County Council in the mid 1950s, it combined both bomb and slum clearance with some restoration of Victorian terraces and included six newly built 18-storey blocks.  A new church was built which was designed to be in keeping with the new contemporary architecture of the estate by the practice Woodroffe, Buchanan and Coulter.  The new church was consecrated in 1960 and, now Grade II listed, it very much reflects the architecture of the times.  It uses a mix of materials that includes brick and copper, and  stained glass windows are integrated into a concrete honeycombed frame.  The building also includes rubble and stone from the old church.

 

Unusually, the main church area and the church hall is on the first floor as the ground floor was set aside for community activities initially with an emphasis on youth work. In 1959, in response to press outrage at the exploits of teddy boys and other so-called juvenile delinquents, the government commissioned the Albemarle Report that examined how young people’s energy could be harnessed and channelled constructively and violent, anti-social behaviour contained.  The report concluded that local authorities should become responsible for providing facilities for youth activities in partnership with voluntary organisations.  The Crossed Swords Youth Club at St Paul’s represented the first such partnership between local government and the church.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Youth Club ran successfully until the 1980s when, under the Thatcher government, there were reductions in public funding, and the centre closed.  Canon Grahame Shaw, who was vicar at St Paul’s for 34 years, influenced by the Church of England report of 1985 entitled “Faith in the City”, opened a drop-in centre in the former youth centre space for those with mental health problems.  It developed to such an extent that by 2005 it had a £1million pound budget, employed 20 staff and had administrative offices that included 4 counselling rooms in Walworth Road.  The centre closed in 2008 when its services were transferred to Certitude a larger charity that offered greater opportunities.