Place Name
Named for the nearby St Barnabas church. Barnabas was one of the disciples, who carried out missionary journeys and had a great ability to encourage – hence Barnabas means son of encouragement. It was this ability however that was to prove his undoing, tradition has it that while preaching the gospel in Salamis, Cyprus, he became so popular that he annoyed a group of Jews who were angry at his success that began arguing with him. The argument turned to violence and they fell upon him, dragged him out of the synagogue where he was talking, and stoned him to death. His kinsman, John Mark, privately interred his body. He is said to be the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The feast day of Barnabas is celebrated on 11 June and he is usually identified as the cousin of Mark the Evangelist. The dedication was chosen due to the missionary nature of the church set up on this site. The local area in the early 20thCentury was a mission district (specifically, from 1906), where the church aimed to establish and foster a local religious community. This was under the aegis of Christ Church in Colliers Wood, along with old boys from City of London School. The initial missionary building was a basic building, housing a single room; it was known as the tin church. The current building was designed by H. P. Burke Downing, the foundation stone being laid on May 17, 1913, and the church was completed on November 14, 1914. The church was Grade II listed by English Heritage on September 2, 1988. This was laid out over land that once formed Biggin Farm, later Goring Park.
