St Peter's Church Battersea / by Howard Allen

After 4 years on site the new St Peter’s Church, Battersea was completed in October 2018.

This significant brown field regeneration project is about perseverance and determination over a period of 18 years by many local stakeholders. The original St Peter’s Church on Plough Road Battersea was consecrated in 1876 but was destroyed by fire in 1970.

The church has been designed to accommodate up to 420 people. 120 in the Ground Floor Community Space and 300 people in the worship space at First Floor level. The seminar rooms are divided by acoustic movable walls that can be folded back to provide a larger space for events.  There is a full catering kitchen serving the community hall and the courtyard space. Storage has been provided to store fold-away tables and stackable chairs

 There is a courtyard to the north of the church that separates it from the housing block.  The courtyard is a space for use by all of the community and is intended to provide a pedestrian link from Plough Road to the Winstanley Estate that forms the core of the parish. There are designated supplies for community barbeques that are held throughout the summer months. The community hall opens out onto the courtyard via sliding folding doors.

The church, as part of its mission provides counselling on sensitive matters to parishioners requiring a welcoming but private environment.

The building has been designed to be fully accessible on all levels. There is a 21-person lift connecting all floors.

Good daylighting is a key design feature of the building. Public areas, seminar rooms and offices with fenestration offering natural light.

The ground floor offices have views onto the street and include flush glazed openable louvre windows. There is passive ventilation in the main worship space.

 The building incorporates the work of 3 artists. Ptolemy Mann designed the coloured glass, Charlie Mackesy the bronze sculpture and Richard Kindersley carved stone work that can be viewed inside and out of the building.