Each tour aims to be city or county-wide in scope.
It usually starts at the county town or city centre
and radiates outwards, covering the region on a
district-by-district basis in the order shown on the
map.
Your photos will help to plug any gaps so please
get in touch.
St Margaret & All Saints Catholic
Church is on the northern side of Barking Road, close to
the Oak Crescent turning in Canning Town. James McQuoin started
work in the Victoria Dock area in 1856. An iron chapel was opened
on the site in 1859 and Canning Town became an independent parish
in 1870. The present building was consecrated in 1919. It was
damaged by bombing during the war and restored in 1951, with
temporary premises being used on Chargeable Lane.
St Gabriel's Mission Church was on
Wellington Street (lost, but close to, or an earlier name
for, Stephenson Street shown here). It began as an iron church
about 1868 'between the River Lea and the railway, just north of
Barking Road'. A brick building was consecrated in 1876, gaining
a parish in 1879, a mission in Hermit Road (1896), and St Faith's
Church in Clifton Road (1891-1920s). St Gabriel's suffered war
damage and was demolished about 1955.
Canning Town Congregational Church stood
at an unidentified location on Barking Road, in an area of London which
was heavily damaged by wartime bombing. The church originated in 1855
with services on Plaistow Marsh. In 1859 Swanscombe Street Chapel was
built (see below). This was superseded in 1868 by the Barking Road chapel.
It was badly damaged by bombing and was derelict from 1941. A smaller
replacement chapel closed in 1959 after its patron's death.
Canning Town (Primitive) Methodist Church
stood at the south-east corner with Mary Street (formerly Swanscombe
Street). It originated from the same source as the Congregational
Church (see above). It was built in 1858-1859 and enlarged in 1861.
In 1877, a new church for over 1,000 was opened in Mary Street. This
was bombed about 1943 and was later demolished. Barking Road
(Wesleyan) Methodist Church was built in 1876, but closed during
the 1960s.
The Church of St Matthias stood at the
north-west corner of Hermit Road and Star Lane. It originated in
1887, when the vicar of St Mary's Plaistow opened a mission in
Garfield Road, helped by St Matthias' Church, Torquay. This was
merged in 1906 with that of St Cyprian, Beaconsfield Road,
which gained an iron church in 1896. In 1907 the church was built,
but that building was demolished in the 1980s and St Matthias now
holds services inside this modern replacement.
Cliff Walk Evangelical Church is on the
corner of Star Lane and Cliff Walk Road. It was opened by the
Peculiar People as Canning Town Evangelical Church, Cliff
Street, about 1873. It was rebuilt in 1959. On nearby Star Lane, the
German (Wesleyan) Methodist Church opened a small chapel in
1893 but the Germans left about 1914, as war loomed. It was later
Tyrell Evangelical Chapel and then the Peculiar People's
Canning Town Evangelical Church until the 1930s.
The Church of the Holy Trinity stood
on the corner of Barking Road and Hermit Road. It originated in
1857 when St Mary's Plaistow helped form the Plaistow &
Victoria Docks Mission for the rapidly-growing area formerly
called Hallsville. A new National School was built in Barking Road,
which was also used for worship until 1867, when the church was
opened opposite on the Hermit Road corner. It was Blitz-damaged
and demolished in 1957 and replaced by Trinity Gardens.
Ford's Park Church stood on Beckton Way.
Much of this has since been subsumed beneath Newham Way, which cuts
across Beckton Way in the distance here. As a consequence, the site
of the church has been completely lost. The church was founded in
1894 by G T Allpress of Greengate. Services were held in a stable
until 1904, when an iron building was erected. Although never strong
the church continued steadily until it was bombed in 1940. The site
was later sold.
Keir Hardie (Primitive) Methodist Church
lies between Fife Road and Plymouth Road. It was founded as
Fife Road Methodist Church, and opened in 1960 in the West
Ham district. It replaced three older churches: Barking Road (see
above), Shirley Street, and Custom House. The cost of Fife Road,
which included a manse, was met partly by war damage compensation
for Shirley Street. The church was later renamed for the now
infamous estate in which it stands.
River Church (Elim Pentecostal) sits at
the corner of Vincent Street and Lawrence Street, with a Cooper Street
exit. St Alban & the English Martyrs Mission Church
opened here in 1894 and grew into the dockland settlement (Mayflower
family centre). Its church was rebuilt in 1930 as St George &
St Helena, before becoming an Elim church. It is also known as
Iglesia Cristiana de Newham. In 2011, Destiny Life Christian
Ministries had an adjacent hall.