Built in 1960 to a modernist design by architect D. J. Pamplin, St. Francis of Assisi is an Anglican church located in the centre of the massive Temple Farm housing estate built in the 1950s immediately to the south of the old A2 (Watling Street). The population of the parish is one of the most densely populated in Kent, with around 15,000 people living within a mile of the church. The parish includes pockets of severe deprivation and pleasingly St. Francis has adopted a community focused outlook. The church building is used by a number of community groups. In 2013 the church "rescued" a ten foot tall fibreglass statue of Jesus designed by sculptor Ernest Pascoe from St. Augustine's church in Whitchurch, Bristol.
This 1960s church had closed in 2007 and had remained derelict prior to being rebuilt in 2013 - but the statue was no longer needed. It has since found a new home in Strood where it hangs above the entrance door to the vestry / community rooms on the south side of the church.Text by Rob Baker
