Late in 1638 Thomas Lake was instituted on the presentation of Lady (Mary) Lake. (fn. 49) Though a mandate for Lake's induction was issued immediately after, (fn. 50) Samuel Keme (d. 1670), the Puritan divine, attended the 1639 Easter vestry meeting as vicar. (fn. 51) Lake was summoned as vicar to the archdeacon's visitation a week later, on 22 April, but Keme appeared in his place, the record noting that Lake was 'with Master Rich and not yet inducted'. (fn. 52) Later the same year Keme was summoned to a synod as curate of Leyton, but the entry was altered to vicar; (fn. 53) he continued to be summoned as vicar until the archidiaconal court ceased in 1641, though there is no record of his institution or induction. (fn. 54) He was still described as vicar in 1643, though he had been chaplain and captain of a troop of horse since 1641 and was also said to be 'chaplain at sea' to the lord high admiral, Robert Rich, earl of Warwick. (fn. 55) Lake's absence, followed by Keme's departure to war, at a time when the advowson was changing hands, and when both the church and vicarage were in disrepair, probably contributed to the confused and unsettled state of the cure in the following years. Keme's military activities can have left little time for serving the cure, though his family were living in Leyton at least until 1647. (fn. 56) It is not known when he relinquished the living, if, indeed, he ever legally held it, but in 1644 Samuel Toxey was described as vicar. (fn. 57)

No minister signed among those attending vestry meetings between 1644 and 1652. (fn. 58) Hugh Williams, a sequestrated minister from Norfolk who was living in Leyton from 1647, probably held no official position there, though he may sometimes have conducted services. (fn. 59) In 1648 no minister for Leyton was named in the published classical scheme, when Sir William Hicks was designated elder. (fn. 60) By 1650, however, Jeremiah Levitt, commended as an able and godly minister, was supplying the cure by order of the Committee for Plundered Ministers. (fn. 61) On Levitt's death in 1651 Philip Anderton's appointment was approved by the Westminster Assembly; he is described as minister of the parish and the registers note his formal induction. The church was partly rebuilt during his incumbency, one of the few examples of church building under the Commonwealth. Anderton was indicted in 1661, as vicar, for refusing to preach or use the book of common prayer, and he was ejected in 1662. (fn. 62) John Cox (1662–9) was apparently elected minister or preacher in his place by the inhabitants, and though he was neither instituted nor inducted styled himself vicar in the vestry minutes. (fn. 63)

Cox's successor, John Strype (1669–1737), the historian, was chosen minister by the votes of 62 inhabitants, who undertook to subscribe annually to augment his income provided he continued the usual custom of his predecessor in preaching twice on Sunday. Among the contributors were Sir William Hicks (£8), two well-known Puritans, Lawrence Moyer (£3) and Daniel Andrews (£3), and John Tabraham (4s.), who may have been a Baptist. (fn. 64) In a dispute argued in the consistory court in 1738 between Strype's granddaughter and executrix, Susannah Harris, and his successor John Dubordieu (1738–54), concerning liability for repairs to the vicarage and its out-buildings, evidence was given that the three patrons had complimented the parish on their choice of Strype to be their lecturer or curate. Evidence was also given that Strype was licensed in 1674 by the bishop of London, but never instituted or inducted. The judge ruled, however, that Strype had been the lawful vicar from 1669. (fn. 65)

