The Bells of St Saviour's, Walthamstow
The church of St Saviour was built in 1874 to serve the South Eastern part of the Parish of St Mary’s. It was built on a piece of wasteland in Markhouse Road opposite the Markhouse Common. The church originally had a lofty oak roof that was considered to be particularly fine. This was destroyed by a fire and replaced by the present rather poor roof. The Grade II listed church was designed by T F Dolman and is the only surviving Gothic Revival church in Walthamstow
The bells are a complete peal by John Warner dated 1874.
Prior to World War II there was a strong band at St Saviour’s, 53 peals being rung up to 1935. Following the war the band was much depleted, although regular ringing has taken place almost unbroken since then. There was a gap of 38 years before the next peal was rung in 1973, since when a further ten have been rung.
Immediately across the Lea Valley was the church of St Matthew, Upper Clapton. This church was of a very similar design to St Saviour’s and at one time they were often referred to as “The Two Sisters”. St Matthew’s had a fine peal of 8 bells that were removed following a disastrous fire and are now at Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire.
Nearby is the Lighthouse Methodist Church. This was founded by Captain King of the Bullard King Line of steamers, initially (1887) in a large tent on the site of the present church and in 1889 in a corrugated iron hall. The present church was built in 1893. At Captain King’s request it was built with a tower in the style of a lighthouse with a lamp in the top where it still shines out at night. Worth a look for its unique design.
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