St Paul's, Deptford, is one of London's finest Baroque parish churches, cited as "one of the most moving C18 churches in London" in the Buildings of England series. It was designed by gentleman architect Thomas Archer and built between 1712 and 1730 in Deptford, which was then a settlement in Kent but is now part of South East London. It was one of the 50 churches that were to be built by the New Church Commissioners, although only 12 were ultimately constructed. With St John's, Smith Square, it was one of two churches designed by Archer to be built under the Act.