From 1738 vicars were appointed in the normal way. Separate lecturers were chosen by the parishioners until the middle of the 18th century, the lecturer usually serving also as assistant curate, as master of the free school, or both. (fn. 66) David Capon, lecturer 1723–51, assisted Strype until about 1728 by reading prayers on Sundays for 1½ guineas a quarter, and after 1728 took the whole duty as Strype's curate, receiving 16 guineas and half the surplice fees. (fn. 67) Thomas Keighley, vicar 1754–97, paid as much as £50 to his curates. (fn. 68) Keighley secured his own election as lecturer in 1757, as did his successor, Thomas Hector Spurrier, vicar 1797–1800. (fn. 69) There was no election of lecturer thereafter. Spurrier resigned the living, alleging persecution by some parishioners, after a complaint against him had led to a serious charge at the assizes. (fn. 70) Charles Henry Laprimaudaye (1800–48) was employing two curates in 1831, one being his nephew. (fn. 71) John Pardoe (1848–73), son of the patron, inherited the patronage himself in 1870. (fn. 72) In the present century a number of former Leyton clergy, among them two vicars, have been preferred to high office in the church, including three diocesan bishops, an assistant bishop, and two suffragans. (fn. 73)

Strype claimed in 1718 that he had preached and administered the sacrament every Christmas day for 50 years. (fn. 74) In 1738 there were two services each Sunday and one on feast days; communion was celebrated on the first Sunday in the month. (fn. 75) In 1766 and 1835 there were two services each Sunday; in 1882 there were three Sunday services, one weekday service, and one morning and one evening celebration a month. In 1827 there was a parochial library in the vestry. (fn. 76)

The parish church of ST. MARY THE VIRGIN stands on the north side of Church Road, and consists of chancel, aisled nave, and embattled north-west tower. It is mainly of the early 19th century, but the tower and parts of the north wall of both nave and chancel date from the 17th century. (fn. 77)

In the early 17th century the church comprised nave and chancel so small that the foundations of their north and south walls, uncovered in 1962, lay well within the area of the present nave, and a west tower. About 1610 Sir William Ryder (d. 1611) added a chapel or chancel on the north side of the old chancel. (fn. 78) In 1638 the churchwardens were ordered to ceil the church, glaze the windows, shingle the steeple, and set up the communion table at the upper end of the chancel and rail it in with convenient kneeling places, but in 1640 they declared their intention instead to rebuild the church. (fn. 79) In 1658–9, when the tower had become so dilapidated as to be ready to fall, it was rebuilt of red brick in a north-west position, with a small lean-to vestry on the north side. At the same time a north aisle was built, also of brick, leading from the tower along the full length of the nave and chancel; a drawing of 1799 shows the north aisle with a gabled roof at two levels, the lower where it adjoined the chancel. (fn. 80)

The archdeacon's order of 1638 to provide improved access for communicants does not appear to have been carried out, since in 1693 the chancel was reported to be too narrow for communicants to draw near, the minister having to go from pew to pew to deliver the sacrament. (fn. 81) In 1693, during the incumbency of John Strype, the chancel was lengthened, the communion table was railed, and the monument to Sir Michael Hicks and his wife Elizabeth, (fn. 82) which had previously occupied the east wall, was moved to the south wall. (fn. 83) More than half the cost was contributed by the parishioners. The extended chancel was built of red brick and had a circular east window, two oval windows on the south side, and one on the north side, where Sir William Hicks about the same time or not long after erected his monument, the oval window being incorporated in the design. (fn. 84) The south wall also had a central doorway with a gabled porch. Part of the north wall of this 1693 chancel extension survives, forming the lower part of the western end of the present chancel wall; built into it is a stone inscribed 1610 RG which may have been preserved from the old east chancel wall, demolished when the 1693 extension was carried out. (fn. 85)

