Photos from the AGM – click here

 

St Pancras New Church was dedicated by the Bishop of London on 7th May 1822. The church replaced the then neglected and dilapidated (old) St Pancras Church, which has since been restored and is now the parish church for the neighbouring parish of ‘Old Saint Pancras with Saint Matthew, Bedford New Town’. The church has a Grade I listing from Historic England as an important early example of Greek Revival architecture. It is mostly built from brick, faced with Portland stone: the portico and the tower are entirely of stone. All the external decoration, including the capitals of the columns, is of terracotta.

 

After a competition involving thirty or so tenders, designs by local architect William Inwood and his son, Henry William Inwood, were accepted. The Inwoods drew on two ancient Greek monuments for their inspiration – the Erechtheum and the Tower of the Winds, both on the Acropolis in Athens.

 

The first stone was laid by the Duke of York at a ceremony on 1st July 1819. It was carved with a Greek inscription, of which the English translation is, “May the light of the blessed Gospel thus ever illuminate the dark temples of the Heathen.” ​The total cost of the building, including land and furnishings, was £76,679, making it the most expensive church to be built in London since the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral. The builder was Isaac Seabrook.

 

The impressive interior is largely Greek in style and much is still as originally built. At the east end, Ionic columns rise grandly around the sanctuary. The original pews are still in place. The high-quality stained glass windows on both sides were added by the Victorians who also did some re-arranging of the interior.