Emmanuel church (2) - rapid rise and fall of the Church of England in Forest Gate

This is the second of a two part article on the Church of England in Forest Gate.  The first, immediately above, traces the story from the establishment of Emmanuel church in 1852 until the 1880's when church building expanded rapidly in the area.

Emmanuel Church, in 1907

Rapid population expansion, from the 1880's lead to the building of three "daughter" churches to Emmanuel in Forest Gate: St James;' in 1882, St Saviour's, in 1884 and All Saints in 1886 - although All Saints had started life as an "iron church" on the site - donated by the local MP - six years earlier.

St James' church, completed 1882

The original St Saviour's, on
Macdonald Road, completed 1884

All Saints, built in 1886

A fourth - St Mark's - began life in a cattle shed, now 65-67 Tylney Road, before becoming an established church building, in its own right, in 1894.

St Mark's church, completed 1894
Before then the congregation met in
a former cattle shed in Tylney Road

These were days of a religious boom that scarcely seems conceivable today. The Congregationalist church (now the Azhar Academy) on Romford Road was completed in 1880 and its Sebert Road counterpart, later that decade. 

Romford Road Congregational
 church, built in 1880

Woodgrange Baptist church, on Romford Road was built in 1882 and the original Methodist church on Woodgrange Road, the same year. St Antony's of Padua Catholic church was completed, in Upton in 1891.

St Antony's - built 1891

Further extensions were built to Emmanuel, itself - increasing its capacity to a little over 800 - and finished in 1891.

At around this time the "high church"/"low church" tensions previously referred to came to a head and wrought havoc and division within the parish.

The "low church" attacks on the high church incumbents of Emmanuel were lead by M GG Poupard - supported by the Sunday school teachers and pupils. They left Emmanuel and built an "iron church" (iron framed, with corrugated iron walls and roof), Christ Church, the Free Church of England in Earlham Grove (see photo). It cost £4,000 to build and seated 450 people.

Another dissenter, Mr Haslet built another rival church, Ridley Hall, in Upton Lane, see photo - which still exists as the Ridley Christian Centre.

The Earlham Grove breakaway tried, but failed, to get Church of England recognition: instead it was accused of having committed a schism. The breakaway fizzled out and in 1911 the iron church was bought by the parish of St James' in Southampton for £225 - and moved, girder by girder, to be rechristened St John's, where it remained, until demolished in 1950.

St John's, Shirley, Southampton - which
previously had been Christ Church, in
Earlham Grove - an early 20th century
break-away from Emmanuel

Meanwhile - back in Forest Gate - the population continued to expand and in 1892 work began on the construction of St Peter's Upton Cross, in the grounds of Upton House (see photo), which had been bought by the Diocese of St Albans in 1885.

Interior of St Peter's, Upton Park

Upton House, itself, the one time home of Lord Lister, (see photo below), became the vicarage and parish rooms of St Peter's. And still demand for church space in Forest Gate grew.

Upton House - former home of Lord Lister -
became the vicarage of St Peter's Upton
Cross, the church, itself,  was built in its grounds.

In 1906 and iron Mission Hall, belonging to St Peter's was built on the junction of Plashet Road and Gwendoline Avenue, for £360, and remained (see photo), until bombed during WW2.

Partially obscured by the tree in the front
 left, the iron mission hall built on the
corner of Gwendoline Avenue and Plashet Road

And the flats that have replaced it

The last church to be built in the Emmanuel family was St Edmunds, on Katherine Road - which became a parish in its own right in 1901. This was probably the high point of Church of England significance in Forest Gate's history.

St Edmunds,
Katherine/Halley Roads

There are scant surviving records for the Emmanuel church for the early decades of the twentieth century, other than the fact that electricity was installed within it, at a cost of about £250, in 1929.

The 1930's saw another outbreak of "high church"/"low church" disputes and by the middle of the decade the church's congregation had declined to about 170 - considerably fewer than the 800+ attendees of the 1890's.