An old west gallery was taken down in 1711 and rebuilt larger and projecting farther forward. (fn. 86) This was probably the gallery occupied by the choir until 1963 and subsequently by the organ only. In 1794 the church was restored; the architect was Jesse Gibson (d. 1828). (fn. 87) Pictures of the church about this date show a small gable-roofed annexe adjoining the tower and nave in the south-west corner of the church; this was the baptistery in 1811, but when it was built is not known. (fn. 88) The enlargement of the church was being discussed by 1810; a plan submitted by John Walters (d. 1821), which included adding a south aisle, was accepted in 1811 and a faculty obtained in 1814 (fn. 89) but the proposal was dropped. In 1817 Thomas Lane of Leyton Grange, churchwarden 1800–16, paid for the erection of a gallery over the communion table to hold 100 Sunday school boys; the girls were accommodated by enlarging the west gallery. The late-17th-century windows in the chancel were probably bricked up during these alterations. (fn. 90) In 1822 the church was at last enlarged, apparently to the design of John Shaw (d. 1832). The builder was Thomas Cubitt. (fn. 91) A south aisle was added, the same length as the north aisle, with a small gallery at its west end. (fn. 92) The new aisle was built of brown stock brick in a plain Gothic style. Twelve feet of the chancel, being the older westernmost part of it, were incorporated in the nave, reducing the chancel to the 1693 extension. A chancel arch and clerestories were built of timber framing covered with lath-and-plaster, and the whole church was reroofed, the old part of the chancel being increased in height to take the new hipped roof of the nave. (fn. 93) The nave roof and clerestories were supported on slender clustered 'Gothic' piers of cast iron. (fn. 94) A vestry was built on the south side of the chancel, with a small gallery over it; the boys' gallery was demolished and the east chancel wall rebuilt. (fn. 95) The tower was heightened by the addition of battlements. (fn. 96) In 1853 a new east window was inserted in the chancel and the Hicks monuments were removed to the base of the tower, (fn. 97) and in 1884 a new baptistery was built in the south-west corner of the church. The church was restored in 1889, when the communion table and stained glass in the east window were given. (fn. 98) The oak chancel screen and altar-piece, copied from Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, were added in 1920 as a war memorial; the screen was placed under the west gallery in 1963. (fn. 99) Extensive restoration was begun in 1929 under the supervision of J. Andrew Minty. In 1932 the chancel was lengthened by 16 feet; the foundation stone of the extension was laid with masonic ceremonial, most of the money having been provided from masonic sources. (fn. 100) The lathand-plaster chancel arch was replaced by concrete, and the vestry enlarged. The hipped roof of the nave was replaced by a gable roof and the cast iron piers were encased in concrete of octagonal section; the clerestory was also rebuilt in concrete. (fn. 101) Oval windows were inserted on each side of the sanctuary, larger than their 17th-century prototypes, and the 19th-century Gothic east window was made taller. (fn. 102) In 1935 the 17th-century vestry in the north-west corner of the church, which had been used as a stokehole since the 19th century, was restored to its original use. In the same year an oriel window was built over the south-west doorway. The church suffered damage by bombing during the Second World War, and repairs carried out in 1951 included redecorating the interior and rebuilding the parapet walls of the tower. Oak communion rails, designed by J. Stuart Syme, were erected in 1955 in memory of Canon R. B. Bertin, vicar 1940–52. Restoration work begun in 1962 included reflooring the nave. (fn. 103) While work was in progress several burial vaults with later infilling were discovered below the floor. They included a very large one under the west end of the nave which had been constructed in 1711 for Sir Gilbert Heathcote of Forest House.

In 1906 there were three bells, one of the 14th century, possibly by William Dawe, one of 1634 by John Clifton, and one of 1694 by Phillip Wightman. Four were added in 1906, two of them being recast from Clifton's bell. Two more were added in 1928. A sanctus bell in the choir listed in 1552 may have been that shown in 18th-century pictures hanging in a small cupola on the tower. In 1806 this cupola was replaced by the present larger cupola and clock, said to have come from the Great House. In the same year the churchwardens sold a church bell; this may have been the old sanctus bell and the present clock bell one which came with the new cupola and clock. The clock was made by William Addis in 1768; the bell is said to be 17th-century. (fn. 104)

The church plate consists of a silver-gilt cup dated 1775, a silver-gilt cup, 3 patens, and a flagon of 1794, a silver-gilt alms-dish of 1733, and 4 alms-dishes of 1836. (fn. 105)

