Inventory Site Record

Remnant of the churchyard of Christ Church Forest Hill, built in 1852-4 as the parish church of Forest Hill, although its tower with tall spire was not erected until 1885. The church closed in 1988 due to structural problems and the building was redeveloped as flats, although a small chapel was created at the east end of the church and is used for service, known as The Chapel on the Hill. Much of the former churchyard was converted for residents' gardens, a large area for car parking and is not publicly accessible. Some of the tombs and gravestones in the churchyard remain in areas now in private ownership. A small garden fronting the entrance to the Chapel on the Hill has been laid out and is partially accessible to the public. The churchyard had some fine tombs and gravestones, including a red granite obelisk marking the family grave of George and Mary Baxter. By the west wall was a memorial in the form of a pinnacle to members of the Tetley family of tea fame, dated 1872, and to the right of the main entrance was the gravestone to the Hennell family.

Previous / Other name:

Forest Hill Parish Church

Site location:

Church Rise/South Road, Forest Hill

Postcode:

SE23 2UJ

What 3 Words:

dots.window.hotel

Type of site:

Churchyard

Borough:

Lewisham

Open to public?

Partially

Opening times:

Part of the grounds are accessible at weekends and holidays only

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Forest Hill. Bus: 75, 171, 185

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

31/05/2024

Last minor changes:

31/05/2024

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.stgeorgeandstmichael.org.uk

Christ Church is a gothic ragstone church designed in 1852-54 by Ewan Christian, who built the National Portrait Gallery and was architectural adviser to the Ecclesiastical Commission. The land for a church was donated by the Earl of Dartmouth to provide a centrepiece for his Dartmouth Park Estate. Christ Church, a large church built to accommodate at least 940 people, was consecrated in 1855 although the north aisle was not added until 1862. In 1885 the tower and its 56m high octagonal spire was built and, standing at the top of Church Rise, remains a local landmark. Christ Church closed in 1988 due to structural problems and later ceased to be the parish church, and was declared redundant in 2003/4. The building was acquired by a private company and partly converted into flats. As a result most of the church and its former churchyard are no longer publicly accessible; a fence divides the flats and the chapel where a small place of worship was created in the chancel at the east end of the church. Now known as The Chapel on the Hill, services have been held here since 2008 and it was rededicated by the Bishop of Woolwich on 5 September 2010. The parish of St George's Christ Church and St Paul's is now served by a new church on the site of the old St George's Church, demolished due to subsidence. The enlarged parish now includes St Michael Lower Sydenham and is the Parish of Forest Hill St George with St Michael and All Angels Lower Sydenham.

The churchyard was bordered by hedge, with railings to Church Rise and had some fine tombs and gravestones although it has since been redeveloped and the graves moved. Although part of the original site boundary remains indicating its former extent, the churchyard is now largely in private ownership as residents' gardens; an area north of the church has been converted for parking, and a further plot that was formerly part of the churchyard and adjacent vicarage is awaiting development (2022). A red granite obelisk to the left of the main entrance to the church, which marks the family grave of George and Mary Baxter, is now in a private garden. George had married Mary Harrild in 1827, daughter of Robert Harrild who manufactured printing equipment and was developer of the Sydenham Park Estate. Baxter developed a more economical method of printing in colour, which he patented in 1835. He died in an accident with a horse-drawn vehicle, and is remembered in the small park, Baxter's Field (q.v.). Nearby was the gravestone to the Hennell family; Alexander Hennell (d.1915) was the architect of Crystal Palace District Cemetery, now known as Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery (q.v.). By the west wall was a memorial in the form of a pinnacle to members of the Tetley family of tea fame, dated 1872.

Although most of the churchyard has been lost to development, an area of the former churchyard between the Chapel on the Hill and South Road was landscaped as a small garden, and has a walkway of trees leading up to the door of the Chapel, a small memorial garden planted out with spring bulbs, and the rest turfed. At weekends and holidays this garden is accessible to the public but not during school term time when it is used as a school play area for the Montessori school that uses the chancel.

Sources consulted:

Darrell Spurgeon, 'Discover Sydenham and Catford', (Greenwich Guide-Books, 1999); J Coulter & J Seaman 'The Archive Photographs Series: Sydenham and Forest Hill', (Chalford, 1995); https://knowyourlondon.wordpress.com/2021/07/28/christ-church-forest-hill/; https://enthusiasticgardener.com/2020/08/30/christ-church-churchyard-in-forest-hill/; Candy Blackham 'Green Lewisham, Our Treasured Open Spaces', (Clink Street Publishing, 2022)

Grid ref:

TQ357728 (535679,172844)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

Forest Hill Team Ministry

Site management:

Forest Hill Team Ministry

Date(s):

1854

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII Christ Church; George Baxter Memorial

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Local Landmark