A Brief Profile

- The London Borough of Newham was created in 1965 out of the Essex county boroughs of East Ham and West Ham. These were rural villages until a century ago, and fortunately the medieval parish churches and a few other ancient buildings survive as a reminder of this rustic past.

- The area has always been a gateway between London and Essex, with farm animals and food produce being raised or passing through Newham for London markets and manufactured goods coming out of London to serve local needs. The availability of water power (the River Lea) and the absence of strict London guild controls saw Newham grow in the 17th and 18th centuries as an industrial area, with workshops - such as the famous Bow China factory - built along the Lea valley.

- In the 19th century, when the Royal Docks were built as the hub of imports and exports for the whole British Empire, and as other industries grew rapidly thanks to good railway connections, vast numbers of people from Essex and beyond moved into Newham in search of work. West Ham in particular was a major manufacturing centre with chemical, pharmaceutical, retail, railway and printing industries. East Ham was strongly residential, and has a distinctive Victorian and Edwardian architectural heritage, notably its magnificent Italianate Town Hall.

- Between the wars, the two boroughs had a joint population of over half a million; the area suffered the worst of the Blitz which left much of the area a wasteland, though there was considerable pride too in the traditional grit and humour which somehow got everyone through.

- After the war, massive reconstruction and new social conditions saw thousands of families moving out of the area, so that today the residents and former residents of Newham form a worldwide family

Socio-economic context of Newham - Overview: Newham has a young, energetic population which is increasing in size and diversity. House prices have increased significantly and there is a larger commuter population. Nevertheless, the borough is still the fifth most disadvantaged in England and Wales and unemployment rates are the highest nationally.

Population: Newham is a densely populated part of East London that has been steadily growing in size from 221,300 in 1991 to 239,500 today. It has the youngest population in London with 28% of the population under the age of 16. The fertility rate in Newham was the highest in the country for women aged 15-44. Consequently, Newham is projected to continue to have a high proportion of children and young people. Diversity: The notion of majority and minorities’ status in relation to ethnicity is problematic in the context of Newham where there is such a high level of ethnic diversity in the population. The data indicates that the population of ethnic minority communities has grown considerably in the last decade, in particular Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups (of which more than 30% are aged under 16). The Indian and Black Caribbean populations are relatively stable in size. The White UK population has decreased in size over the same period but other white groups have increased, particularly refugee/asylum seeker families from Eastern Europe.

Disadvantage: From the indices of Multiple Deprivation for the year 2000, Newham was the third most deprived borough in London and the fifth most deprived in England and Wales. The wide extent of the deprivation is shown by the fact that approximately 95% of the population were living in electoral wards of Newham which are among the 10% most deprived in England and Wales. Our Style of Worship: East London is different from other parts of the country. It is not a place like the leafy lanes of Surrey or Kent where those who have initially made their money from the East End now live. The East End is full of contrasting people – racially, occupationally and religiously. Many are newly arrived in this country and bring with them the scars of damaged lives but also huge optimism and energy to improve their condition. Some also, it has to be said, have given up the vision and hope with which they started life.

This is where our Gospel is to be found and preached. Each individual Christian in East Ham has had to find that Gospel in community. The living and creative tension between people’s actual lives and the message of hope and expectation delivered to those who are poor – the outsiders – to those who are oppressed, those who suffer or mourn, gives strength to those who work for justice in Christ’s name – what has traditionally been named the ‘Kingdom’. Each of the services which we hold in the Parish is offering a place of support and continuity to a Christian community which is constantly changing but to which many people have belonged for a long while. We do this through our liturgy and the pattern of our worship and we do it by extending our church community life into other activities such as the Coffee Bar at St Bart’s which offers a place of activity and friendship for individuals who value the companionship it offers. Through our seasonally varying liturgy we provide a pattern, context and stability to our urban way of life which has a resonance in the reminder of God as creator and provider of all things. Because our liturgy is individually adapted for our use and we use our own congregational music tools we are able to explore a wide variety of Christian musical traditions and we are able to adapt them to make the words more suitable for our local context e.g. using all inclusive language. St Bartholomew’s is a modern Church environment which can be adapted for different occasions - The East Ham Team Ministry was formed in 1968 consisting of St Alban’s, Upton Park, St Bartholomew’s and St Mary Magdalene, East Ham. Both St Bart’s and St Alban’s buildings were considered to be too large for their congregations at that time. St Alban’s was the first church in the area to decide to rebuild its Church and create a church and community centre based around its old hall. The Church itself was demolished and flats now occupy the site where it was.

