St Barnabus and its journey from Woolwich

Now I have passed St Barnabus Church countless times and never knew it was originally sited in Woolwich.

It was one of those Eltham churches I have already written about but couldn’t resist doing so again when I came across this picture.

It appears in a new book on Woolwich and the history of the building is always worth repeating.

“Designed by Sir George Scott, the Naval Dockyard church was built between 1857 and 1859 in Woolwich Dockyard becoming redundant after the latter’s closure in 1869.  

In 1932-33, the distinctive red brick edifice was reconstructed in Eltham.”*

When I first posted the story it led to a flood of memories from people who remembered it on fire after it had been hit during a bombing raid in  the last war.

Picture; St Barnabus Church,1858,courtesy of Kristina Bedford

*Woolwich Through Time, Kristina Bedford, 2014, Amberley Publishing,