The font is believed to be of 15th-century origin, but the pedestal was given in 1827 by William Cotton. (fn. 106) The organ, which was apparently bought second-hand at Brighton, was installed in the west gallery in 1822, and was described in 1827 as built by Flight & Robson. When it was rebuilt in 1968 evidence was found that some parts of it dated from about 1760. (fn. 107)

An ancient bench against the north wall of the chancel may be a 16th-century houselling bench. A poor-box dated 1626, with a carving of a cripple on the front, is in the south-east porch. An hourglass dated 1693 came from the Augustinian church at Munich. A beadle's staff dated 1824 was presented to the church in 1905 by Robert Holdgate. (fn. 108)

The church has a large and fine collection of monuments, reflecting the wealthy residential character of the parish; but many have been moved from the positions they occupied when they were first listed and described in the 18th century. (fn. 109) Under the west gallery are brass inscriptions commemorating Ursula, daughter of Luke Gasper (1493), (fn. 110) Lady (Mary) Kingston (1548), Sir Edward Holmden (1616), and the benefaction of Robert Rampston (1585). (fn. 111) In the so-called Hicks chapel below the tower are the two largest monuments in the church, moved from the chancel in 1853. The earlier carries alabaster effigies of Sir Michael Hicks (1612) and his wife Elizabeth (1635). It was originally in the form of an altar-tomb but the parts were rearranged later and the monument now extends along the whole south wall of the chapel. Against the north wall is an equally large memorial, possibly by Bartholomew Adye, which was erected by Sir William Hicks (1702) in his own lifetime. (fn. 112) It incorporates a recumbent figure of his father, Sir William Hicks Bt. (1680), flanked by standing figures in Roman dress of the second Sir William and his wife, Lady Marthagnes (1723). Above the central effigy and evidently part of the design, is the stone surround of an oval window of 1693, formerly in the north wall of the chancel. (fn. 113)

On the west wall of the north aisle is a monument to William Bosanquet (1813) by John Flaxman. On the north wall are monuments to Samuel Bosanquet (1765), signed by Joseph Pasco of Hackney, Thomas Hawes (1685), attributed to John Annis (d. 1740) or his brother James, Sir John Strange (1754), by Sir Henry Cheere, (fn. 114) and Sir Richard Hopkins (1735). On the east wall of the north aisle is an impressive monument to Charles Goring, earl of Norwich (1671). Below the floor at the entrance to the chancel is the ledger slab to John Strype (1737), his wife Susanna (1732), and daughter Hester (1711). Strype's grave is marked by a stone on the fourth chancel step. (fn. 115) A monument to E. J. Brewster (1898) in the chancel is by Thomas or Edward Gaffin. A tablet to Newdigate Owsley (1714) and his family by Samuel Tufnell is on the east wall of the south aisle, and the brass depicting Elizabeth Wood (1626), her husband Toby, and their twelve children stands against the wall. (fn. 116) Monuments on the south wall include those of Sir Robert Beachcroft (1721), John Story (1786) by John Hickey, and John Hillersden (1807) by John Flaxman.

A monument to Samuel Bosanquet (1806) designed by Sir John Soane, which stood in the churchyard west of the church tower, was demolished in 1957–8, after damage by vandals, and replaced by an inscribed grey granite slab. (fn. 117) An altar-tomb in the churchyard, surmounted by an oval urn, to Frances Sherburne (1819) is signed by Thomas Mocock of Leyton.