Joost (pronounced Yoast)de Blank was Emmanuel's shortest-serving, but probably most prominent, vicar. He was only there from 1937 - 1940.  Born in Holland, he moved to England aged six months. After university, at Cambridge, he had a couple of minor ecclesiastical appointments, before moving to Emmanuel.

He was a dynamic priest. For example, he hired the near-by Odeon Cinema (now the Idara Minhaj-ul-Quran mosque) on Romford Road, for recruiting purposes. He soon attracted national, as well as local attention.

Originally a pacifist, he changed his opinions and joined the war effort as an enthusiastic army Chaplin/captain, in 1940. He was posted to Egypt the following year, which effectively ended his incumbency at Emmanuel.

de Blank returned to London at the end of WW2 and was appointed Bishop of Stepney in 1952. Five year's alter he became Archbishop of Cape Town, where he became a leading Anti-Apartheid campaigner.

Joost de Blank, as the Bishop of Stepney, in
the early 1950's.  To his right, the late Queen Mother

Emmanuel, itself, was bombed during WW2 - but did not suffer the destruction of the near-by Princess Alice, Queen's cinema or Woodgrange Methodist church. Its roof was damaged, windows blown out and the spire lost its then-famous striped tiles.

Congregations dropped to around 100. The church shored up its ailing finances by letting out its Institute - opposite - to the emerging local authority Youth Service.

Post war activity focused on physical reconstruction and building its own youth groups. Central heating was installed at Emmanuel in 1949.

The old vicarage in Earlham Grove was in bad repair and sold in 1950 for £2,600. A replacement, 2b Margery Park Road (see below), was purchased for £100 more.

The Margery Park Road vicarage, that
replaced the Earlham Grove one in 1950

A declining local population and congregation meant contraction and changes for the Church of England in Forest Gate. In 1962 the parishes of Emmanuel and St Peter's (see above) were merged.

The first physical casualty was the splendid vicarage of St Peter's. The Archdeacon of West Ham challenged a preservation order on the building and the site was sold for £17,000. It was demolished and is now occupied by Joseph Lister Court (see below).

St Peter's Hall, in Neville Road was next to go. It was sold for £6,750 in 1971 to the local Sikh community, and is currently the Ramgharia Gurdwara.

Next - St Peter's, itself. This was demolished in 1972 and the site sold for £15,000. The intention was to rebuild it on the site of the old Gwendoline Avenue Mission hut (see above) - but money was too short. That land, too was sold - in 1980 - for £35,000.

St Peter's Hall, Neville Road,
now a Sikh temple

St Peter's was merged with Emmanuel and the combined congregation had slumped to a mere 50, by 1982.

One response by the local clergy was greater ecumenicalism - with more joint ventures launched between Emmanuel and the nearby Baptist and (rebuilt) Methodist churches.

There were discussions of the also declining St James' church merging with Emmanuel, but in the event, it merged with St John's in Stratford.

The interior of Emmanuel church was reshaped in 1980, to take account of the declining congregation, and changing church lay-out fashion - at a cost of £83,500. These changes made the Institute - opposite - redundant and it was sold to Wag Bennett as a gym in 1982 for £60,000 (see here for details of the use he made of it).

Further consolidation continued in 1989, with the establishment of the Forest Gate ministry - a closer grouping of the remaining local Forest Gate churches - Emmanuel, St Mark's, All Saints and St Edmunds. The church yard and graves were re-landscaped in 1991.

The church was given Grade 11 listed building status by English Heritage in 1984.

All in all, a fairly spectacular rise and fall in Forest Gate of an institution that was once the backbone of English civic society.

The church has moved on to serve the community in different ways this century. It hosts Faithful Friends - a forum for understanding other faiths - not aimed at conversion. A breakfast club for homeless people is hosted and the church sponsors a group supporting people with mental; health issues.

Footnote: This article is almost wholly based on a now out of print booklet That big church on the corner - a history of Emmanuel church, Forest Gate, by Andrew Wilson (then assistant curate, now rector of St John of Jerusalem church, Hackney), 1995, to whom we are most grateful.

