Holy Trinity, Finchley Road: Finchley Road, Hampstead, Camden

COVERING DATES OF REGISTERS DEPOSITED

Baptisms Nov 1867-Mar 1906

Marriages Jun 1873-Apr 1966

The records of the church include baptism, marriage and burial registers, and service registers, and many papers relating to the maintenance and alterations carried out to the church. There is also a large amount of material relating to the parish school and the Parochial Church Council. Other material relates to further activites of the church, such as the Overseas Club, which was formed in November 1956 to provided a meeting place for students and visitors from overseas.

Records deposited by Jean Woods, Churchwarden, Holy Trinity Church, Finchley Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 5HT, on 14 November 1991

Introduction

Holy Trinity Church was built in 1871, to replace a temporary wooden church situated in Belsize Lane. The parish consisted of approximately five hundred acres, covering most of south west Hampstead. The foundation stone of the new church was laid in 1871 by the Victorian philanthropist and social reformer, the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. The building was completed in less than a year, and consisted of a large nave and side aisles. A chancel was added in 1875, and an organ installed a few years later.

Holy Trinity was an expensive church, costing seventeen thousand pounds to build. The architect, Henry Legg, employed specially deepened concrete foundations under the steeple to guard against vibrations from trains when the Metropolitan railway line was extended beyond Swiss Cottage.

In 1874 a daughter church and school were founded at West End Village. This separated from Trinity parish to become Emmanuel parish in 1885.

In 1882 a mission church was built in the extreme west of the parish. This was replaced by a permanent building four years later, and the new parish of St Cuthberts was created.

Once the new Holy Trinity Church was in use, the temporary church in Belsize Lane was used as a parish school. This building was eventually demolished to make way for Fitzjohn's Avenue. A new school was built just south of Trinity Church on a site donated by local land owners the Maryon Wilsons. It was able to accommodate two hundred children. In the 1920s a portion of the grounds was sold for redevelopment, the proceeds of the sale being used to renovate and extend the school buildings. By the 1950's there were three infant and three junior classes, making a total of two hundred and fifty one children.

In 1968 a private parliamentary bill authorised the demolition of Holy Trinity Church and the redevelopment of the site. The church was vacated in 1974, when it was demolished and a smaller one built in its place.