By will made between 1776 and 1778 Henry March left £200, half the income to maintain the tomb of his wife Elizabeth (1726) in Leyton churchyard and half to the minister serving Leytonstone chapel. (fn. 118) This fund is administered (1968) by the churchwardens of St. Mary's, half the income being paid to the vicar of St. John's, Leytonstone. (fn. 119) Eleanor Bosanquet, by will proved 1820, left £100 to maintain the monument of her husband, Samuel (1806). The income in 1884, when the monument was restored, was about £3 a year. (fn. 120) The fund is administered by the family. (fn. 121)

St. Mary's was the only place of Anglican worship in Leyton until 1749, when a chapel was opened in Leytonstone; this became the separate parish of St. John the Baptist, Leytonstone, in 1845. (fn. 122) The population growth after 1860 was met at first by the foundation of mission churches, but from 1879, when the parish of Holy Trinity was created for the overcrowded Harrow Green district, the process of subdividing the two mother parishes accelerated. The Walthamstow Slip was added to the parish of Leyton in 1885. (fn. 123) By 1903 there were 9 parish churches and 12 missions, including a small Y.W.C.A. mission, in the urban district. Even so, there was a smaller proportion of Anglican than nonconformist worshippers in the district. (fn. 124) Another parish was created in 1907, after which there was no change for over twenty years. The wealthy families who had encouraged church building had left the district; two parish churches built in 1902 and 1906 remained uncompleted for lack of funds. One mission closed in the 1920s. In the 1930s some reorganization took place, when three old-established mission churches became parishes, another became a conventional district, and one mission church closed. In 1937 the vicar of St. Mary's noted that as families of established churchgoers left the district, they were not being fully replaced by newcomers. (fn. 125) Between 1945 and 1968 one church and two more missions closed, and two parishes were amalgamated.

In the following individual accounts, where it is stated that the advowson of the vicarage was vested in the bishop, this means the bishop of the diocese which then or later included Leyton. (fn. 126)

Within St. Mary's parish the iron mission church of ST. PHILIP, Brewster Road, Leyton, was opened in 1897 (fn. 127) and closed in 1954. (fn. 128) The Russell mission, Goldsmith Road, Leyton, was opened in 1900 in an iron church presented by a parishioner and named after E. B. Russell, vicar 1899–1900, who bought the site himself, but died before the opening. A London City missioner was in charge for many years. (fn. 129) The mission closed about 1952 (fn. 130) and the site was bought by the corporation for housing in 1957. (fn. 131) The Victoria mission room, adjoining St. Mary's church house in Leyton High Road, was in existence by 1901 (fn. 132) but is not listed in directories after 1914. (fn. 133)

The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, High Road, Leytonstone, originated in 1748, when leading Leytonstone residents, including William Dunster, the poet David Lewis, and Samuel Bosanquet, bought a 99-year lease of a site on the west side of Leytonstone High Road from the trustees of the poor of Bourne (Lincs.) to build a chapel. (fn. 134) The patron, David Gansel, opposed the scheme, and the vicar, John Dubordieu, was not helpful. Nevertheless, the chapel opened in 1749, Dunster having told Dubordieu that 'neither bishop, patron nor vicar could hinder their building a meeting'. The services were taken by a Mr. Carter, but Gansel secured a citation against him for officiating in an unlicensed chapel. This led to closure of the chapel until 1754, when it reopened as a chapel of ease to the parish church, with a minister licensed by the bishop. (fn. 135) The stipend was provided by the pew-rents. (fn. 136) In 1819 the chapel was enlarged and licensed for administration of the sacrament, but the site being leasehold it could not be consecrated. (fn. 137) In 1833 the permanent church of St. John the Baptist, built by subscription, with a grant from the Church Building Society, was opened on a site farther north given by William Cotton. (fn. 138) It was designed by Edward Blore in the Early English style, in yellow brick with stone dressings, and comprised a small sanctuary, nave, and a tall west tower of three stages surmounted by pinnacles. (fn. 139) The old chapel was converted to enlarge the national schools. (fn. 140) In 1845 the new parish of St. John was formed. (fn. 141) The advowson was vested in the Pardoes until 1874, when it was transferred to the bishop. (fn. 142) The growing population of Leytonstone, particularly at Harrow Green, led to the foundation of the churches of Holy Trinity (1874), St. Andrew (1882), St. Margaret (1883), St. Augustine (1886), and St. Columba (1888). Separate parishes were soon assigned to all of these except St. Augustine's. St. John's itself was enlarged in 1893 by the addition of chancel and choir vestry. (fn. 143) The south aisle and new vestries were built in 1910. (fn. 144) The south aisle was extended at the east end in 1929 to form a side chapel. (fn. 145) In 1956 the church was restored. (fn. 146)

