Christ Church Highbury 1.33

Christ Church Highbury is an Anglican church in Islington, north-west London, situated next to Highbury Fields.HistoryArchitecture and ConstructionThe site was given by John Dawes, a local benefactor and landlord, and the church was built by Thomas Allom in a cruciform shape with a short chancel, transepts, and nave from 1847-1848. Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner write that Christ Church Highbury 'is a successful and original use of Gothic for a building on a cruciform plan with broad octagonal crossing. The cross-plan with broad nave and crossing was popular for churches in the low church tradition where an effective auditorium for the spoken word was preferred to a plan designed for an elaborate liturgy.'Since then, several changes have been made to the church, including the addition of a balcony in 1872, and new rooms for children's work and fellowship in 1980.The Church TodayAfter the tragedy of the July 7 bombings in central London, clergy at the church published a prayer and invited the congregation to pray, 'O Saviour Christ, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, East nor West, black nor white, we pray for all, of whatever nation, who are suffering after the explosions in London.'Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, visited the church on 10 March 2006, to help alongside the regular volunteers at the church's Night Shelter for the homeless. According to the Diocese of London web site, Dr Williams 'got on with the job in hand, serving food, making beds and chatting to the guests using the shelter'. During winter each year, the church provides a shelter, a hot meal, a bed, and a breakfast for the homeless of the local area.MusicChrist Church Highbury has a rich musical past and present. Its first Director of Music, Thomas Kilner, regularly published books and articles on psalmody. The church is used regularly by various musical groups in the local area, including Eclectic Voices and Highbury Young Singers. Jonathan Dove's community opera Tobias and the Angel was premiered at the church in 1999, before being performed on a tour by the Young Vic theatre group.