St Mary Magdalene Church, Holloway Road

St. Mary Magdalene Church, Holloway Road (Hope Church Islington)
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Website	[1]
Architecture
Architect(s)	William Wickings
Administration
Parish	St Mary Magdalene & St David
Diocese	London (Stepney Area)
Division	Islington Deanery
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Paul Zaphiriou and Revd Jonathan Rust (Shared Leadership)

St Mary Magdalene Church is an Anglican church on Holloway Road in north London. It is located in St Mary Magdalene Gardens opposite Islington Central Library. St Mary Magdalene is part of the Parish of St Mary Magdalene and St David. In 2013 its sister church St David's on Westbourne road was reopened and both churches came under the banner of 'Hope Church Islington'. The church now functions as one site of the two site church which shares leadership and a staff team. The early 19th century building accommodates the activities of the church congregation, including church services, a winter night shelter, 'Mini Mags' – a toddlers group, and provides spaces to other users. Baptisms and confirmations, marriages and funerals are regularly held here.

The church has traditionally belonged in the evangelical stream of the Church of England. More recently it has become more closely associated with a charismatic evangelical approach to worship, informal other than at the 9am service which is robed. There are good ties with other churches in the Deanery, especially St Mark's Tollington and Christ Church Highbury. There is also a strong relationship with Holy Trinity Brompton and related churches. St Mary Magdalene is a certified Fairtrade church. Since November 2013 the congregation has expanded into two sites- St Mary Magdalene's and St David's on Westbourne Road meeting for 4 services on a Sunday.

Building & Gardens: The church was built in 1814 to a design by William Wickings as a chapel of ease to the parish church of St. Mary's farther south on Upper Street. It became a parish church in its own right in 1894. A typical Georgian six-bay brick box with three tiers of small windows, the lowest to the crypt. The bell tower at the south of the building is square and houses eight bells, cast by John Warner and Son at their Spitalfields foundry in 1875. The bells are a “maiden” ring (they have never been re-tuned or altered in any way). Inside, the interior retains its galleries on three sides supported by Tuscan columns. Originally horse shoe-shaped these were converted to a rectangular plan when the furnishings were altered in 1894–5. Most of this work was undone in 1983, when the choir stalls and pews were removed and meeting rooms were built under the galleries. The church gardens are the church's old burial ground, which was opened to the public at the end of the 19th century, and now is a space appreciated by many for its recreational amenity.

...
Wikipedia