About Us

Welcome to the Parish Church of S. Paul’s, Deptford.

"A Pearl at the Heart of Deptford"

We are

warm and welcoming,

diverse and inclusive,

traditional and contemporary,

anglo-catholic in tradition,

committed to prayer and justice.

The Divine Office and Holy Mass are celebrated daily.

S. Paul’s Parish takes in the heart of the Deptford Community, which is a colourful, exciting, energetic, edgy, mature, complex and fascinating place. It has one of the most diverse ethnic communities in London (fully represented in our congregation), a higher than average population of younger people, multiple economic deprivation, and we are one of the most deprived parishes in the country, in the highest 6%. It ranks 704 out of 12,329 parishes, where 1 is the most deprived parish. (DATA UPDATE: CUF Look Up Tool has been refreshed to include recent census 2021, parish boundary 2023 and index of multiple deprivation 2019 data.) Within  the Diocese of Southwark we are the 5th most deprived parish out of 294 Parishes. There is also a strong creative arts sector, a classic South London High Street with a famous thrice weekly Market.

Our Parish Mission Statement

1. To keep worship at the centre of everything we do.

2. To serve the people of Deptford, and beyond.

3. To ensure the full participation of every church member who belongs to S. Paul’s.

Our 1730 Grade 1 Listed Church by the Architect Thomas Archer, and described by John Betjeman as "a pearl at the heart of Deptford", is a remarkable and important example of English Italianate Baroque.

The church is one of those built following the 1711 Act for building new churches in London and its suburbs. These are generally known as the Queen Anne churches. Other Queen Anne churches include, James Gibbs', St. Mary-le-Strand, John James', St George's, Hanover Square and Nicholas Hawksmoor's churches at S. Alfege, Greenwich; Christ Church, Spitalfields; S. Ann's, Limehouse and S. George's in the East. http://nationalchurchestrust.org/how-you-can-help/1711.php

Archer was specifically influenced by two churches in the Historic Centre of Rome: the Interior, by Francesco Borromini’s restyling of S. Agnese in Agone, Piazza Navona using Corinthian pillars, 1653 onwards, and the Portico by the semi-circular Porch of S. Maria della Pace, (which is just off the Piazza Navona) by Pietro da Cortona, constructed 1656-1661. The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England has referred to S. Paul's as one of London's finest Baroque buildings. According to Simon Jenkins (England's Thousand Best Churches) "S. Paul's is a building that foreigners can never credit as being English. The exterior is Baroque of astonishing vigour, with giant classical orders on all sides." S. Paul's comes "closer to Borromini and the Roman Baroque than any other English church of this date." (Pevsner). The church is dramatically preserved and recently restored, (between 2000-2004), in its spacious and peaceful churchyard.

 Donations to S. Paul's

You are invited to make a donation to the glory of God and the work of this Parish Church. It costs £1,000 a week to run S. Paul’s and all of this money has to be raised locally by the congregation. If you are a UK Taxpayer please put your monetary gift into a Gift Aid envelope, and write your own name and address on the envelope. This will enable us to claim back the tax on your gift for our work. Please give generously. Thankyou.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 More about the church building 

Built: 1712 - 30
Architect: Thomas Archer
Listing: Grade 1

"The finest Baroque Church north of the Alps".

S. Paul's Church, one of the fifty Commissioners' Churches, was designed by Thomas Archer (c.1668-1743), a Commissioner himself, and was constructed between the years 1712-1730 when it was consecrated. The triangular Rectory, also by Archer was demolished c.1885.

The church was described by Basil Clarke as follows:

"It is a most imposing church, and is made more so by the stone platform on which it stands. It is almost square though it is, in fact, planned as a nave and aisles. At the four corners are the usual vestibules and vestries, two-storied, with canted walls within the church. The two sides have slight projections of three bays, with pediments; the walls are adorned by pilasters with intermittent rustications.

The tower is circular, with windows, like those of the towers of St John's, Smith Square, and a spire: the basement is surrounded by a semi-circular portico. At the east is an apse, with a Venetian window which follows the curve. The order inside is Corinthian. The ceiling has admirable plaster work.

There were Victorian repairs in 1856 (John Whichcord) and 1883 (Thomas Dinwiddy), and a sympathetic restoration in the 1930s by Eden and Marchant. The Victorian Norman font came from Rochester Cathedral: the original font was sent to a mission church abroad."

The brick vaulted basement was refurbished and provided with improved sanitation and a new kitchen in 1993.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fr Paul Butler

Rector and Parish Priest