The church has a set of plate which is said to have been transferred to St. John's from the old Chapel Royal when it was demolished. It consists of 2 cups and 2 patens of 1779 and a flagon and alms-dish of 1778. (fn. 147)

The mission church of ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, Lincoln Street, Leytonstone, originated in open-air services held by St. John's clergy opposite the Bell public house. (fn. 148) About 1886 (fn. 149) an iron building was provided in Mayville Road. This was replaced in 1889 by a temporary brick church. (fn. 150) In 1902 a permanent church of plain design was opened on an adjoining site in Lincoln Street, the temporary church becoming the hall. (fn. 151) An early curate-in-charge, W. Walker (1894–1916), established a ritualistic tradition. (fn. 152) In 1915 St. Augustine's was gutted by German incendiary bombs; the hall was used for services until the church was restored in 1920. (fn. 153) A conventional district was formed in 1937. (fn. 154) In 1952 a new vestry was built and the church was renovated the following year. From 1962 to 1965 the church was served by a curate of St. John's and from 1965 by the vicar of Holy Trinity doubling as priest-in-charge. (fn. 155)

The church of HOLY TRINITY, Harrow Green, originated as an iron mission church of St. John, built in Birkbeck Road in 1874 for the Harrow Green district. (fn. 156) The permanent church, a plain brick building with painted windows, was opened in 1878. (fn. 157) A new parish was formed in 1879 from the parishes of Leyton, Leytonstone, Wanstead, West Ham, and St. Paul, Stratford; the advowson was vested in the bishop. (fn. 158) The population of the parish was working-class, mainly railway employees. (fn. 159) The choir vestry was added soon after 1903 and the south chapel soon after 1905. The church was damaged in the Second World War but restored. St. Margaret's was taken from Holy Trinity in 1893, and St. Columba's (1895) and St. Luke's (1932) were partly taken from it. In the early 1880s Holy Trinity started a mission in Melrose (now Kingston) Road, (fn. 160) moving it about 1890 to a room in Crownfield Road, (fn. 161) which was still in use in 1903. (fn. 162) By then, however, most of the work had been taken over by the iron mission church of ST. ALBAN, opened in Leslie Road in 1892. (fn. 163) This closed about 1930. (fn. 164) The site is now occupied by a small block of flats called St. Alban's Court.

The church of ALL SAINTS, Capworth Street, Leyton, was built in 1864 as a chapel of ease to St. Mary's on a site given by Edward Warner. (fn. 165) Built of brick, in the 'Decorated' style, it consists of nave, chancel, and transepts. (fn. 166) The tall steeply-pitched roof had to be relaid in 1884. (fn. 167) The same year a reredos of Caen stone and alabaster (a copy of that at Sandringham) was placed in the chancel in memory of Major G. C. Capper. In 1886 a new parish was formed, including part of St. James, Walthamstow. (fn. 168) The advowson was vested in the vicar of Leyton. (fn. 169) In 1883 a Sunday school for 600 children was opened beside the church. A new vestry was added in 1903–4. (fn. 170) In 1935 the parish of Emmanuel was taken from All Saints. In 1936, among other alterations, a new baptistery was made on the north-west side of the church. (fn. 171)

The church of ST. ANDREW, Forest Glade, Leytonstone, originated in 1882, (fn. 172) when an iron building was erected in Colworth Road, Forest Glade, as a chapel of ease to St. John's, on a site given by Henry Cotton. (fn. 173) A new parish was formed in 1887, (fn. 174) the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the bishop. (fn. 175) In the same year the first part of the permanent church was opened, comprising the chancel and part of the aisled nave, built of Kentish rag with freestone dressings in the Early English style, to the design of Sir Arthur Blomfield. (fn. 176) The rest of the nave and the pinnacled west front were added in 1893. (fn. 177) St. Andrew's served the Wallwood estate, which in 1898 was being rapidly developed with houses for city workers. (fn. 178) In 1903 it was the best attended church of all denominations in the urban district, the only one with total Sunday congregations of over 1,500. (fn. 179) A choir vestry was added in 1913.