St Bart’s was also extensively re-developed and work was completed in 1983. The development includes modern, purpose built facilities including a GP surgery & residential accommodation above the Church & Centre. This set a trend in the borough with a significant proportion of churches demolishing their old buildings and beginning afresh. The East Ham Team Ministry began its life with four church plants and four full time Team Vicars. At that time the community at St Mark’s in Beckton was part of the Team but it later decided to work independently.

Our Vision-

Our Parish Vision, adopted in July 2006 -

'In the light of God's call and our situation here our vision is that East ham should be a place where the signs of God's kingdom are discerned and nurtured, and where people, in all their diversity, share in the abundant life of God's creation.

We seek to worship in ways which honour both the long tradition of Christian witness here and also our constantly changing and very mixed congregations.
We strive to be inclusive and hospitable, to serve and learn, reflecting God's love for the world through the work which takes place in our buildings and in our lives beyond the buildings.'

- STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE –
HISTORY OF ST BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH, EAST HAM

History: Until the latter part of the 19th century, East Ham was a rural Parish. A tidal wave of urban expansion which reached West Ham in the 1830’s had engulfed it in the four decades after the middle century. It did not make any impact on East Ham until 1860 when the population was under 3,000. By the turn of the century the area saw an expansion claimed as the biggest of any compatible area in the whole of the Country.

In 1861 land was found for a new Church to be built in the middle of East Ham village – where a ‘car park’ now stands – and the Church of St John the Baptist was consecrated in 1863, seating nearly 400. In 1881 the vicar of East Ham, (Revd S H Reynolds), commissioned a report on St Mary’s from J.T.Micklethwaite, later to be the Architect & Surveyor of Westminster Abbey. “Let new and large churches be built to meet the needs of the growing thousands”. “The presence of this little church must not be reckoned as a matter of accommodation”. Repairs were put in hand for £1,500 to St Mary’s, a not inconsiderable sum at a time when new churches were being built at a cost of £10 per sitting.

Reynolds was succeeded in 1893 by the Revd J.H.Ware. The Revd Ware in addition to high intellectual attainments, posed a fine bodily presence. Considerably over six feet in height he was broad in proportion, large-hearted and broad-minded. He speedily endeared himself to all sections of the community of the time. It soon became clear that the builders of St John’s had not fully anticipated the phenomenal growth in the population which took place during the last decade of the 19th Century. The Revd Ware said of St John’s: “A church to hold 380 will not do for 15,000 people and in the immediate future we have to face the difficult task of collecting funds for a large church either on the site, or in close proximity to St John’s”. “Our main difficulty lies in the attempt to work a large town with country machinery”. “Our possibilities of future expansion seem unlimited”.

The Revd Ware’s optimism and natural enthusiasm matched the fast-growing Parish and his drive was rewarded when Micklethwaite and is partner Somersmith-Clark had their scheme for St Bartholomew’s approved. An appeal was launched to raise the funds. The Bishop of St Alban’s wrote in support: “The need of the new church in East Ham is one of the most important and most present needs in the Diocese….the population of the Parish has nearly trebled in the last seven years….there is only accommodation in your present church for 76% of your communicants”.

A tender was accepted for about £9,000 which included constructing all the southern aisles of the old church. The building was consecrated in the following year on the 4th October by the Bishop of St Alban’s. The Revd Ware wrote of that day in the November magazine: “It was a day to be grateful for both as a consummation of many hopes in the past and as a guarantee, we trust, of bright anticipation for the future”. “The arrangements were not without their difficulties and the great crowd of people present – far greater than I have ever anticipated – did, it must be confessed, some what over tax the provision made for its control.” “I am sorry for any discomfort which may have been experience though I cannot regret the general interest which was taken in the ceremony of Consecration”. “I am very sorry, too, that the crush at the west end of the church brought into undesirable prominence the only bit of paint which was not quite dry”.

Despite the new Church and the Revd Ware’s efforts, a survey in 1903 showed that less than 690 of the population were attending Church of St Bartholomew’s. Largely due to his unceasing industry, the Revd Ware’s health a length began to fail. To the great sorrow of all who knew him, he died in Minehead in 1907, at the early age of 43. Although, in his memory, the south aisle of the Church of St Bartholomew’s was completed in 1911. “The whole edifice”, said the East Ham Historian, Alfred Stokes, “will always rain the Ware Memorial”.