Emmanuel church (1) - origins of the Church of England in Forest Gate

This is the first of a two part article on the history of Emmanuel Church and of the CofE in Forest Gate. The second half, on the rise and fall of the Church of England locally will appear next.

There have been literally dozens of churches and religious buildings in Forest Gate over the last 170 years of its existence as a significant community. None is probably better known, or more familiar to today's residents, than Emmanuel church, sitting as it does on the key cross roads of Forest Gate - the junction of Upton Lane with Romford and Woodgrange roads.

This is its story, told in two parts - and we are totally indebted to a one-time curate of the church, Andrew Wilson, for being able to retell it. (see footnote for details).

John Fothergill, the Forest Gate botanist (see here for details), planted an acorn on the site of the church, during his residence at Ham House (now West Ham park). It grew into a fine oak, and was mentioned in the Katharine Fry/Gustav Pagenstecker history of West Ham (see here for details).

John Fothergill, whose acorn was
 planted on the site of Emmanuel church

The tree gave Upton Lane the nickname of One Tree Lane at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.

The coming of the railway to Forest Gate in 1840 lead to the beginnings of its rapid population growth. A decade later a decision was made to build a Church of England church in the area, to service its burgeoning community.

It was originally conceived as a chapel of ease (a sub-church, for those who were unable to reach a more established church - in this case, West Ham parish church) and it was consecrated on 22 May 1852.

The area to be served by it was from land half in the then parish of West Ham and half in the old East Ham parish. The existing dividing line between the two parishes was along roughly what is Green Street, today.

The area covered by Emmanuel church's parish.
The dotted line is what is now Green Street,
and the boundary between the old
West and East Ham parishes

The two parishes paid £50 each towards the establishment of this hybrid church, which was referred to as being a "consolidated chapelry" (because it was carved out of two existing parishes).

The right to nominate a vicar of Emmanuel alternated between East and West Ham parishes until 1962 - when the church, itself, joined to form a new parish, by merging with St Peter's of Upton Cross (see later for details). Nomination rights for selecting the vicar then transferred to the Bishop of Chelmsford.

The alternating of vicar nominations process caused problems during most of the 110 years the arrangement operated. Broadly, West Ham church has a "low" church tradition, and East Ham, a more formal "high" church tradition. So, the seeds of the on-going conflict soon became apparent.

The territory assigned to the Emmanuel parish (see map) was considerable. Rapid population growth in Forest Gate led the church, itself,  later to spawn "daughter" churches within the parish, to cope with speedily growing parishioner numbers.

The Emmanuel parish boundaries extended roughly from Wanstead Flats in the north, to Plashet Road in the south and from Water Lane in the west to High Street North, in the east. Unsurprisingly, pretty much the area we know today as Forest Gate!

The "daughter" churches - some of which have not survived - included St Saviour's, St Marks, All Saints and parts of St Edmunds, St James' and St Peter's Upton Cross (see later for details).

The original Emmanuel church building cost £4,235 to construct - the bulk coming from the pocket of the Rev Tuile Cornthwaite of Walthamstow. The Church of England Commissioners only supplied £150.

The eminent church architect George Gilbert Scott designed the building. It was of an early English decorative style, built with Kentish rag stone and York stone.

Architect, Giles Gilbert Scott, signs
off the construction of the church

The original church (it has been subsequently much altered) was built to accommodate a congregation of 500 (see illustration). The titles on the steeple were in two colours - with 'V' shapes. The stripped steeple lead to Emmanuel colloquially being referred to as the 'Harlequin church'.

As well as a church, a new school was planned (see here for article on early education in Forest Gate). Samuel Gurney (see here) gave land on the corner of Woodgrange Road and Forest Street for the Emmanuel National school (see here). An infant's school followed in 1864.

The vicar and wardens of Emmanuel were the school's first trustees - until they passed responsibility on to St Saviours (one of the daughter churches) in 1888. By this time, the school's numbers were in decline, as state run School Board schools proved to be more popular. The Emmanuel school closed in 1894.

