The Mission Church of St Gabriel (first known as St Peter's) was in the charge of St Michael-at-Bowes, and came into being in 1883. No written accounts of this period are to hand, but the first magazine was published in 1901. The old mission building (shown below) stood where shops and flats are now to be seen.

A Building Committee for the permanent Church was formed in October 1902, and the Vicar of Wood Green was asked to become Chairman in recognition of the fact that the site for the new building, given by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, was in his parish.
The Bishop of Islington gave his blessing to the venture remarking, that " St. Gabriel's Mission Church was erected over 20 years ago, and was, until recently, adequate with its 250 sittings for this sparsely inhabited neighbourhood ". The architect was Mr. T. B. Carter of Staple Inn, and grants were promised for the new Church from the Bishop of London's Fund £l,250, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (landlords of the Church) £250, Diocesan Church Building Society £20. The amount in the bank from gifts and collections totalled £222 5s. 5d.
The total amount required for the new building was £4,800, and with further gifts of £280, the work was begun. Messrs. Knight and Sons of Edmonton were given the contract and the erection of the first four bays with processional aisles and a seating capacity of 500, was at last on its way.

The Foundation Stone was laid on November 4th 1905 - and on May 10th 1906, the Rt Rev.d Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London, consecrated the new church of St Gabriel, Bounds Green. The new Parish of St Gabriel was formed from parts of St Michael, Wood Green, St Michael-at-Bowes and St Paul, New Southgate parishes, and the induction of the first Vicar (Fr. A L Gardiner), was held on December 7th 1906.
The church was finally completed on March 14th 1915 having cost £6,389 0s. 0d.

On October 4th 1936, the foundation stone of the Church Hall was laid by the Archdeacon of Middlesex. The hall was finished and opened in May 1937.

the illustrations on this page:
top - the Mission Church : center - the new St Gabriel's from Brownlow Road : bottom - inside St Gabriel's facing east : St Gabriel's Roll of Honour (on display at Bruce Castle Museum) : St Gabriel's from Bounds Green Road : Work under way taking the building down : The Organ Gallery

Project to build a new St Gabriel's not to go ahead  .pdf file

Blessing of re-sited Foundation Stone
The foundation stone from St Gabriel’s Hall (demolished in 1997), had been kept to be incorporated into any new church building on the site of the old St Gabriel’s Church. That stone, and a new one which commemorates the site of the former St Gabriel’s Church have been positioned as a focal point at the entrance of Madison Apartments.
The Bishop of Edmonton, Rt Revd Peter Wheatley, blessed the stones at the formal opening ceremony of St Gabriel's Court have been developed by Tower Homes.
Residents and members of the St Gabriel's joined in the ceremony.

[N.B. The newspaper article (right) reporting this event contains various inaccuracies.
eg St Gabriel's Church hall was demolished in 1997 - the foundation stone is from the hall]

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