St Mary's Church, Strood , Kent

St Mary's Church, Strood Church

Image Source: Rob Baker

Built in 1868-69 as the Anglican church of St. Mary's in Strood, Kent; by 1993 with an average Sunday congregation numbering less than twenty it was declared redundant by the Church of England and closed, pending demolition. That same year it was purchased by the New Testament Church of God, an independent Pentecostal denomination with a congregation mainly of Caribbean origin. When first examining the building and considering whether to purchase it, the expressionist stained-glass in the east window was seen as spiritually significant. Installed in the 1950s to replace glass destroyed in WWII, it was designed by Scottish artist William Wilson, whose works regularly portrayed Jesus with a darker skin tone. The "Black Jesus" window was therefore seen as symbolic and consequently the church was saved from dereliction and is still in use today. Designed by renowned architect Arthur Blomfield and built as a chapel-of-ease to Strood's Parish Church of St. Nicholas to a total cost of £6,083; St. Mary's has an intriguing polygonal spire immediately above the western entrance narthex and gallery. The church has a very high clerestoried nave, and a similarly high chancel. To the south there is a small low-ceilinged side aisle and a large transept that was later used as the organ chamber. The organ still remains. Many of the original Victorian fixtures and fittings are still in place. The wooden benches and choir stalls together with the communion rails, pulpit and font, are all in their original positions. The reredos (altarpiece) beneath the east window depicts the Supper at Emmaus, flanked by mosaic detailing by Italian artist Antonio Salviati. From its inception, St. Mary's had always been evangelical in outlook, serving a mainly working-class population who worked on the Medway Towns' riverside. The first Vicar was a prominent Victorian evangelist, Josias Henry Drew, who served the church for 49 years from 1869-1918. Original stencilling above the chancel arch exhorts worshippers to "Sing unto the Lord and Praise His Name. Be Telling of His Salvation from Day to Day." The New Testament Church of God have made some changes to the interior; partitioning off the original north aisle and north chapel to create extra room space and enclosing the south west corner around the large marbled Victorian font to create an office for the pastor. The church actually has a warm and surprisingly homely atmosphere. A large chest of drawers in the south aisle is covered in framed photographs of members of the congregation celebrating family events; while on the windowsills various ministerial accreditation certificates and even some junior sporting trophies are displayed. Overall, it is a very successful transfer of a redundant Anglican place of worship to an independent denomination which has managed to remain true to the building's historic beginnings and faith of its Victorian founders, while worshipping in its own charismatic Caribbean style. Text by Rob Baker

1851 Census Details

Seating Capacity: Not built

Morning Attendance: Not built

Afternoon Attendance: Not built

Evening Attendance: Not built

Architecture Details

Original Build Date/Architect: Blomfield 1868

Restoration:

Second Restoration:

Notes

now New Testament Church of God

Website

http://

Queries Relating to this Church

To contact this church, please try: A Church Near You

This Kent Churches website is provided to you for free, running at a loss in order to remain advert-free. If you are enjoying using the site and would like to make a small contribution towards our expenses, it would be most gratefully received. You can donate via Paypal.