The Second World War had arrived in 1939 and on the night of the 20th April 1941, St Bartholomew’s was gutted by fire bombs. Services took place within a hut in the shell of the building until the south aisle was restored in 1949. The total re-construction was re-hallowed four years later.

The then Bishop of Chelmsford remarked at the time The Church was something vital to the welfare of the town......... to rebuild a place requires a great deal more courage than to build something new.

In 1975 a survey of St. Bartholomew’s advised against retaining it. Five options were looked at with a clear commitment that, in the end, St. Bartholomew's had to be retained in some form or other. The Architect’s report indicated that a radical solution was called for and his suggestions were based on the understanding that the church should be seeking new ways of establishing itself within the industrial metropolis, an area it has never won over. Simply to hang on to the present methods would surely result in slow death and our descendants would see it as suicide and abdication of the church's responsibility.

So the vision began to be created. Approaches were made to the London Borough of Newham, the Health Authorities Springboard Housing Association, other churches within the area, with a view of creating a centre for the whole community and a new church for the continuing work of Christian outreach within East Ham. On this site, a Day Centre, general practitioners centres, Luncheon Club and housing for the elderly, counselling facilities, coffee bar, exhibition area, meeting rooms for the whole community, a centre for the continuing musical life of St. Bartholomew's and a new place of worship more suited to the needs of the day, are now to be built. For the duration of the redevelopment the congregation moved from this building into Fellowship House, confident that the Holy Spirit was guiding the work and plans.

The old St. Bartholomew's Church no longer stands. The large Church was built to the glory of God with massive stature and presence. With-in its walls many events in the life of the community took place. Although this building has gone, the life and the wit-ness of St. Bart's Church and all that it stood for remains. The work of Christ is continuing through those who gathered close to the building for worship in Fellowship House in St. Bartholomew's Road.

The mid-week services and daily prayer took place in a small chapel on the first floor which was always open for prayer.

The Sunday services and major festivals of Christmas and Easter were held in the main hall.

Call to Service: St. Bartholomew's is engaged in many aspects of social outreach into the community of East Ham.

The Future— The design for the present St Bartholomew’s: Church design is one of the most intriguing aspects of architecture, and has inspired, frustrated and often con-founded its exponents for centuries. Almost everyone knows what a church looks like: an imposing building with columns, arches and sometimes a tower and spire. Such certainly however has been seriously challenged by recent developments in Christian understanding, and these changes are now influencing the size into shape of the building which the Church required to attract its community as part of its Christian outreach work.

The nineteenth century belief that churches should be imposing and yet rather remote shrines reaches its peak at the time of greatest urban expansion. This movement was to fill the inner areas of London and other cities with church buildings designed from a different understanding of Christian Mission than that normally accepted today. Such churches are often large, inflexible in use and difficult to maintain. St. Bartholomew's was such a building, built and cared for with devotion, yet increasingly a millstone, hampering creative expression of the Gospel.

Work to define the future needs for church buildings within the Parish of East Ham began in 1977, and attention was focussed upon St. Bartholomew's the largest and most difficult issue, in 1976. Initially the task was to identify the requirements of the Parish and then see how these could be accommodated, either within the existing structure or in a new building. It was imperative for St. Bartholomew's to remain in some forms as a major centre for Christian worship, but it was also considered important that the complex should contain facilities for social, educational and leisure activities and residential accommodation for the elderly. Any such major building should provide for the whole person, beneath an umbrella of Christian care and concern.

Initial feasibility studies were prepared in the summer of 1977. First to test the ability of the existing shell to accommodate all the needs and secondly an ideal scheme of new buildings. These studies helped to focus attention upon the practical issues. It was soon apparent that the old building could not be easily converted, and also that any new church should be relatively modest in scale, drawing in other partners to share and sponsor the proposals.

The idea for a new building moved towards reality when the London Borough of Newham supported the scheme and generously pledged to provide, through the Joint Financing programme, the Day Care element of the project. Springboard Housing Association shepherded the housing portion through their procedures and those of the Housing Corporation and Department of the Environment and when the original hope of a full Health Centre proved impossible, a local doctors' general practice were happy to be invited to acquire new, purpose built practice surgeries.

