St James's Church, Piccadilly | |
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Location | Piccadilly, London |
Country | England |
Denomination | Church of England |
Churchmanship | Liberal |
Website | www |
History | |
Dedication | James the Great |
Dedicated | 13 July 1684 |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade I |
Architect(s) | Christopher Wren |
Administration | |
Diocese | Diocese of London |
Clergy | |
Rector | Lucy Winkett |
Assistant priest(s) | Ayla Lepine |
Curate(s) | Mariama Ifode-Blease |
NSM(s) | Daniel Norris Ivan Khovacs |
Laity | |
Churchwarden(s) | Claire Wright and Dee Hetherington |
St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren.
The church is built of red brick with Portland stone dressings. Its interior has galleries on three sides supported by square pillars and the nave has a barrel vault supported by Corinthian columns. The carved marble font and limewood reredos are both notable examples of the work of Grinling Gibbons. In 1902, an outside pulpit was erected on the north wall of the church. It was designed by Temple Moore and carved by Laurence Arthur Turner. It was damaged in 1940, but restored at the same time as the rest of the fabric. [1]
In 1662, Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, was granted land for residential development on what was then the outskirts of London. He set aside land for the building of a parish church and churchyard on the south side of what is now Piccadilly. Christopher Wren was appointed the architect in 1672 and the church was consecrated on 13 July 1684 by Henry Compton, the Bishop of London. In 1685 the parish of St James was created for the church.
The church was severely damaged by enemy action in the London Blitz on 14 October 1940. [2] After the war ended, the church was restored by Sir Albert Richardson. Specialist contractors, Rattee and Kett, of Cambridge, under the supervision of Messrs. W. F. Heslop and F. Brigmore, undertook restoration work, which was completed in 1954. [3] The old lead-covered spire was replaced by a much lighter fibreglass copy. [4] The restored interior, with its pews and light fittings, represents a rare survival of a full suite of church furnishing by Richardson. Southwood Garden was created in the churchyard by Viscount Southwood after the Second World War as a garden of remembrance, "to commemorate the courage and fortitude of the people of London", and was opened by Queen Mary in 1946. [5]
Like many central London churches surrounded by commercial buildings and ever fewer local people, St James's lost numbers and momentum in the 1960s and 1970s. When, in 1980, Donald Reeves was offered the post of rector, the bishop allegedly said "I don't mind what you do, just keep it open." [6] During that decade and most of the 1990s numbers and activity grew, the clergy and congregation gaining a reputation for being a progressive, liberal and campaigning church. That has continued. The "congregation" rejects that description and prefers "community". It is centred on the Eucharist, the celebration of the principal Christian sacrament. It finds expression in a wide range of interest groups: spiritual explorers, labyrinth walking, Julian prayer meetings, the Vagabonds group (a lively discussion group which takes its name from a William Blake poem and in faithfulness to that text meets in a local alehouse), an LGBT group and many others. The community has actively supported, and supports, the ordination of women to all the orders of the church, the just treatment of asylum seekers and those living in poverty. It celebrates what it regards as the "radical welcome" found in the heart of the Gospels and attested to by the Incarnation. The church was embroiled in a controversy in 2023 after organizing a drag show in the Church, [7] it drew some criticism, being described as "inappropriate". [8] In May 2024 St James's was the first church to have a show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Its gold award-winning 'Imagine the World to be Different' garden was designed by Robert Myers to highlight the restorative power of urban green spaces and was sponsored by Project Giving Back in support of its fundraising campaign for the Wren Project, to revitalise the church and garden. [9] [10] [11]
The west wall of the Church is dominated by a sumptuous organ case of carved and gilded oak by Grinling Gibbons, which originally contained an organ by Renatus Harris, originally built for the Roman Catholic chapel in Whitehall Palace, and installed here in 1691. This organ was entirely rebuilt in 1852 by J. C. Bishop, who added the choir case that now sits in front of the original Gibbons Case. A restoration project has been underway since at least 1982, [12] which has not yet come to fruition. The current proposal is to re-build a new organ within the historic case. [13] At present, the case sits empty, and an electronic replacement is used instead.
Concerts are regularly held in the church. [14] Concerts have included performances by popular contemporary musicians such as John Grant, [15] Tokio Myers, [16] Victoria Canal, R.E.M., [17] the folk musician Laura Marling as part of her "church tour", [18] the collegiate Indian-American music group Penn Masala [19] and Devin Townsend on his 2015 UK acoustic tour. [20]
Hauser & Wirth, a contemporary art gallery, ran a programme of outdoor sculpture exhibitions in Southwood Garden in the grounds of the church in 2009–2010. The first exhibition was of work by the Swiss sculptor Hans Josephsohn. [21]
From 23 December 2013 to 5 January 2014 the "Bethlehem Unwrapped" demonstration against the Israeli West Bank barrier featured an art installation by Justin Butcher, Geof Thompson, and Dean Willars, which included a large replica section of the wall. The installation blocked the view of the church, other than a section of the top of the tower, which was stated by church authorities to be part of the point of the demonstration.
