The church is a Grade I listed building
and the entry at the English Heritage website [visit
link] tells us:
"1711-14 by Nicholas Hawksmoor. One
of the 1st of the "Fifty New Churches" arising from the Act of 1711. Masons were
Edward Strong (who had worked for Wren on St Paul's Cathedral) and Edward
Tufnell. Steeple 1730 by John James, rebuilt 1813. Cruciform church with West
tower. Portland stone ashlar. Doric entablature all the way round, supported on
pilasters defining bays. Moderately low pitched roof now copper covered.
Pediment at East end with urn finials at either side. Doric entablature beneath
broken by high, round arch. Centre of East end recessed, producing portico
distyle in antis, with steps up to it but no entrance. Wide, segment-headed 1st
floor window supports, modified entablature with 2 pilasters rising thence to
archivolt. Flat pilasters define back wall of portico. Flanking windows round
arched. Low, flat-arched windows below. Along sides round headed 1st floor
windows, in round arches recesses, have aprons below with guttae. Square ground
floor windows in square recesses. In transept ends 3 round arched doors with
plain architraves and impost blocks. Paved terrace in front of them reaching to
gabled crypt entrances. 3 nave windows at either side of transepts. Square west
tower of 4 stages. Ground floor blank with shallow niches and projecting angle
pilasters. Low 2nd stage has oculus with one keystone, and low, round angle
buttresses. Taller, Ionic 3rd stage with paired angle pilasters. Above this
octagonal stage with clock faces and urns at angles. Tall, Corinthian drum, with
oculus above round arch in each of 8 faces, supports dome with stone spike, ball
and vane finial. West entrance in tower has shouldered architrave, triple
keystone, alternating block sides, cornice and pediment. Flanking round headed
windows, in round arched recesses, with Gibbs surround. Interior almost
completely remodelled after war damage. West organ gallery and side galleries
renewed. Ceiling plaster work with oval raised border also renewed. Corinthian
columns of reredos remain. East wall repainted in imitation of coffered apse.
Restoration by Albert Richardson in 1950's. Original staircases remain in
transepts. C17 baluster font on North-west end."
The church's website [visit
link] tells the history of the current church:
"At about 4.00am on 29 November
1710, as a result of a severe storm, the roof of the church collapsed, one of
the supporting piers having been weakened by the numerous excavations undertaken
for burial purposes; the tower, however, remained undamaged.
The parishioners petitioned
Parliament for £6,000 towards the rebuilding of the church. As a result it was
expressly provided in the New Churches in London and Westminster Act of 1711
that one of the 50 new churches proposed to be built in the Cities of London and
Westminster and their suburbs should be in the parish of Greenwich. All this
building was to be financed by a continuation of the Coal Tax, which had been
raised to pay for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of
1666.
Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Sir
Christopher Wren, and the Clerk of the Works at Greenwich Hospital for 40 years,
was commissioned to design the new church. English Baroque style was practically
the creation of the Office of Works in the years after the Restoration; and the
building of the new churches gave Hawksmoor his greatest opportunity. The
Commissioners gave the architect a free hand, which enabled him to express his
ideas about the management of space.
In the interior of St Alfege church,
the length is one and one-third times its breadth, and its height is roughly one
half of the breadth. The galleries divide the interior and create aisles; they
also punctuate, as it were, the space and increase the effectiveness of the
whole design.
The Church itself was erected
between 1712 and 1714 but consecration was delayed until 29 September 1718. The
delay was partly due to the fact that the parishioners took exception to the
Church Commissioners' direction that a ‘seat of distinction’ should be provided
for the use of the Royal Family. However, after a lapse of six months, the
parishioners ‘became convinced of their error, and were under the necessity of
petitioning the Archbishop of Canterbury, and others the Commissioners,
requesting, with the most profound humility, that they would be pleased to
proceed with the building, and every impediment to the erection of a seat should
be removed’ (from An Account of the Legacies, Gifts, Rents, Fees etc
appertaining to the Church and Poor of the Parish of St Alphege [sic] Greenwich
by John Kimbell, September 1816). The Royal Pew was installed in the West
gallery.
Hawksmoor's design included a tower
but Queen Anne's Commissioners were running short of money, and several
petitions by the parishioners were necessary before the Commissioners
reluctantly agreed to the economic recasing of the old tower to the design of
John James of Greenwich. The tower was completed in 1730; Hawksmoor transferred
his design for the tower to St Anne's, Limehouse.
Chancel
The elaborate columns and cornices
are the original Hawksmoor design. The main pilasters at the east end and the
apse were originally painted by Sir James Thornhill who was also responsible for
the work on the more famous Painted Hall of the neighbouring Royal Naval
College.
Ceiling
One of the glories of the Hawksmoor
design was the oval ceiling which was suspended from the tie-beams without
additional support from the floor. At the time of its construction it was the
largest unsupported ceiling in Europe.
Woodwork
The design and carving of the pulpit
and the Corinthian capitals on these pillars are attributed to Grinling
Gibbons.
