religious
John Ninian Comper (1864-1960), 1891
Grange Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 8SA
Since 1891, St Alban's has served South Norwood and Thornton Heath; areas that began to develop with the coming of the railways. The church was built by the community and is still serving the community. The building design altered considerably from start to finish and a small exhibition will give examples of the various suggestions.
Thornton Heath, East Croydon, Norwood Junction, West Croydon
130, 250, 468, 50
Not all areas of the church are step free thus limiting access to those who find steps difficult. Some of the stone floor slabs are uneven.
The building offers a quiet calm atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of everyday, apart from the emergency sirens that go past!
15:00–19:00
15:00–19:00
Children's treasure hunt
10:00–18:00
10:00–18:00
12:00–12:30
Talk regarding the history of the building of the church and the ever changing plans .
14:00–14:30
Guided tour of the building showing how building plans changed.
St Alban's was built for the working class who lived in the Thornton Heath /Selhurst areas.
We are not entirely sure where the money came from to build the church but we do know it was built in stages depending on whether the funds were available or not. This had a profound influence on whether the original plans were followed, scaled down or discarded and new plans drawn up.
The focus of the Open Day will be to empathise with the architect and builders as the church began to take shape and the challenges faced and how they were overcome.
We will also celebrate the role that St Alban's has played since 1891 within the community.