The Gurney family (Quakers) again gave land for a vicarage for Emmanuel, in 1876. It was built three years later, at a cost of £2,480. It was located on the site, currently being redeveloped by Mura estates on Earlham Grove, next to the Community Garden. See photo, below. It remained the parish vicarage until 1950.

The Earlham Grove vicarage, built in 1876

On completion, the vicarage was immediately deployed as a soup kitchen, during a particularly severe winter. This early version of a food bank gave out soup at 1d per quart, together with sacks of donated coal to poor local parishioners.

The soup kitchen was later moved to the grounds of Emmanuel school, and was in operation until 1883. This was the time of maximum housing development in Forest Gate.

By the 1880's the 500 seater church, designed by Gilbert Scott, was proving to be too small for the rapidly expanding congregation - and it was extended. - adding a further third to its eating capacity in 1886. Further expansions were objected to locally, as they would have meant disturbing the occupants of the graveyard!

The extended church, post 1886 - with a
perpendicular extension, adding another
200 to the seating capacity

The Emmanuel Institute - the building on Romford Road, facing the church - was built in 1882, as a Sunday school and remained as a location for church events for 80 years before being rented, then sold, to Wag Bennett, as the weightlifting/bodybuilding gym, for which it subsequently became famous (see here and here for details).

Emmanuel Institute, built 1882 -
later to become Wag Bennett's gym

Forest Gate Nurseries in 1996, land
owned by Emmanuel church for expansion
that did not occur - now Ralph Jackson
House, on Romford Road

As a Sunday school, the building regularly attracted over 500 pupils, with 35 staff, in the 1880's. The land next to the Institute, also belonged to Emmanuel, which had unfulfilled plans to turn it into a library and a reading room. They didn't materialise, and for many years the space was occupied by a small garden centre and is now Ralph Jackson Court, a block of flats.

Footnote: This article is almost wholly based on a now out of print booklet That big church on the corner - a history of Emmanuel church, Forest Gate, by Andrew Wilson (then assistant curate, now rector of St John of Jerusalem church, Hackney), 1995, to whom we are most grateful.

Schools report - part 1

There are 19 recognised schools in the Forest Gate area, providing a wide range of options and experience for the area's young people. These are:

• 2 local authority infants-only schools (Odessa, Woodgrange)
• 1 local authority junior-only school (Godwin)
• 4 local authority all-through primary schools (Earlham, Elmhurst, Sandringham, William Davies)
• 2 Grant maintained primary schools (St James' - junior, Church of England; St Antony's - primary, Catholic)
• 1 independent Christian junior school (Grangewood)
• 3 independent Islamic primary schools (Alif Academy, Iman Zakaria Academy, Jamiah Madaniyah))
• 1 local authority community secondary school (Forest Gate)
• 1 locally-controlled academy secondary school (Stratford)
• 1 voluntary maintained girls secondary school (St Angela's)
• 1 voluntary maintained boys' secondary school (St Bonaventure's)
• 1 Independent Islamic primary and secondary school (Quwwatul Islam Girls)
• 1 independent Islamic secondary school (Azhar Academy)

In the first of two parts, this week we look at the primary sector - both local authority maintained and independent schools for  primary-aged children.

What follows is a brief summary of some of the key features of the schools, drawn from a combination of their own websites and of their most recent Ofsted reports.  These can be accessed here   

The points raised below are not meant to be a definitive account of life at the school, for which people will look in more detail on the websites indicated, and elsewhere; but simply to be a lay person's answer to the "Wonder what that place is like?" question crossing the minds of passers'-by.

As with all articles on this website, please feel free to comment in the section at the end of the article. Only unlawful, inflammatory or totally irrelevant spam comments will be excluded!

The local primary-aged schools

Local Authority maintained

Earlham Primary School, Earlham Grove

The school was built in the early 1950s and is about to embark on a major rebuilding and expansion project. It is an inclusive school, admitting children of a wide range of abilities, including those with learning difficulties. 

