religious
A R Mullins, 1867
115 St Saviours Road, Croydon, CR0 2XF
A grade 2 listed Victorian Church located between West Croydon and Thornton Heath. Interior highlights included a sculpted frieze of the Last Supper by William Theed the Younger, a favourite sculptor of Queen Victoria.
Selhurst, Thornton Heath, West Croydon
450, 109, 60, 64
Access to the chancel area of the church is via a series of three steps.
Built in 1867 to the design of Willoughby Mullins, Holy Saviour consists of a traditional nave, chancel, side aisles, vestries to the north of the chancel and the St. Barnabas Chapel at the east end of the south aisle. There is a tall tower and spire at the west end of the south aisle, a narthex at the west end of the nave, now used for offices, and a baptistry now used for small scale worship, meetings and consultations. Walls are generally solid brick, polychrome internally. The church retains a complete set of original Victorian stained-glass windows, depicting the parables (south aisle) and miracles (north aisle) of Jesus.
The east end of the church building is finished to a very high standard, including mosaics and a frieze of the last supper carved in marble. The sculptor, William Theed the Younger, was highly favoured by Queen Victoria, who commissioned him to take Prince Albert's death mask. He then went on to produce several memorial statues of the Prince Consort, including one retained in the Royal Collection at the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore.
Holy Saviour is usually only open for services with the chancel area inaccessible to the public, therefore this is a rare opportunity to view an example of Theed's work up close.