St Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond Street Hospital

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St Christopher's Chapel
St Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond St Hospital, London, UK - Diliff.jpg
Interior of the chapel
St Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond Street Hospital
51°31′20″N0°07′16″W / 51.5222°N 0.121°W / 51.5222; -0.121
LocationGreat Ormond Street, Bloomsbury, London
CountryEngland
Denomination Anglican
History
StatusActive
Dedication Saint Christopher
Consecrated 18 November 1875
by Alfred Barry
Architecture
Functional status Hospital chapel
Heritage designation Grade II*
Designated10 March 1980
Architect(s) Edward Middleton Barry
Completed1875

St Christopher's Chapel is the chapel of Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England. It is a grade II* listed building and is noted for its highly decorated interior.

Contents

History

Great Ormond Street Hospital was built from 1871 to 1876, and the chapel was completed in 1875. [1] [2] It had been designed by Edward Middleton Barry who donated his work to the hospital in memory of one of his children who had died in infancy. [1] [3] The chapel cost £60,000 to build. [4] The chapel is a small rectangle with an apse at its east end. [1] Its interior is highly decorated. [5] The chapel was consecrated on 18 November 1875 by Canon Alfred Barry, later Bishop of Sydney and Primate of Australia. [4]

On 10 March 1980, the chapel was designated a grade II* listed building. [1]

Due to its listed status, the chapel could not be demolished when the old hospital building was knocked down in the 1980s. [2] It was decided that the whole chapel would be moved to a new site. [2] This was done by encasing the chapel in a large, water-proof box and underpinning with a concrete raft. [2] [6] Having emptied the interior of all its furniture and removed the stained glass windows, the now encased chapel was lowered from the first floor to the ground floor. [2] It was then moved by hydraulic rams to its new location; [2] this is "thought to be the largest en bloc transportation of a structure ever undertaken". [6] Six years after it was moved and after extensive renovation, the chapel was re-opened on 14 February 1994 by Diana, Princess of Wales. [2]

Present day

The "Teddy Bear Choir" behind the altar. St Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond St Hospital, London, UK - Diliff (teddy cropped).jpg
The "Teddy Bear Choir" behind the altar.

The chapel is open at all times. [7] There is a service of morning prayer at 10:30am during the week (Monday to Friday), and a service of Holy Communion on Wednesdays. [8]

Along the rear of the chapel is a row of teddy bears and other soft toys, provided by families of ill children, known as the Teddy Bear Choir. [5] In addition, the chapel has a prayer tree where messages of hope and support can be written for sick children at the hospital, and placed on the tree. [9]

Interior

The doorway leaving St Christopher's Chapel Doorways, St Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond Street Hospital WC1 - geograph.org.uk - 1305393.jpg
The doorway leaving St Christopher's Chapel

The chapel has been described as of the Franco-Italianate style and was influenced by the Renaissance Revival. [1] [3] The chapel "is divided by four columns, and has a central dome, with an apse at the east end". [5] The terrazzo floor was designed by Antonio Salviati, an Italian mosaicist, and is said to be influenced by a pavement in St Mark's Basilica, Venice. [2]

The interior is highly decorated with many of its images referring to childhood. [5] The central dome is "painted with musician angels around the rim and pelican in piety" in its centre. [1] The apse windows are stained glass designed by Clayton and Bell, and depict the childhood of Jesus Christ. [1] The ceiling of the apse is decorated with eight angels (Faith, Truth, Patience, Purity, Obedience, Charity, Honour and Hope) with a central roundel depicting the Lamb and flag. [1]

There are a number of Bible quotes with accompanying murals decorating the walls. These include "Suffer little children to come unto me" ( Luke 18:16 ) and "feed my lambs + feed my sheep" ( John 21:16 ). [1] [5] Above the door it states: "I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the House of the Lord" ( Psalm 122:1 )

Memorials

There are a number of memorial plaques on the walls of the chapel. They include:

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Historic England. "Great Ormond Street Hospital Chapel in Central Block (1113211)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lunnon, Raymond J. "The Chapel of St. Christopher" (pdf). Great Ormond Street Hospital. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 G. W. Burnet, 'Barry, Edward Middleton (1830–1880)', rev. David G. Blissett, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 16 June 2017
  4. 1 2 3 Baldwin, Nicholas (14 May 2017). "The Barry Family: A Victorian Architectural Dynasty and Great Ormond Street". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Banerjee, Jacqueline. "St Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, London, by E. M. Barry". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 Mann, Sebastian (12 December 2015). "Give to GOSH: Grade II-listed St Christopher's Chapel partially modelled on St Mark's Square and loved by Oscar Wilde". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "About the Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care team". Great Ormond Street Hospital. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Services". Great Ormond Street Hospital. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Prayers". Great Ormond Street Hospital. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "The history of Peter Pan and GOSH". Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity. Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Baldwin, Nick (19 December 2015). "Charles Dickens: A most unusual celebrity endorsement for GOSH". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Simpson-Smith, Alexander (1900 - 1942)". Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online. The Royal College of Surgeons of England. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
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