Following a short-term residency based in the bell tower at St James's, Turner Prize nominated artist Jesse Darling's Miserere (a substantial new work in the form of a choir or congregation) was installed in the church 12-16 October 2022. [22]
In September 2023, a series of murals by Che Lovelace were unveiled in the church, to mark the 250th anniversary of the baptism of abolitionist Ottobah Cugoano, which took place at St James's in 1773; it was the first permanent artwork commissioned by the church, as well as the first anywhere in the world to commemorate Cugoano. [23]
† Rector died in post
Saint James, Westminster Improvement Act 1789 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Act for providing an additional Burying Ground for the Parish of Saint James, Westminster, and erecting a Chapel adjoining thereto, and also a House for the Residence of a Clergyman to officiate in burying the Dead. |
Citation | 29 Geo. 3. c. 47 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 31 July 1789 |
A separate burial ground [34] of St James's Church was developed in Camden, [35] [36] in use from 1790 until 1853. [37] It had been obtained via a 1789 act of Parliament (29 Geo. 3. c. 47), which also provided for the erection of a chapel of ease for the parish, designed by Thomas Hardwick and opening in 1791. [38]
With the railway-related expansion around Euston Station, the Chapel was given a parish of its own in 1871, [39] but the cemetery fell into disrepair and became St James's Gardens in 1878 with only a few gravestones lining the edges of the park. [40] Part of the Gardens, located between Hampstead Road and Euston railway station, was built over when Euston station was expanded [41] in around 1887. To avoid public outcry, the affected remains were reinterred at St Pancras Cemetery. [42] The Gardens were closed to the public in 2017 [43] to allow the further expansion of Euston station for the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project. [44] Between October 2018 and 2020, archaeologists working on HS2 excavated approximately 40,000 burials. [44] It was proposed to re-bury the remains after they had been examined by osteo-archaeologists. [44] The remains were agreed to be re-interred at Surrey's Brookwood Cemetery which has received relocated remains from London since the 1870s. While almost all remains would be relocated there, it was agreed in 2019 that Matthew Flinders' remains would be buried in his home village of Donington, Lincolnshire. [45] Work to prepare for the arrival of the remains at Brookwood began around August 2020 and was completed sometime after November 2020. [46] The Church hosted an exhibition, Stories of St James's Burial Ground, with Museum of London Archaeology in spring 2023. [47]
Notable burials included:
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick Carden. The cemetery opened in 1833 and comprises 72 acres (29 ha) of grounds, including two conservation areas, adjoining a canal. The cemetery is home to at least 33 species of bird and other wildlife. This distinctive cemetery has memorials ranging from large mausoleums housing the rich and famous to many distinctive smaller graves and includes special areas dedicated to the very young. It has three chapels and serves all faiths. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries in London.
Euston railway station is a major central London railway terminus managed by Network Rail in the London Borough of Camden. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railway. Euston is the tenth-busiest station in Britain and the country's busiest inter-city passenger terminal, being the gateway from London to the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland.
Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
West Norwood Cemetery is a 40-acre (16 ha) rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and ecological interest.
Brompton Cemetery is since 1852 the first London cemetery to be Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Established by Act of Parliament and laid out in 1839, it opened in 1840. Consecrated by Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London, in June 1840, it is one of Britain's oldest and most distinguished garden cemeteries. Some 35,000 monuments, from simple headstones to substantial mausolea, mark more than 205,000 resting places. The site includes large plots for family mausolea, and common graves where coffins are piled deep into the earth. It also has a small columbarium, and a secluded Garden of Remembrance at the northern end for cremated remains. The cemetery continues to be open for burials. It is also known as an urban haven for nature. In 2014, it was awarded a National Lottery grant to carry out essential restoration and develop a visitor centre, among other improvements. The restoration work was completed in 2018.
Ottobah Cugoano, also known as John Stuart, was a British abolitionist and activist who was born in West Africa. Born into a Fante family in Ajumako, he was sold into slavery at the age of thirteen and shipped to Grenada in the West Indies. In 1772, he was purchased by a merchant who took him to England, where Cugoano learned to read and write, and was emancipated. Eventually, he started working for the artists Richard and Maria Cosway, becoming acquainted with several promiment British political and cultural figures as a result. He joined the Sons of Africa, a group of Black abolitionists in Britain, and died at some point after 1791.
St Mary Aldermanbury was a parish church in the City of London first mentioned in 1181 and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt in Portland stone by Christopher Wren, it was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls standing. These stones were transported to Fulton, Missouri in 1966, by the residents of that town, and rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College as a memorial to Winston Churchill. Churchill had made his Sinews of Peace, "Iron Curtain" speech in the Westminster College Gymnasium in 1946.
George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, KG, styled Earl of Euston until 1811, was a British peer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1782 to 1811 when he succeeded to the Dukedom.
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras.
St Helen's Bishopsgate is an Anglican church in London. It is located in Great St Helen's, off Bishopsgate.
Matthew Wren was an influential English clergyman, bishop and scholar.
Postman's Park is a public garden in central London, a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St. Martin's Le Grand, King Edward Street, and the site of the former headquarters of the General Post Office (GPO), it is one of the largest open spaces in the City of London.
Captain Matthew Flinders was a Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to utilise the name Australia to describe the entirety of that continent including Van Diemen's Land, a title he regarded as being "more agreeable to the ear" than previous names such as Terra Australis.
Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Saint Paul, this building was perhaps the fourth such church at this site on Ludgate Hill, going back to the 7th century.
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St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near Oxford Street. The church there was demolished in 1400 and a new one erected further north. This was completely rebuilt in 1740–42, and converted into a chapel-of-ease when Hardwick's church was constructed. The Marylebone area takes its name from the church. Located behind the church is St Marylebone School, a Church of England school for girls.
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