Beyond the Pale: Reading the White Interior in Contemporary Church Refurbishments

Historic churches are an integral feature of British cities, serving not only as places of worship but also as cultural attractions that draw growing numbers of secular visitors. In recent years, several parishes in London have employed celebrated architectural practices to renovate their historic churches with the intention of raising the profile of these buildings. An observable trend in such refurbishments are whitewashed interiors often replacing previously colourful schemes. This paper explores whether a current trend for white interiors suggests new directions in the social and religious cultures of Christianity. For example, do white spaces offer neutral territory for encounters between the sacred and secular, appealing to both worshippers and cultural tourists alike? Do such design schemes reflect a growing move away from collective congregational worship and towards private spirituality and contemplation? The paper presents three recently refurbished historic churches in London as case studies through which to explore these questions: St John-at-Hackney; St Augustine’s, Hammersmith; and St John’s Waterloo. The selected case studies offer examples from both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, suggesting possibilities for reading the trend as an expression of ecumenism. In conclusion, the paper asks whether austere white schemes, such as those presented in the case studies, offer unifying spaces for different worshipping and non-worshipping communities, or whether, as the Catholic priest and architectural theorist Peter Newby suggests, the emptying out of narrative content has stripped them of the ‘full immersive experience’ of Christian worship.