History

On 16th July 1835 the Rt Revd Charles Blomfield, Bishop of London, consecrated Jesus Chapel as a chapel of ease in the Parish of St. Andrew, Enfield. Built at the instigation and expense of Christian Paul Meyer of Forty Hall, who also gave the farm house Sparrow Hall with 7.5 acres of land for the vicarage. Trinity College Cambridge added a further 7 acres of glebe land.

The building design is based on Holy Trinity Church, High Cross, Tottenham, but its dedication is unusual; the only other Anglican “Jesus Church” is in Troutbeck, Cumbria. In 1845 Jesus Chapel became Jesus Church with its parish incorporating the small communities of Bulls Cross with Goat Lane and Forty Hill.

The story of Jesus Church is one of change and expansion mirroring the increasing urbanisation of the parish. It stands in a deceptively rural landscape whilst vast housing estates have grown up in the 1930’s, 1950’s and 60’s; building development continuing today in response to the road and rail links which have absorbed Enfield into Greater London.

A recent challenge was the replacement of the Parish Hall originally at Maiden’s Bridge, destroyed by fire in 2001. In 2009 building work began on an annex incorporating meeting rooms and kitchen facilities, financed largely through insurance and a generous bequest from parishioner Peter Bougnague, former resident of Garnault. The vestry was remodelled to provide a link from the church to the new building.

Dedicated in September 2010, the Charis Centre represents the generous gifts of God to the fellowship of Jesus Church through generations of faithful members. It offers a renewed opportunity to carry on the tradition of service in the name of Jesus in the community of Forty Hill, Enfield.