Earlham Primary School

 

The school received a "Good" judgement from Ofsted in its last full inspection, in November 2008, when there were 336 pupils on the roll.  This assessment was confirmed in March last year, meaning that the school will not be facing another full inspection for some time.

In 2008 the inspectors found the personal development and well-being of pupils to be excellent and the following characteristics to be good: overall effectiveness, early years teaching, achievement and standards, quality of teaching and curriculum, care guidance and support and leadership and management.
Overall inspection judgment: Good Website

Elmhurst Primary School, Upton Park Road

There were 880 pupils on the roll (almost four times larger than the average size for a similar school) at the time of the last Ofsted Inspection, 2006, when the school received an "outstanding" judgement from the inspectors. An interim inspection in 2010 confirmed that judgement.

 

Elmhurst Primary school

 

The number of pupils who have free school meals is above the national average, as is the proportion of pupils with special educational needs. The school provides a variety of after school classes and clubs and offers free one to one tutoring after school or on Saturday mornings for any child that needs it.

Overall inspection judgment: Outstanding Website

Godwin Junior School, Cranmer Road

The junior school caters for children aged 7 - 11 and had 353 pupils on its roll at the time of its last full Ofsted inspection.  The inspectors, then, judged the school to be "Good", with the inspectors commending its inclusive ethos.  The "Good" judgement was confirmed in an interim assessment by Ofsted in March 2002.

 

Godwin Junior school

 

The Department for Education's Key Stage 2 performance tables showed that 86% of Godwin pupils achieved level 4 or above in both English and Mathematics, compared with the Newham-wide average of 80% and a national average of 79%.
Overall inspection judgment: Good Website

Odessa Infant School, Wellington Road

The infants school, catering for pupils aged 3 - 7, had a roll of 303 at the time of its last full Ofsted assessment (2005), when the school was judged to be "Good".

 

Odessa Infants

 

Inspectors pointed out that the "Pupils achieve well because the school's leadership has developed positive, professional practice that ensures teaching is good." This judgement was confirmed in an interim assessment in March 2012.
Overall inspection judgment: Good Website

Sandringham Primary School, Sandringham Road

There are 956 pupils on the roll of this large 3 - 11 local primary school.
Sandringham was last inspected by Ofsted in July 2013, when the inspectors' judgement was that the school was at least "Good" on all the measures assessed and "Outstanding" when it came to the behaviour and safety of its pupils, which the inspectors concluded "makes a very strong contribution to the climate of calm and purposeful learning ... pupils are well-mannered, friendly and courteous at all times"

 

Sandringham Primary

Overall inspection judgment: Good Website

William Davies Primary School, Stafford Road

William Davies had a school roll of 257, 3-11 year olds at the time of its last Ofsted inspection, in 2012, when the school was judged to be "Good". 

Ofsted concluded that "William Davies is a good school, which has excellent links with parents and carers and promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  By the end of year 6, pupils' overall attainment is above the national average."

William Davies Primary

 

The school's website isn't great, so there are few details about it here!
Overall inspection judgment: Good Website

Woodgrange Infant School, Sebert Road

Woodgrange an infants school, catering for 330 pupils in the 3 - 7 age range at the time of the last Ofsted Inspection, in 2011. The school was assessed as "Good" by the inspectors. It has a lower than average proportion of children with special educational needs and a percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals in line with the national average.

 

Woodgrange Infants

 

Inspectors commented favourably on a comment by a parent/carer that "The school has a big part in the local community; its friendly, caring and welcoming and I'm very happy my child attends this school."
Overall inspection judgment: Good Website

Grant Maintained

St Antony's (Roman Catholic), Upton Avenue

This larger than average, mixed gender, Catholic primary school caters for 420 3-11 year olds.  It was awarded a "Good" judgement in its latest, 2013, Ofsted inspection; an improvement on the "Satisfactory" it received, when previously inspected in 2009.

 

St Antony's Catholic Primary

 The children start the school with lower than average skills and knowledge, but leave with average skills and knowledge for their ages, which represents good progress within the school. Children with disabilities and English as a second language make good progress because their specific needs are well catered for.

