Grove Gardens Chapel is a Grade II listed building in Richmond Old Cemetery, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. [1] It was built in 1877 by Sir Arthur Blomfield in the Gothic Revival style as the Anglican chapel for the cemetery. [2] It is currently in the care of Habitats & Heritage.
The land on which Richmond cemetery now sits was first used as a burial plot in 1786, after George III donated the land to Richmond Vestry. [3] However, it was not until 1856 that the cemetery was converted to municipal use by the parish. [4] As was common in the Victorian period, two chapels were built to meet the demand of the separate Anglican and non-conformist congregations. [5] It is likely that these were temporary, corrugated tin structures, or tabernacles, from the 1850s until Richmond's growing population made more permanent structures necessary. [6]
The Vestry of Richmond commissioned two chapels in the 1870s. [7] Sir Arthur Blomfield is known to have built the Anglican Chapel, now known as Grove Gardens Chapel. However, it is not documented who designed the Non-Conformist Chapel, now a private residence on the outer boundary of the cemetery. Canon Charles Tickell Proctor, the Vicar of Richmond in the 1870s, controversially built a wall to separate the consecrated ground and non-conformist area. [8] It was not until the Bishop of Winchester, in whose Diocese the parish then sat, intervened that the wall was taken down. [9] Shortly after the chapels were built, the parish was transferred to the Diocese of Rochester in 1877, and has been in the Diocese of Southwark since 1905. [10]
The land on which the burial ground sits was originally part of a common, used in the 17th century for Richmond's Pest House, a place to house those sick with the Great Plague. [11] In 1785 a large area of the land was granted to the Vestry for the building of a workhouse and burial ground. [12] A small portion of the common, now known as Pesthouse Common, is extant along Queen's Road.
The Richmond Union Workhouse was built to the southwest of Grove Gardens Chapel in 1786-87. It was possibly designed by Kenton Couse, who has one of the architects for Richmond Bridge. [13] It was converted into residential use in 1987 as part of the London & Quadrant Housing Association and Richmond Parish Lands Charity Queen's Road Estate scheme; the southern part, Kingsmead, became public housing, and a gated estate, King George's Square, was built on the northern area. [14] The Grade II listed central block of the Workhouse still exists as part of the estate. [15]
Grove Gardens Chapel sits opposite John Darbourne and Geoffrey Darke’s Phase 2 of the Queens Road Estate. [16] Phase 2, between Greville Road and Park Hill, was built from 1978 to provide mixed social housing, and was separated from the Grade II listed Phase 1 scheme by the later Phase 3, which includes the Cambrian Community Centre. [17]
Grove Gardens Chapel is built in a cruciform plan of Kentish ragstone with Bath stone detailing. [18] There is evidence to the west end of the tiled roof of a flèche. The entrance arch is inscribed with a truncated quote from John 19:41 from the King James Bible, ‘In the Garden there was a new sepulchre, there laid they Jesus’. [19] There was originally a statue of Joseph of Arimathea by Farmer & Brindley in the niche above the entrance arch, which has since been lost. [20] The altar has been removed, however, there is a three-panelled mosaic reredos portraying scenes from the annunciation. This is recorded as having been made by Daniel Bell, brother of Alfred Bell of Clayton & Bell. [21] Above the reredos are three lancet windows with one surviving panel of stained glass, also by Daniel Bell, showing the Ascension of Christ. [22] The brass fireplace in the south transept is likely to be a Thomas Jeckyll design, produced by the Barnard, Bishop & Barnards foundry. [23] [24]
Grove Gardens Chapel was built in the Gothic Revival style, which had first been used by Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill and grew to increasing prominence throughout the 19th century. [25] The chapel was built as the style was starting to lose steam, but was still popular for churches and university buildings. [26] From the mid-19th century to circa 1885, the Gothic Revival style moved away from the picturesque of the early revival to what is classed as the ‘High Victorian Gothic’. [27] This placed more emphasis on polychromatic decoration for public buildings, as encouraged by the Ecclesiological Society, with banded masonry and brickwork. [28] This style is evident in the contrasting stone trim around the windows and doors of the chapel.