The church of ST. MARGARET OF ANTIOCH, Woodhouse Road, Leytonstone, originated in 1884, when an iron mission church in connexion with Holy Trinity was opened in Lansdowne Road to serve the working-class district near Wanstead Flats. (fn. 180) The permanent church, opened in 1893, comprised chancel, nave, and north and south aisles, designed by J. T. Newman. The vestries were added in 1899 and Lady Chapel in 1910. The flèche and tower included in the original design were never completed. The church has some notable furnishings. The high altar, carved by the people of Oberammergau, was presented in 1893. A picture of the Madonna and Child is attributed to Murillo or one of his pupils. The rood-beam with three carved figures (1921) and statue of the Madonna and Child (1924) were designed by Sir Charles Nicholson. A separate parish was formed in 1893, (fn. 181) the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the bishop. (fn. 182) Edward Sant (1893–1902) and later vicars, particularly T. H. Gilbert (1909–17) and F. E. Rance (1918–23), established a ritualistic tradition. (fn. 183) In 1895 the old iron church was moved from Lansdowne Road to the site adjoining St. Margaret's, for use as a parish room, but it was burned down in 1908. The church institute was built in 1910 and enlarged in 1930. In 1951 the parish of St. Columba was amalgamated with St. Margaret's, (fn. 184) which became known as St. Margaret of Antioch with St. Columba. A mission room for St. Margaret's was built in Pevensey Road in 1897. This became the mission church of ST. ANSELM in 1906; it closed by 1926. (fn. 185) The mission hall of ST. CHRISTOPHER in Acacia Road was associated with St. Margaret's from about 1908 to 1910. (fn. 186)

The church of ST. CATHERINE, Hainault Road, Leyton, originated in 1885, when an iron room in connexion with St. Mary's was opened in Francis Road to serve the Phillebrook area. (fn. 187) St. Catherine's itself was built in 1893. (fn. 188) It was a brick building, designed by R. Creed in the Perpendicular style, and consisted of chancel, nave, and north and south aisles, with large mullioned windows. (fn. 189) A separate parish was formed in 1894, (fn. 190) the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the vicar of Leyton. (fn. 191) John Kennedy, the historian of Leyton, was the first vicar of St. Catherine's (1894–1917). (fn. 192) A church hall was built in 1895. (fn. 193) George Hibbert (d. 1894) of Hibbert House (fn. 194) gave over £12,000 towards building and endowing the church and hall; in 1907 a reredos was erected to his memory. (fn. 195) The Phillibrook mission remained in St. Catherine's parish until 1904, when it was separated as Christ Church. (fn. 196)

The church of ST. COLUMBA, Wanstead Slip, in Ravenstone Road, originated as an iron mission church under Holy Trinity, opened in 1888. (fn. 197) A permanent church was opened in 1894. It was designed by E. P. Warren in 'Perpendicular' style and at first comprised chancel, nave, south aisle, Lady chapel, and small south-east turret. (fn. 198) The north aisle and vestries were completed later in the same year, by the gift of the Misses Nutter of Wanstead. A new parish was formed in 1895, including part of St. James, Forest Gate. (fn. 199) The advowson of the vicarage was vested in the bishop. (fn. 200) In 1898 a parish hall, also designed by Warren, was built in Janson Road. The church was wrecked by bombing in 1944 and its shell demolished about 1954. (fn. 201) In 1951 St. Columba's parish was amalgamated with that of St. Margaret. (fn. 202) Its church hall, surrounded by blocks of flats, was still in use in 1965. (fn. 203)

