St Peter’s was the first of the new Apostle churches to be built (1840-1), flanked by terraced housing, the vicarage and church school. The interior has an elaborate wooden roof structure.
different Churches,” reported the John Bull newspaper. After divine services at 2pm, the crowds proceeded to St Thomas’, near Nova Scotia Gardens – “a spot notorious many years ago as the scene of the burking [body-snatching] of the Italian boy… soon to be covered with houses for the rapidly increasing population.”
Green residents worshipped in an Anglican church. One factor, of course, was the significant increase in the Jewish population. In due course, the Blitz and demolition crews made their mark, and only four of the ten Apostle churches survive today – two as places of worship (St Peter’s and St James the Less) and two converted into flats (St James the Great and St Bartholomew). And throughout the 180 years since Bishop Blomfield first focused on the ‘spiritual destitution’ of the area, the original St Matthew’s and St John’s churches have continued to keep their doors open to generations of Bethnal Green residents.
“A slug in the Lord’s vineyard” The clergy carried out their work with varying success. With the churches being so close to one another, vicars often competed for funds and for congregations. Some vicars proved to be streetwise – St Philip’s cornered the market for weddings by undercutting the fees – whilst the incumbent at St Simon Zelotes was described as “only a slug in the Lord’s vineyard” with virtually no congregation and his schools languishing.
John Bull newspaper (1849).
All in all, it proved easier to fund and build the churches, than it did to persuade East Enders to attend church services. By 1901, only 1 in 20 of Bethnal 53