Christian Science Church

Summary

A Christian Science Reading room and church with ancillary office space and accommodation. Built in 1936 - 1937 to the designs of A Percival Starkey.

Reasons for Designation

The Christian Science Church, Elm Park Road, Pinner is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a church building of which the sobriety and careful detailing of its design and construction demonstrate the nature of the faith for which it was designed, but which is also enlivened by carefully-selected decorative features;
* the high degree of survival of the original plan, fixtures and fittings.

Historic interest:

* the building demonstrates the spread of the Church of Christ Scientist in the early C20 to the developing suburbs around London.

History

Christian Scientists first met in Oddfellows Hall, Maxwell Lane, Pinner in 1920. Land around Waxwell Lane was subdivided into individual plots in the early C20. The Christian Science Church purchased the plot upon which the Christian Science Church now stands in 1926. Plans were submitted for an L-shaped building, apparently housing a church and Sunday school and the part of the building which is now the Sunday school was built first, together with the colonnade along its western side. Both are shown on the Ordnance Survey map published in 1932 and initially this served as the church. In 1936-1937 the second hall was added to the north, which is now the church, together with additional vestibule space, cloakrooms and offices. At the morning and evening services held on Sunday, 4 June 1944, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Elm Park Road, was dedicated.

Christian Science is a religious belief system founded by Mary Baker Eddy after a personal healing in 1866. The church was incorporated by her in 1879 and the faith is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist. There are no clergy in the church, but each church has two readers. Services are held on Sunday and a Lesson-Sermon is read out which deals with one of 26 different subjects which are read in rotation so that the same subject is dealt with twice in the course of the calendar year. Hymns are sung and readings are often taken from the St James’ Bible. The church is based in Boston, America.

Details

A Christian Science Reading Room, Sunday school and church with ancillary office space and accommodation. Built in two phases; the Sunday School first in the late 1920s and then the main church building from 1936-1937, to the designs of A Percival Starkey.

MATERIALS and PLAN: brindle brick, laid in Flemish bond, with metal-framed casements and a plain tile roof. The church and hall are joined in an L-shaped arrangement, with a round-arched colonnade flanking the western side of the Sunday School building and leading from the road to the central entrance hall. The Sunday School building is oriented north-east to south-west, with the street frontage on the south-west gable end and the church is set behind it and runs north-west to south-east.

EXTERIOR: the present Sunday school, which appears to have been built as the first church on the site, is placed to the eastern side of the plot, with its gable end facing the street. This taller block has two ranks of windows and is flanked by single bays, each of one storey in height. The left of these two single-storey, flat-roofed blocks has a round-arched colonnade entrance approached by steps. To the right of this is a canted, single-storey bay lighting the reading room, with a horizontal window to its lower body designed to show Christian literature to by-passers. At right again is a doorway with round-arched head, flanked by casement windows, each of three lights. The upper rank of windows has a single, central light flanked by triple-light windows and in the gable apex are three grouped lights with round-arched heads. The north-western flank of this block has two, wide colonnade arches to the left and a triple-light window without glazing at the right, all giving onto the colonnade which has a brick parapet. The upper rank of windows here has clustered groups of four lights with square heads. The south-east flank has a similar arrangement of four lights at the upper level.

The later church block to the rear of the site has two principal bays on its south-western front. The single-storey entrance hall continues the pattern of the colonnade with a round arched window and ramped parapet. At the left is a two-storey turret which has a four-light window with square head at ground floor level and a triple-light window with arched heads to the lights at first-floor level and a hipped roof. The upper windows, behind this, all have four lights.

The north-west flank of the building is blank and the service rooms along the south-east side have random fenestration. Round-arches across the building have square brick voussoirs and the wide mortar gaps between them are set with conch shells or pebbles to create a decorative motif. A similar motif appears at the apex of the gable ends. Rainwater pipes and decorated hoppers appear to be original.

INTERIOR: the church interior has a barrel-vaulted ceiling with decorated ventilation roundels grouped along the centre line. At the centre of the north-western side is a small, raised stage with a panelled wood surround, for readings. Above this is a screen panel with grilles behind which is an organ. The south-western wall has a shallow lobby which projects into the room. Glazing has stained glass lights to the margins. The pews and organ console, which appear to be original, are of light-coloured oak. At the south-eastern end of the room is a projection of lesser height with curved walls. The floor of the room slopes towards the stage to give uninterrupted views of the readers' desks from the fixed pews.

The vestibules have terrazzo floors and panelled ceilings with stained glass to some of the openings and decorative niches.

The schoolroom has herring-bone pattern parquet flooring and panelling to the rear wall. Fitted cupboards with shelves to hold hymn books and so on, line the northwestern wall. There is a suspended ceiling and this obscures the upper body of the hall which the original architectural drawing show to have roof trusses. The lower part of windows, which have stained glass to the margins, can be seen. Seating is not fixed.

Offices and the bookshop have their original fittings, including shelves, desks, all panelled doors and wooden curtain pelmet boxes. Windows across the building are original, with leaded lights and metal frames.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURE: the front wall, facing the street, continues the materials and appearance of the church buildings and has quadrant curves to either side of the entrances to the colonnade and the reading room.

Sources

Websites
Waxwell Lane Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (harrow.gov.uk), accessed 07/09/2021 from https://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/file/24056/waxwell-lane-conservation-area-appraisal-and-management-strategy
A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4, Harmondsworth, Hayes, Victoria County History, Middlesex Vol 4. Norwood With Southall, Hillingdon With Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow With Pinner, accessed 18 February 2022 from http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol4

End of official list entry

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