Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Newington

Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4JQ

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Overview

A church tower and portal, of 1876 in Early English style by James Fowler of Louth. The remainder of the church was demolished following an air raid in 1941.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1385636
Date first listed:
17-Sept-1998
List Entry Name:
Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Newington
Statutory Address:
Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4JQ
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Date:
2001-05-07
Reference:
IOE01/03252/30
Rights:
© Mr David March. Source: Historic England Archive

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1385636
Date first listed:
17-Sept-1998
Date of most recent amendment:
12-Dec-2018
List Entry Name:
Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Newington
Statutory Address 1:
Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4JQ

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4JQ

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Greater London Authority
District:
Southwark (London Borough)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
TQ3167478385

Summary

A church tower and portal, of 1876 in Early English style by James Fowler of Louth. The remainder of the church was demolished following an air raid in 1941.

Reasons for Designation

The tower and portal to the Church of St Mary in Newington, of 1876, designed by James Fowler of Louth, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* architecturally distinctive and constructed in good quality Kentish ragstone and ashlar with carved arches, colonnettes and sculptural details.

Historic interest:

* as the surviving element of the former Church of St Mary, destroyed in 1941 by enemy bombs.

Group value:

* proximal and functional group value with the rebuilt Church of St Mary of 1957-1958 to the designs of Sir Arthur Llewellyn Smith.

History

The tower and attached portal are the remaining part of the 1876 Church of St Mary, Newington, built to the designs of James Fowler of Louth which was hit by a bomb during an air raid on 10 May 1941.

A replacement church was designed and built in 1957-1958 by the architect Arthur Llewellyn Smith immediately to the south-east but is not attached to this structure.

Details

A church tower and portal, of 1876 in Early English style by James Fowler of Louth. The remainder of the church was demolished following an air raid in 1941.

MATERIALS: Kentish ragstone with ashlar details.

PLAN: a square on plan four-stage tower with an attached single-storey portal wall to the north-east.

EXTERIOR: the tapering tower has corner buttresses and octagonal pinnacles with conical roofs to the parapet. The bell stage has wooden louvres within triple arches; the third stage has trefoil arches and colonnettes and a clock face on the north-east side; the second stage has an arched window with colonnette and the lowest stage has an arched doorcase with wooden double doors. The south-east side has cement rendering to the two lower stages, a large arched opening and a smaller Caernarvon-arched doorway.

The portal wall retains an elaborately moulded arched doorway. The outer portion of this has a pointed arch supported by piers with two attached columns to either side, and the inner part has a semicircular cusped arch carried by piers with one attached column each. The tympanum under the arch has a sculpted figure of Christ in Majesty framed by a mandorla with demi figures of angels and banners on each side.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
471040
Legacy System:
LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Bridget, Cherry, Nikolaus, Pevsner, The Buildings of England London: 2 South, (1994), 576

Websites
Exploring Southwark, St Mary's Newington, accessed 18 July 2018 from http://www.exploringsouthwark.co.uk/st-marys-newington/4592211461
Survey of London, Vol 25, St George's Fields, The Church of St Mary, Newington, 1955, pp 91-94, accessed 18 July 2018 from http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol25/pp91-94

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Tower and Portal of Church of St Mary, Newington

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 07-Jun-2026 at 12:38:13.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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