CHRIST CHURCH

CHRIST CHURCH, Francis Road, Leyton, originated as the Phillibrook mission, in connexion with St. Mary's and later with St. Catherine's. The iron room, built in 1885, was enlarged in 1887 and 1892. (fn. 204) A permanent brick church, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield & Sons, (fn. 205) was opened in 1902, (fn. 206) adjoining the mission. Funds were difficult to raise in this poor district (fn. 207) and only the nave and south aisle were built, the easternmost bay of the nave being used as the chancel, with a temporary east wall of iron built in the chancel arch. A separate parish was formed in 1904, (fn. 208) the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the trustees of the Church Trust Fund. (fn. 209) In 1959 the east wall was permanently bricked and an east window inserted. (fn. 210)

The church of ST. PAUL, Essex Road, Leyton, originated as a mission church of St. Mary, provided to serve the Barclay estate development. (fn. 211) It opened in 1903 in an iron building bought from the Wesleyans. (fn. 212) The first part of a permanent church, designed by G. Streatfeild, was built in 1906. This comprised nave, aisles, and western sections of transepts, with temporary chancel and west porch. A separate parish was formed in 1907, the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the vicar of Leyton. (fn. 213) The original iron church served as hall until a new one was built in 1912. The permanent chancel was completed in 1927 (fn. 214) and the west porch in 1950. A choir vestry was built in 1954.

The church of ST. LUKE, Ruckholt Road, Leyton, originated in 1901 when an iron mission under Holy Trinity was opened for the westernmost parts of the parishes of Holy Trinity and St. Catherine. (fn. 215) In 1914 a permanent church was built in grey terracotta to the design of E. D. Hoyland. It comprised aisled nave, apsidal chancel, east vestries, and an uncompleted north-west tower. The building is a striking barn-like structure, having low eaves, mullioned windows, dormers, and a very steeply-pitched pantiled roof, supported internally on wooden pillars. (fn. 216) In 1932 a new parish was formed from St. Mary's and Holy Trinity, (fn. 217) the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the bishop. (fn. 218) The church was badly damaged in the Second World War, but was subsequently restored.

The church of ST. EDWARD, Morley Road, Leyton, originated in 1901, when a mission in connexion with St. Mary's was opened in Claude Road. In 1902 a small site was acquired in Morley Road and the mission continued in a tent there and in neighbouring cottages until 1905, when a permanent church was built to the design of G. Streatfeild. It is a red-brick building with mullioned windows and embattled parapets, comprising nave, chancel with apse, and small western turret. (fn. 219) A separate parish was formed in 1933, (fn. 220) the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the vicar of Leyton. (fn. 221) The church closed in 1968. (fn. 222)

The church of EMMANUEL, Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, originated about 1902, with mission services held in Sybourn Street school in connexion with All Saints. (fn. 223) In 1906 a temporary brick church, designed by E. C. Frere, was built at the junction of Lea Bridge Road and Hitcham Road, on a site given by Sir Courtenay Warner. (fn. 224) Warner also gave a site in Bloxhall Road for the Bloxhall institute, a mission built in 1912 and run by Emmanuel in collaboration with All Saints church. (fn. 225) About 1920 Emmanuel became a mission district. (fn. 226) In 1934–5 the permanent church was built beside the temporary one, with aid from local masonic lodges. (fn. 227) It was designed by M. Travers and T. F. W. Grant, and is of red brick, in a simple Tudor style externally, and comprises chancel, aisled nave, Lady chapel, and vestries. The interior, baroque in character, (fn. 228) is plastered cream, with a red plastered reredos. A separate parish was formed in 1935, the advowson being vested in the bishop. (fn. 229) The Bloxhall institute closed about 1956 and was sold in 1959. (fn. 230)

Footnotes