A number of different design developments were produced between the autumn of 1977 and the spring of 1979. The drawings may have appeared to show considerable changes, but the underlying ideas have remained. In April 1979 a design was finally approved, containing the four elements of Church, Day Care, Health and Housing with a building which contains some hint of civic Scale, but which is also humane in proportion. The architects job was to see that these parts were put together in the most useful manner and in such a way that the building's function is apparent to it's users and building but must not appear aggressive or grandiose. The complex is concerned with unity, so its different parts must have a sum which embraces the individual elements. A large proportion of the financing came from public money or private bequests, so the building was not only subject to strict cost controls but also had to express a responsible use of resources without appearing mean or ill considered. Such criteria are very different from those facing the medieval church builders or even those of the last century, but a church must emerge which can carry its message into this third millennium.

Unity within the design was achieved by using the same form, profiles and materials throughout the complex. The church faces Barking Road the largest and most public space fronting the outside world. The flats are on upper levels looking away from the potential source of noise to face the sunnier aspects east, west and south. The surgeries have an entrance onto the front, yet the consulting rooms face across a small garden to the quieter St. Bartholomew's Road. The main entrance, coffee bar and foyer lead directly from the street in Barking Road, but the Luke rooms look south towards the garden.

The building replaced within its street setting the general mass of the old church, but it is much more accessible than the former structure and contains facilities for so many varied activities. The appearance may not be the traditional one for a church, but the changes which have brought about the demolition of the old St. Bart's, and its replacement with a new building was soon appreciated as positive one, allowing the Church to maintain a vital presence within the changing community.

The present St Bartholomew’s Church & Centre was Dedicated by the Bishop of Chelmsford & Consecrated by the Bishop of St Alban’s in 1983, and officially opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in the same year.

Programmes and Activities-

Key Facts about us:

- We are an East London Parish

- We value young people

- Young people are our future

- We value diversity

- We are active in our community

This is where our Gospel is to be found and preached. Each individual Christian in East Ham has had to find that Gospel in community. The living and creative tension between people’s actual lives and the message of hope and expectation delivered to those who are poor – the outsiders – to those who are oppressed, those who suffer or mourn, gives strength to those who work for justice in Christ’s name – what has traditionally been named the ‘Kingdom’.

Each of the services which we hold in the Parish is offering a place of support and continuity to a Christian community which is constantly changing but to which many people have belonged for a long while. We do this through our liturgy and the pattern of our worship and we do it by extending our church community life into other activities such as the Coffee Bar at St Bart’s which offers a place of activity and friendship for individuals who value the companionship it offers.

Through our seasonally varying liturgy we provide a pattern, context and stability to our urban way of life which has a resonance in the reminder of God as creator and provider of all things.

Because our liturgy is individually adapted for our use and we use our own congregational music tools we are able to explore a wide variety of Christian musical traditions and we are able to adapt them to make the words more suitable for our local context e.g. using all inclusive language.

The main entrance to St Bartholomew’s Church is through the Coffee Bar area. It is large, warm, comfortable and made welcome by the parishioners.

We are of a liberal Anglo-Catholic persuasion, perhaps more liberal than catholic.

At present we have one practising Reader in the Parish Team and one retired Reader who are always willing to give help when needed.

Like our sister church at St Mary’s we are a mixed congregation with many talented and dedicated individuals who give generously of their time on many occasions.

A small booklet entitled ‘St Bartholomew’s Church – The Peoples’ Role’ (prepared in 2001) gives a good indication of the many activities which take place and how many volunteers take part.

Our weekly structure of worship is as follows:

SUNDAYS 10.00 AM • Eucharist [Sung Parish Communion Service]

FIRST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH • 10.00 AM - [All Age Eucharist Service]

LAST SUNDAY [ALTERNATING BI-MONTHLY] • 10.00 AM - Eucharist [Sung Parish Communion with Laying-on of Hands & Prayers for Healing] • Open Intercessions - (Lighting of Candles) Prayers.

THURSDAYS • 12.30 PM - Eucharist [Said Service]

1st THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH • 7.30 PM - Meditation Service

EASTER • [As above + Lent Services & Courses]
(Please see Notice Board @ St Bart's for details)

CHRISTMAS (Midnight Mass) • 11.30 PM - 24th December annually
(Please see Notice Board @ St Bart's for details of all Advent Services, including annual Carol Service)

During the course of the year joint services are held with St Mary Magdalene, (High Street South, E6), alternating between the two Church venues.