Good Shepherd Mission Building in the Parish of Wood Green, London

the parish of wood green
london uk

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Good Shepherd mission building berwick road n22
	During Fr Midwinter's time as Vicar of St. Michael's (1908-30) he considered the idea of a temporary Mission building for the part of the Parish lying between St. Cuthbert, Chitts Hill and St. Benet Fink, Lordship Lane - the new Scotch Estate. A site was bought - the whole of the south side of Stirling Road between Berwick and Forfar Roads, and a building was erected and dedicated to the Good Shepherd on 22nd June 1916. The original building, much larger than the present one, with a capacity to seat 250 people, was constructed of wood and corrugated iron, and had formerly served in Neasden. Together with its separate Hall, built at the end of the War, the Good Shepherd represented a strong force for good on the Estate. It had its own Priest-in-charge, Fr A L Harriss between 1916-22, followed by a succession of curates from St. Michael's, and Church Army Captains The social life of the Good Shepherd is, and always has been happy and active. In the years before the Second World War it boasted a strong Youth Club; Mothers Meeting; Band of Hope; Men's Club; Ladies Sewing Guild; Cubs; Scouts, and the Brownies and Guides started in January 1929. Besides a strong choir, the 1944 Centenary History of St. Michael's records a Sunday School membership at the Good Shepherd of 150 children! By the late 1950's the old tin building had become structurally unsound, dry rot being discovered in 1956. The Vicar of St. Michael's, Fr Aldis, galvanised the Church into action, and after intensive fund-raising and the sale of a portion of the land that the Good Shepherd owned (where the Hall stood) a new dual-use hall was built. Its 'Sanctuary' was hidden during the week by a shutter which was raised for mass on Sundays. At the Licensing and Dedication of the new building on 20th July, 1961 the Bishop of Willesden knocked so loudly on the door with his Crozier that the glass nearly fell in! The Good Shepherd has been a small but significant missionary building. Sadly numbers attending mass declined over the years, and the Bishop of Edmonton, in consultation with the parish, decided to withdraw his Licence for the building to be used for worship.* Early in 2003, the Good Shepherd building was sold to another faith group - the proceeds of the sale were used for internal emergency works at St Michael, Wood Green, and to build the Annexe Project next to the parish church. * Good Shepherd Licence for Worship withdrawn .pdf file
	the illustrations on this page: top - view from across Stirling Road : bottom - Roll of Honour
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