St Stephen's, Gloucester Road

With the population of South Kensington expanding in the mid-Victorian period and the opening of Gloucester Road tube station in 1865, the Rev. John Sinclair, Vicar of Kensington and Archdeacon of Middlesex, arranged for the purchase of land from the Alexander estate to establish several new churches, including St Stephen's. A temporary iron church was erected on the east side of Gloucester Road in 1865 while designs were sought for a permanent building. St Stephen's was built in 1866–1867 to designs by the architect Joseph Peacock, though construction ended before a tower could be added. The new building was consecrated on 10 January 1867. Although the first vicar, the Rev. J. A. Aston,…