The chapel was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield (1829-1899), born at Fulham Palace, the fourth son of the Bishop of London. [29] Blomfield began his ecclesiastical architecture practice in 1856 and was made the architect to the Diocese of Winchester, which Richmond was part of when Grove Gardens Chapel was built. [30] He was a prominent architect, becoming President of the Architectural Association in 1861, Vice-President of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1886, and knighted in 1889. [31] Whilst Blomfield was known for his works at the Bank of England and as far afield as the Falkland Islands, he also was responsible for a number of ecclesiastical works in the borough of Richmond upon Thames. [32] These included altering the aisles of St Mary Magdalene in 1866 and designed the chancel screen for its daughter church, St Matthias. [33] [34]
The Richmond old burial ground covers approximately 4 acres, with over 1000 graves. [35] Richmond Local History Society carried out a survey of the burial grounds in the early 2000s, documenting the graves of over 2000 people. [36] Among the many notable persons buried in the grounds, Charles Tickell Proctor, the Vicar of Richmond who helped to build the chapel, is buried to the south of the entrance along with many members of his family. William Francis who, with Richard Taylor, formed the publishers Taylor & Francis, is buried to the south east. [37] Walter Hood Fitch, a prominent botanical illustrator who worked with William Jackson Hooker at Kew Gardens, is buried to the east of the chapel. [38]
Richmond Cemetery was enlarged and joined with East Sheen Cemetery and Barnes Cemetery in the early 20th century. [39] With the burial ground full, Grove Gardens Chapel was deconsecrated and closed in the 1960s. The Richmond Burial Ground Trust manages the old cemetery ground with Richmond Council. [40]
After 30 years of neglect and decay, the chapel was recognised for its architectural merit and Grade II listed on 15 May 1990. [41] The Environment Trust of Richmond led a four-year National Lottery Fund project to restore it in the early 2000s, bringing it into use for the community. It was then used by the Steiner kindergarten, The Children's Garden, until 2020. [42]
The chapel is now suffering from severe cracking caused by subsidence as a result of climate change. Habitats & Heritage, who care for the building, are working to stabilise the structure for the future. [43]
Kew is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is also the home of important historical documents such as Domesday Book, which is held at The National Archives.
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in 1886. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied Architecture.
Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the district council ward as 4,477.
Anfield Cemetery, or the City of Liverpool Cemetery, is located in Anfield, a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It lies to the northeast of Stanley Park, and is bounded by Walton Lane to the west, Priory Road to the south, a railway line to the north, and the gardens of houses on Ince Avenue to the east. The cemetery grounds are included in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens at Grade II*.
Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period.
St. Paul's Cathedral is a Church of North India (CNI) cathedral of Anglican background in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, noted for its Gothic architecture and dedicated to Paul the Apostle. It is the seat of the Diocese of Calcutta. The cornerstone was laid in 1839; the building was completed in 1847. It is said to be the largest church in Kolkata and the first Anglican cathedral in Asia. It was also the first new-built cathedral in the overseas territory of the British Empire. The edifice stands on Cathedral Road on the "island of attractions," the site chosen in order to provide for more space for the growing population of the European community in Calcutta in the 1800s.
Colchester in Essex, England, has a number of notable churches.
Locksbrook Cemetery is a municipal cemetery located in Lower Weston, Bath, England. It was opened in 1864 as Walcot Cemetery, and occupies 12 acres (4.9 ha), originally serving the parishes of Walcot, Weston and St Saviour's. The cemetery was closed for general use in 1937 with over 30,000 interments there, though additional burials in existing graves continue. The majority of the cemetery was for about 29,500 burials from Walcot parish, with the north of the cemetery for Weston and St Saviour parishes.
Among the places of worship in the town and area of Malvern, Worcestershire are centres of dedication to many faiths and denominations. The town has 31 Christian churches with 11 belonging to the Church of England, ranging from low church to high Anglo-Catholic, two Roman Catholic, one Evangelical, and the others being Non-Conformist and other faiths. Its oldest place of worship is the almost cathedral sized parish church of Great Malvern Priory which is all that remains of the former 10th century abbey in central Malvern, which according to the Worcester Monastic Annals, work began in 1085. The chain of Malvern Hills lies in a north-south direction, thus posing a challenge for the architects of Christian churches located on the steep slopes, chancels being traditionally sited at the east end of the building. Many churches were built in the 19th century concomitant with the rapid expansion of the town due to its popularity as a spa. A few modern buildings such as St Mary's Church (1960) in Sherrard's Green, have been constructed in the second half of the 20th century, and some churches, notably St Andrews in Poolbrook, have had important modern extensions added during the first decade of the 21st century.
