Churches of the British Isles

Before the church's opening, the poorer members of the community had to walk to St Mary's in Church End. It was the building's siting that caused the former Bull Lane to be renamed Church Lane, despite local resistance. The church, built of stone in the Early English style and consisting of chancel, nave, and west turret, was extended in 1860 and 1866 and the church hall (now a Hindu temple) was built in 1913. It lost parts of the parish to All Saints (1900) and St Jude (1932).

East Finchley Presbyterian Mission Hall stood on Brackenbury Road, probably on the eastern side, where Longfield Court now stands (shown here). A Presbyterian mission started in Hamilton Road in 1898, moved to an iron hall on Brackenbury Road in 1899, and closed between 1939 and 1949. The former King Street Wesleyan Chapel, just the other side of the railway, was also used as a Presbyterian hall from about 1930 until about 1939. No sign of it now remains.

East Finchley Cemetery Chapel stands within the grounds of the cemetery, on the northern side, which opens onto East End Road, opposite Thomas Moore Way in East Finchley. The chapel is one of two in the cemetery which was originally known as St Marylebone Cemetery (until the beginning of the twenty-first century) after the burial board there purchased 47 acres of Newmarket Farm in 1854. The facilities are now owned and managed by the City of Westminster.

Nazareth House Convent Chapel stands at the south-east corner of East End Road and Heath View. The Poor Sisters of Nazareth moved in 1921 from Chiswick to the large house on this site, where they cared for children and the aged. Extensions were built in 1928 and 1936, a new nursery was added in 1963, and the last children left Nazareth House in 1974. Mass, which is often attended by outsiders, has been celebrated in the convent chapel since 1921.

East Finchley Congregational Church stood at the north-west corner of East Finchley High Road (on the right in this photo) and East End Road (to the left). The church originated in meetings of Independents, encouraged by the Hoxton Itinerant Society, in various buildings in the Hogmarket, East End, from 1804. A chapel was built on the edge of Finchley Common, facing the Great North Road, in 1830 and enlarged in 1846, but this was largely destroyed by fire in 1875.

The site on the corner of East End Road was used for a new Gothic church, designed by J Tarring & Son. The completed building measured forty metres from the ground to the tip of the spire. The old chapel was sold to St Mary's Catholic Church. During local redevelopment work in 1965, the new building was itself demolished and replaced by Viceroy Parade. A smaller chapel was opened in 1970, and survived until after 1974 as East Finchley United Reformed Church.

East Finchley Primitive Methodist Chapel is at No 142, on the eastern side of the High Road, midway between the Huntingdon Road and Leicester Road junctions. Primitive Methodists registered a building at Finchley Common between 1854-1866, and then a chapel in East End Road in 1872. The present building was opened in 1905, but it closed between 1939-1949. The building is now home both to Finchley Youth Theatre and the Finchley Christian Fellowship.

All Saints Parish Church East Finchley is on the eastern side of Durham Road, on the eastern border with Muswell Hill. The Perpendicular church was built in 1891 with stone dressings to a design by J E K and J P Cutts. In 1900 it gained its own parish from Holy Trinity East Finchley (above) and St James Muswell Hill, serving the local community between Southern Road and Viaduct Road, and from the High Road over to Eastern Road. In 1903 it had a Sunday attendance of 500.

The church consists of clerestoried nave, aisles, south chapel, north-east organ chamber, and western narthex. The chancel was added in 1912. High Church fittings in 1977 included a rood and stations of the cross. An adjacent hall was built in the 1930s. As well as serving its parishioners, this large church has also been a regular London recording venue for many years. The seating is removable to create a large recording area for orchestras, choirs, and chamber music.

Nine photos on this page by P L Kessler and one by Barnet Library Services. Additional information by Tony Batchelor.