History

In the 19th century churchgoing Christians founded a large number of churches and
chapels in the Anglican Tradition of which St. Jude’s was one. They were concerned about matters which seem less important today. From St. Mary’s

Balham three groups began ‘church plants’ locally. One became St. Stephen’s Clapham Park, one vanished and the third is St. Judes. The congregation first met in 1887.

Balham was a rapidly growing area. The original church occupied the site of what is now Balham Park Mansions. It was a ‘tin tabernacle’ and it was replaced in 1892 by the generosity of Miss Eliza Martha Bell, a local landowner, who at Park Hill, Upper Tooting. She made it possible for trustees to the land and funds to erect the
church and the large hall that adjoins it.

In 1935 the rooms on Sarsfeld Road were erected to meet rising usage of the premises. The church was badly damaged in April 1941 and further damaged in 1944 but continued to function throughout and it was formally re-opened as fully restored in 1953.

Like many congregations local churches were the focus of community events, uniformed organizations, Guides and Scouts, Sunday Schools and Women’s Fellowship and St. Jude’s played a full part in these together with other local churches.

The memorial board recalls the names of those who gave their lives in the Second World War and Korea.

Missionary work abroad was also supported.In over 130 years of existence there have been only eight ministers, two of whom were raised to the episcopate. Thus there has been stability in the ethos of the congregation.

Today, in very different circumstances the congregation continues to make available itself and its resources to the community as part of its Gospel witness. We remain faithful to that and to our forms of worship. We continue to value our openness to the spirit of enquiry within a community that believes by belonging and which welcomes the doubters and the seekers equally with the committed.