The Parish Church of Ss Peter and Paul and the Vestry Hall

In 1840 the old parish church (All Saints) was in such a bad state of repair that the then Rector and lord of the manor, the Rev’d Robert Boothby Heathcote, decided to abandon it and build a new church on Chingford Green. Designed by Lewis Vulliamy, it was built at the rector’s own expense and was dedicated by the Bishop of London on 18th July 1844.

Chingford was changing; the ‘pleasing rural village’ was becoming a major London suburb- a process accelerated by the coming of the railway in 1873. By the turn of the century, it had already become apparent that a bigger church was required, and Sir Arthur Blomfield drew up plans for an extended chancel and nave aisles, which were completed in 1903 and dedicated by the Bishop of St. Alban’s on 13th June.

The St. Elizabeth Chapel was built and completed in 1937, along with its east window by Christopher Webb, depicting the Virgin Mary, St. Elizabeth, and St. John the Baptist. It is more commonly known as the Lady Chapel.

The Church now contains the Parish C12th font, a C17th chest, some fine stained glass and monuments, and a beautiful and recently restored 1907 Hill, Norman & Beard organ.

The 175th anniversary of the dedication of the church was marked in 2019 in various ways, culminating in June with a Eucharist celebrated by the Bishop of Chelmsford.  As part of a project funded in large measure by the The National Lottery Heritage Fund  (see below), a new guidebook was researched and produced. This is available in the church or on request to the Parish Office.

Also completed in 2019 was Phase A of a project to repair and restore the church. With generous funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and grants from other organisations, repairs to the windows, roof and stonework in the chancel were carried out.  We are working on grant applications to support Phase B of the project which will address the nave.

We also have a long-standing ambition to  extend the Hall and Vestries, particularly with a view to improving music storage and rehearsal facilities for our choirs.

The Hall and Church are full of activity during the week with Youth Clubs, music rehearsals, scouts, rainbows, theatre groups, exercise classes, and more. During term-time the hall also hosts Yellow Birds Play Academy. For more information visit HERE

The Hall (with kitchen) and Church are both available to hire by contacting the Parish Office.

Download the Parish Wide Letting Policy here.