English Martyrs, Hornchurch

Introduction

English Martyrs church in Hornchurch was built in 1954-5 from designs by David Rodney Burles of Burles, Newton & Partners of Southend-on-Sea. The church was opened on 26 June 1955, and the parish was established in the following month. In 1981 several stained glass windows by Goddard & Gibbs were installed. Confession is held on Friday after Mass.

Architecture and furnishings

The builders were Messrs H. W. Wilson Ltd of South Ockendon. In the late 1990s the church was reordered, and in 2005 the church was solemnly blessed. The church is built in brick laid in Flemish bond, with creased tiles in the lintels. The pitched roof is covered in pantiles and has two dormers at the east.

The plan is longitudinal, with a sacristy at the northeast and a Lady Chapel at the southeast. Beside the entrance at the southwest is a slim bellcote incorporating a chimney. The nave has an elliptical plastered ceiling. The chancel is narrower than the nave, with stained glass on a Creation theme in the lateral windows.

The niche beside the entrance holds a statue of the Virgin and Child. On the gallery front hangs a crucifix of Christ the Eternal High Priest. The three groups of three windows each on the north side have abstract stained glass in green and yellow tones. The south side has two groups of four windows, with blue and purple colours and the inscriptions 'St Thomas More' and 'St John Fisher'.

The two dormer windows, with further abstract stained glass, are not symmetrical, with that on the north side being placed further east. Ambo and altar are of stone and presumably date from the 1990s reordering. To the south of the sanctuary is the painted octagonal stone font. Three arches lead into the Blessed Sacrament chapel, which used to be the Lady Chapel, and the stained glass window features Marian symbols.

The tabernacle stands on a simple canopied stand. There are also statues of the Virgin and the Child and St Joseph. The church has access for the physically disabled and a loop system for hearing aid users.