Wrought-iron work
The wrought-iron work of the altar
rails and of the gallery rails to the north and south of the altar are original.
The designs are attributed to Jean Tijou who Hawksmoor had met in connection
with the great gates and screen for St Paul's Cathedral; unfortunately, the name
of the smith who actually executed the work is unknown.
Benefaction
Boards
The Benefaction Boards north and
south of the chancel on the east wall were first installed in the medieval
church in 1707, three years before the fatal storm of 1710. They were
transferred to the present church in 1718 and were hung on the staircases to the
galleries. Their siting ensured their preservation in 1941. They can almost be
said to sum up in themselves the post-Reformation history of the church. The
first entry on the south board records the establishment of Queen Elizabeth's
College by William Lambard; this was the first public charity to be founded in
England after the Reformation. The College was rebuilt in 1817 and still stands
on the original site opposite the subsequently erected railway station. In 1613
is recorded the foundation of Trinity Hospital by the Rt Hon Henry Howard, Earl
of Northampton. The Hospital still flourishes on the riverfront just east of the
Royal Naval College and provides for a Warden and over fifty residents. The name
of John Roan appears in 1643 when he bequeathed his estate to teach and clothe
poor boys; his school was rebuilt in 1926 on a site at the top of Maze Hill
overlooking Greenwich Park. The foundation of the Royal Hospital by King William
III and Queen Mary is recorded in 1694. On the opposite board, the most notable
entries are those in the years 1809/1815 when the Jubilee Almshouses were
founded and endowed to commemorate the fiftieth year of the reign of King George
III. These Almshouses in Greenwich High Road were rebuilt in
1974"
The church's website [visit link] tells of the history of St
Alfege:
"In the 11th century, the abduction
and murder of an archbishop was an act of almost unbelievable wickedness, and
Alfege's martyrdom at Greenwich in 1012 attracted horrified attention all over
Christendom. The impact on the Continent was the greater because at that time
Greenwich belonged to the Abbey of St Peter at Ghent, a church well known as the
prime defender of Christianity against the pagan Vikings.
Born in about 954 AD, a young man
named Alfege gave up his family's wealth in order to live as a hermit at
Deerhurst in Gloucestershire, where he attracted a following and became Abbott
of a community at Bath. In 984 he was appointed Bishop of Winchester, as a
result of a vision sent to St Dunstan. At Winchester he was noted for restoring
the church and the organ, which became ‘another wonder of the world’ according
to ancient sources. In 1006 he became the 29th Archbishop of Canterbury, by
which time he was known and loved for his gentleness, his knowledge of the
scriptures and his courage in going among Norsemen to convert
them.
At this time, the Kent coast was
subject to raids from Danish pirates, and in 1011 they laid siege to the City of
Canterbury. Alfege, betrayed by one of his own monks, was captured and taken by
ship round the Kent coast and up the River Thames to Greenwich. There he was
held for six months and a ransom of £3,000 was demanded. Knowing that his people
would be unable to afford this huge sum, Alfege refused to let them pay, and the
captors carried out their threat to kill him. At a feast on Easter Day they
bludgeoned him with ox bones and the hafts of their axes until one of the Danes,
out of compassion, killed him by a single blow to the head with his
axe.
Then, a miracle was reported - a
wooden Danish oar dipped in Alfege's blood had sprouted. As a result, his body
was taken to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Eleven years later, on
15 June 1023, the body was moved by King Canute to Canterbury Cathedral and
placed beneath the north side of the high altar; a memorial slab now marks the
spot where his tomb was. The anniversary of his martyrdom (St Alfege's Day) is
19 April.
In 1078 Alfege was canonized; two
churchmen, Archbishop Lanfranc and St Anselm agreed that sainthood had been
achieved in the cause of divine justice. Possibly, they remembered his last
known words; to the Danish cries of "Give us gold", he had replied, "The gold I
give you is the Word of God". St Anselm said of him,
"He who dies for Justice dies for
God"
These words are engraved on a slab,
marking the place where he was martyred, in front of the sanctuary of St Alfege
Church.
19 April 2012 will be the millennium
of the martyrdom of St Alfege, and there will be celebrations around the country
at the many churches dedicated to him. At this church, which is so closely tied
to his death, there will a pilgrimage from Southwark to Greenwich followed by a
special service conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury."
The church website [visit link] advises of the days and times of
services:
"Sundays
8.00am: Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer)
10.00am: Sung Eucharist (liturgy is
Common Worship, Order 1 traditional language)
Last Sunday in the
month
6.30pm: Choral Evensong (Book of
Common Prayer)
Weekdays
Tuesday: 8.30am
Morning Prayer; 5.30pm Evening Prayer
Wednesday: 8.30am Morning Prayer;
5.30pm Evening Prayer
Thursday: 8.00am Holy Communion;
5.30pm Evening Prayer
Saturday: 9.30am Morning
Prayer
In August there is only one service
a week, on Sundays at 10.00am.
The programme of services may alter
sometimes, e.g. at Christmas and other Festivals"