Christ Church Highbury
Christ Church Highbury is an Anglican church in Islington, north London, next to Highbury Fields. History Architecture and construction The site was given by John Dawes, a local benefactor and landlord, and the church was built by Thomas Allom in a cruciform shape with a short chancel, transepts, and nave from 1847 to 1848. Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner write that Christ Church Highbury 'is a successful and original use of Gothic for a building on a cruciform plan with broad octagonal crossing. The cross-plan with broad nave and crossing was popular for churches in the low church tradition where an effective auditorium for the spoken word was preferred to a plan designed for an elaborate liturgy.' Since then, several changes have been made to the church, including the addition of a balcony in 1872, and new rooms for children's work and fellowship in 1980. Opening The church was opened in 1848 by Reverend Matthew Anderson Collision, son of Irishman Daniel Marcus Collision and his wife Catherine. A special service booklet was published to celebrate the occasion: "On the Consecration of the New Church at Highbury, Dedicated to the Saviour as 'Christ's Church'", Reverend M A Collision. Reverend Collision passed