Beginnings William Henry, 2nd Baron Leigh, gave the site for the church. It was built with funds from
John Hubbard, 1st Baron Addington, and designed by
William Butterfield in 1859. Construction occurred between 1861 and 1862 in yellow and red stock bricks with stone dressings and tiled roofs. In 1862
Alexander Mackonochie became its first
perpetual curate. He introduced a daily Eucharist, which featured
Gregorian chant and significant ritual elements (e.g. the lighting of altar candles and the cleansing of eucharistic vessels at the altar). St Alban's was the first Anglican church to hold the three-hour devotion on Good Friday (in 1864) and one of the first to celebrate a Harvest Festival. Mackonochie also openly heard
confessions. Mackonochie's pastoral ministry was typical of the 19th-century
ritualist "slum priest". With his two curates,
Arthur Stanton (who remained at the church until his death in 1913) and Edward Russell, and lay assistants he founded schools, soup kitchens, a working men's club, mothers' meetings, clothing funds and more. Though he remained until 1882 and remained as an assistant priest thereafter, he became known as "the martyr of St Alban's" from those making "regular"
Low Church requests and moves to temper his
ritualism. In 1891 a chapel was added to designs by Charles Henry Money Mileham (1837–1917), with the chapel's stained glass by
Charles Eamer Kempe added in 1898 – it now also contains two
Stations of the Cross by
Ninian Comper. The 1890s saw the future bishop
Hensley Henson (then vicar of
St Margaret's Barking) frequently visit as a guest preacher.
1900–present In 1938 the church hosted England's first complete performance of
Olivier Messiaen's
La Nativité du Seigneur, organised by
Felix Aprahamian and played by the composer himself. The church was burned out during the
London Blitz in 1941, though the chapel survived. The main church was restored by
Adrian Gilbert Scott between 1959 and 1961, including a new organ by
John Compton. Beside the church's entrance is a 1985 sculpture by
Hans Feibusch entitled 'Jesus being Raised from the Dead' – the same artist had produced the church's current set of Stations of the Cross (date unknown) and a mural of the
Holy Trinity for the east wall (1966). On 9 June 1990 the church hosted the foundation of
Affirming Catholicism, representing a liberal strand of Anglo-Catholicism, though the church itself is now considered a traditionalist
Anglo-Catholic parish – as such, it is under the
Alternative Episcopal Oversight of the
Bishop of Fulham (now the
Rt Revd Jonathan Baker). The present incumbent, the
Revd Christopher Smith
SSC, succeeded former
Archdeacon of Egypt, the
Ven. Howard Levett
SSC (1944–2016), following his retirement in 2010. Appointed
Vicar of St Alban's in 2011, Fr Smith also serves as
Chaplain to the
Aldermanic Sheriff of London (for 2024/25),
Gregory Jones KC. ==Organists==