The highest quality of teaching in the school is with the older age groups.  The school is good in terms of: achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, safety of pupils and leadership and management.
Overall inspection judgment: Good Website

St James' (Church of England) junior, Tower Hamlets Road

There are 391 pupils in this larger than average mixed junior school, catering for 7-11 year olds.  The school was awarded a "Good" judgement by its latest (2013) Oftsed inspection, an improvement on the "Satisfactory" judgement it received previously - in 2010.

 

St James' Junior

 

98% of the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, with the largest groups coming from Bangladeshi, African "other white" and "other black" communities.  English is a second language for 80% of the school's pupils.

The school has a much higher eligibility for free school meals than the national average; so free meals are provided to all the school's pupils.

The schools was assessed as having good: achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils, leadership and management.  Achievement is improving at a faster rate than average in the school.  The head teacher provides excellent leadership.
Overall inspection judgment: Good  Website

Independent

Grangewood Independent School, Chester Road

This is an independent Christian primary school (ages 3 - 11), established in 1979, catering for 73 pupils at the time of its last inspection, by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2010.

The majority of its students are of Black African heritage, and its fees range from c£2,000 p.a. to c£5,100.Its 2010 inspection report concluded that "Pupils achieve satisfactorily, overall .. (the school's) key strength is knowledge of Christian beliefs and philosophy ... some lessons lack opportunities for independent thinking and learning, as at the time of the previous inspection."

 

Grangewood Independent school

 

"Results in National Curriculum tests at the age of eleven over the last three years have been moderate overall in comparison with the national average for all maintained primary schools."

As far as governors are concerned, the inspectors concluded;" There are shortcomings that render governance unsatisfactory."
Overall inspection judgment: Satisfactory Website

Alif Academy, 313 - 319 Katherine Road

This independent day school opened in September 2011 and caters for pupils aged 3 - 11 years.  At the time of its only Ofsted inspection (2012) there were 29 boys and 32 girls on the school roll, as full time pupils and a further 13 part time pupils.

School fees are £3,030 p.a.



Alif Academy

The Ofsted inspectors concluded that "Alif Academy provides a satisfactory quality of education and is an improving school, which meets its aims.  The school meets all of the regulatory requirements for independent schools ... Teaching and assessment are satisfactory. Provision is not better because teaching is inconsistent and pupils do not make consistently good progress."

Overall inspection judgment: Satisfactory Website

Iman Zakaria Academy,  447 - 451Romford Road

This independent primary school (5-11) was opened in September 2003 and at the time of its latest Ofsted inspection, 2009,  catered for 79 boys and 37 girls.
 
The annual school fees are £2,000.

Ofsted inspectors assessed the school to be providing "a sound education for its pupils and is achieving its Islamic aims.  The curriculum adopted is broad and fairly balanced."

 

Iman Zakaria Academy

 

A "light touch" inspection of the academy in 2009 accepted the fact that the school addressed its Islamic aims, but was critical of the school's provision of creative and aesthetic experiences and felt it could improve its ICT provision and school improvement plans.
Overall inspection judgment: Satisfactory Website

Jamiah Madaniyah Muslim Primary, 80 - 84 Stafford Road

This school was opened in 2004 in a former builder's yard.  It currently has 48 pupils - 24 girls and 24 boys, though is able to recruit up to 80. All staff and teachers are practising Muslims.

According to its latest inspection report (2012), the quality of education, teaching and assessment and the pupils' spiritual moral, social and cultural development are all satisfactory.  Pupils' behaviour is good, and the school makes good provision for the pupils' welfare, health and safety.  The quality of education in the school had not improved significantly from its previous inspection, in 2010.

 

Jamiah Madaniyah Muslim Primary

 

The school days starts with lengthy Islamic studies, which focus on the reading of the Qur'an and the teaching of Arabic. ICT provision at the school is dated.

Teachers pay very good attention to ensuring equality in lessons, treating all pupils equally, regardless of gender or background.

Annual fees for the school are £1,201.

Overall inspection judgment: Satisfactory  Website