Welford Road Cemetery is a public cemetery in Leicester, England.
The Church of the Holy Trinity, Privett, is a redundant Anglican church in the parish of Froxfield and Privett, Hampshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
The English coastal city of Brighton and Hove, made up of the formerly separate Boroughs of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, has a wide range of cemeteries throughout its urban area. Many were established in the mid-19th century, a time in which the Victorian "cult of death" encouraged extravagant, expensive memorials set in carefully cultivated landscapes which were even recommended as tourist attractions. Some of the largest, such as the Extra Mural Cemetery and the Brighton and Preston Cemetery, were set in particularly impressive natural landscapes. Brighton and Hove City Council, the local authority responsible for public services in the city, manages seven cemeteries, one of which also has the city's main crematorium. An eighth cemetery and a second crematorium are owned by a private company. Many cemeteries are full and no longer accept new burials. The council maintains administrative offices and a mortuary at the Woodvale Cemetery, and employs a coroner and support staff.
Christ Church is an Anglican church in the town and seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Opened as the town's third Anglican church in 1860 to serve a rapidly developing residential area and to accommodate poor worshippers who could not afford pew rents at the fashionable St Leonard's and St Mary Magdalene's Churches, the original building was superseded by a much larger church built next to it between 1873 and 1875. Prolific ecclesiastical architect Sir Arthur Blomfield's simple Gothic Revival design forms a landmark on one of St Leonards-on-Sea's main roads, continues to serve a large area of the town and maintains a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. It has been described as Blomfield's "finest achievement in Sussex" and "one of the main centres of Anglo-Catholic worship in Southern England". The interior fittings are the best of any church in the borough, and the design has been called one of Blomfield's most successful. St John the Evangelist's Church, founded as a daughter church nearby in 1865, also continues to thrive as a separate parish church. Historic England has listed Christ Church at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
All Souls Church is a former Anglican church that served the Clive Vale suburb of Hastings, a seaside resort town and borough in the English county of East Sussex, between 1890 and 2007. The "large [and] serious town church" has been described as one of the best works by prolific ecclesiastical architect Arthur Blomfield. Built almost wholly of brick, inside and out, it dominates the streetscape of the late Victorian suburb and has a tall, "dramatic" interior displaying many of Blomfield's favourite architectural features. The church also has Heaton, Butler and Bayne stained glass and an elaborate reredos. Falling attendances and high maintenance costs caused it to close after a final service in November 2007, and the Diocese of Chichester officially declared it redundant soon afterwards. English Heritage has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
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St Mary Magdalene, Richmond, in the Anglican Diocese of Southwark, is a Grade II* listed parish church on Paradise Road, Richmond, London. The church, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene, was built in the early 16th century but has been greatly altered so that, apart from the tower, the visible parts of the church date from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Act of Parliament the previous year. The cemetery has been expanded several times and now occupies a 15-acre (6-hectare) site which, prior to the expansion of London, was a rural area of Surrey. It is bounded to the east by Richmond Park and to the north by East Sheen Cemetery, with which it is now contiguous and whose chapel is used for services by both cemeteries. Richmond cemetery originally contained two chapels—one Anglican and one Nonconformist—both built in the Gothic revival style, but both are now privately owned and the Nonconformist chapel today falls outside the cemetery walls after a redrawing of its boundaries.
The Church of St John the Baptist, Leytonstone, is a 19th-century Church of England parish church in Leytonstone, East London, occupying a prominent position in the High Road. It is a Grade II listed building.
St Thomas of Canterbury Church, also known as St Thomas's, Rylston Road, is a Roman Catholic parish church in Fulham, central London. Designed in the Gothic Revival style by Augustus Pugin in 1847, the building is Grade II* listed with Historic England. It stands at 60 Rylston Road, Fulham, next to Pugin's Grade II listed presbytery, the churchyard, and St Thomas's primary school, also largely by Pugin, close to the junction with Lillie Road in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
Last week, on p. 603, under the heading " Richmond, Surrey," we mentioned Mr. Daniel Bell as the executant of the mosaics in the reredos at the new mortuary chapel, but assigned to other artists the stained-glass window above. Mr. Bell requests us to state that he designed and executed both glass and mosaics under the direction of Mr. Blomfield.
