ST MARY and ST JOSEPH Catholic CHURCH, UPPER NORTH STREET, POPLAR, LONDON E14 6EZ
Details
Accessibility
- Accessible toilet https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/13253
Brief description
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1376749
https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/13253
"Grade II Listed. Designed by Adrian Gilbert Scott. Cruciform shape (120 feet by 120 feet) of steel girder and brick construction. Its Lantern tower – based on Ely Cathedral – is supported on parabolic arches 35 feet wide and 50 feet high. The Stained Glass Windows were designed by John Wilson of Edinburgh and the Stations of the Cross carved in Blue Horton Stone by Peter Watts."
https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/poplar/about-the-parish/
https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/poplar/about-the-parish/photographs-of-the-church/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_and_St_Joseph,_Poplar
The Church of St Mary and St Joseph is a 20th-century Roman Catholic parish church in Poplar located in Tower Hamlets, London, England. The modern church was built in 1951-1954, as part of the Festival of Britain's Lansbury Estate Live Architecture Exhibition, and was consecrated by Cardinal Godfrey in October 1960.[2] It replaced an earlier church of the 1850s by William Wardell that was destroyed in the Second World War.[3][4]
The building is listed Grade II.[5] Its architect was Adrian Gilbert Scott, who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings.
On a Greek Cross plan, it is built of steel girders and brick, with a reinforced concrete spire.[6] On the outside, the plan becomes a series of rectangular blocks.[7]
It is notable for its elongated and tapered round parabolic arches (described as 'camel vaulted' at the time of its listing).[1] Its mixed or transitional style combines Art Deco or Jazz Modern with elements suggesting Hispanic Moorish, ancient Persian or Egyptian.[8] Gavin Stamp's descriptive phrase 'Jazz Modern Byzantine' was used in the church's listing.[9]
The design has similarities to work by Giles Gilbert Scott[2] and to Adrian Gilbert Scott's own earlier St. James Anglican Church (Vancouver), and its parabolic arches informed his later work on St Leonard's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea.[10]
The interior contains stone reliefs of the Stations of the Cross by Peter Watts. The stained glass is by William Wilson of Edinburgh.[11] "
Address
ST MARY and ST JOSEPH Catholic CHURCH, UPPER NORTH STREET, POPLAR, LONDON E14 6EZ
+ Clergy House
9 Pekin Street
London
E14 6EZ
Phone
020 7987 4523
Website
https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/13253
https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/poplar/about-the-parish/
https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/poplar/
Directions
Opening Times
Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change
Transport
https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/13253
2025:
TubeWestferry
TrainLimehouse
Bus115, 15, 309, D6
Amenities
https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/13253
- Accessible toilet
- Gender neutral toilet
- Handrails on one side of stairs
- Seating available
- Step-free routes
- Toilets
- Quieter area
Travel Information
For further travel information please see: www.traveline.info
Or call Traveline on 0871 200 22 33
(Calls cost 12p per minute plus your phone company's access charge)
NB London ULTRA-LOW EMISSION ZONE
This started on 8 April 2019 in the Central London Congestion Charge Zone, and will extend to the whole of the London area within the
M25 Motorway from 25 October 2021.
For more details please see:
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle-35896
Vehicles registered with a 'disabled' or 'disabled passenger vehicles' tax class will benefit from a grace period after the ULEZ starts until 26 October 2025 as long as their vehicle doesn't change tax class, and this also applies to a 'disabled' vehicle registered outside the UK.
Location
Nearest Venues
Poplar Fire Station, 168 E India Dock Rd, London
426 metres*
Lansbury Heritage Hotel, Poplar, London
471 metres*
Station Cafe, 172a East India Dock Rd, London
501 metres*
*Distances are calculated in a straight line from the current venue, please allow extra time/distance based on available paths or roads.