The Welsh Presbyterian Chapel is a former Presbyterian Church of Wales church on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London, England. It was opened in 1888; the last service was held in July 1982. It was the site of the Limelight nightclub in the 1980s.
The chapel was designed by James Cubitt in the Romanesque Revival style and built in 1888. [1] It is made from white brick 'Yorkshire parpoints' with Ancaster stone dressings topped by a slate roof. Internally it is dominated by a large central square space with short transepts to the east and west. An organ was situated above the gallery behind the pulpit. The chapel has a prominent octagonal dome. In 1984 it was converted internally for use as an office. [1] The chapel was built as a Presbyterian church for the Welsh community in London. [2] The interconnected Minister's house is located at 136 Shaftesbury Avenue and was the official entrance to the chapel. [3] The building facing Shaftesbury Avenue housed the chapel's library. It is a four-storey house in red brick designed to be reminiscent of the medieval domestic architecture of Bruges. [3]
The chapel was listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England in February 1982. [1]
The Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Connexion leased the site from the Metropolitan Board of Works in November 1886. [4] The creation of Shaftesbury Avenue in 1884 by the Metropolitan Board of Works had necessitated the move from the group's previous chapel in Nassau Street (now Gerrard Place). The freehold of the site was acquired by the group from London County Council in 1889. [4] The first marriage to take place at the chapel was between the educationalist Dilys Glynne Jones (born Davies) and John Glynne Jones from Bangor. [5]
Prior to the Second World War the chapel had the largest weekly attendance of any the Welsh chapels of London. In 1903 a Sunday service at the chapel was attended by 623 people. [6] The chapel was perceived as the most 'fashionable' of London's Welsh chapels due to its location in the West End. The services were attended by prominent Welsh businesspeople, politicians, and lawyers based in London. [6] The presiding minister, Peter Hughes Griffths, was a celebrity in his native Wales and served as the minister at the chapel from 1902 until his death in 1937. [6] The chapel was the first of the Welsh chapels in London to close. [6] The last service was held at the chapel on 9 July 1982. [7] It was sold in March 1985 for £1 million. [8]
In the 1980s the chapel was the site of the Limelight nightclub, which saw performers such as Boy George and Duran Duran at the venue. [1] It subsequently became a branch of the Walkabout Australian themed pub chain. [1] It was bought by a Ukrainian philanthropist in 2011; it is owned by the charity Stone Nest. [9] [2] [10] Stone Nest were granted approval by Westminster City Council in 2018 to transform the site into a space for the performing arts as well as hosting a restaurant and bar. [2]
In November 2023 the former chapel and minister's house were put up for sale through Knight Frank, with a guide price of £14,750,000. [11]
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus, which then merges into Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of Charing Cross at the south side of Trafalgar Square. It connects via St Martin's Place and the motorised east side of the square.
Charing Cross is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. Clockwise from north, the routes that meet at Charing Cross are the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; Northumberland Avenue leading to the Thames Embankment; Whitehall leading to Parliament Square; The Mall leading to Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace; and two short roads leading to Pall Mall.
Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly Circus to Cambridge Circus, it is in the City of Westminster, and from Cambridge Circus to New Oxford Street, it is in the London Borough of Camden.
The Limelight was a chain of nightclubs owned and operated by Peter Gatien. It had locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Hallandale, Florida.
Nevern is both a parish and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the settlements of Felindre Farchog, Monington, Moylgrove and Bayvil. The small village lies in the Nevern valley near the Preseli Hills of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park 2 miles (3 km) east of Newport on the B4582 road.
The Presbyterian Church of Wales, also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church, is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales.
Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretary of state to Charles II.
The Phoenix Garden is a local community garden in central London, England, established in 1984. Located in St Giles behind the Phoenix Theatre, within the London Borough of Camden, the Phoenix Garden is nestled between the busy Soho and Covent Garden areas. The Garden is located just off St Giles Passage and Stacey Street, north of Shaftesbury Avenue and east of Charing Cross Road.
The Shaftesbury Theatre was a theatre in central London, England, between 1888 and 1941. It was built by John Lancaster for his wife, Ellen Wallis, a well-known Shakespearean actress. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps and built by Messrs. Patman and Fotheringham at a cost of £20,000 and opened with a production of As You Like It on 20 October 1888.
Wesley's Chapel is a Methodist church situated in the St Luke's area in the south of the London Borough of Islington. Opened in 1778, it was built under the direction of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. The site is a place of worship and visitor attraction, incorporating the Museum of Methodism in its crypt and John Wesley's House next to the chapel. The chapel has been called "The Mother Church of World Methodism".
Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and the second oldest extant school in Wales.
Avenue St. Andrew's is a United Reformed Church in Southampton, England. Part of the church building is Grade II listed.
The Borough Welsh Congregational Chapel is the mother chapel of the Welsh Congregational church in London, England. It is located at 90 Southwark Bridge Road in Southwark, a district also known as "The Borough".
W. & G. Audsley was the architectural practice founded in Liverpool, UK, by Scottish Brothers William James Audsley and George Ashdown Audsley.
Welsh Presbyterian Church may refer to:
St James' Presbyterian Church was a church in The Haymarket, St James, Bristol, England.
St Michael's Church, Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog, is a former parish church in Anglesey, Wales, which is now closed and in ruins. The structure dates from the 15th century and a chapel was added to the north side in the 17th century. A replacement church was built elsewhere in the parish in 1847, and the old church was closed, partly demolished and abandoned. Some restoration work has taken place in the 21st century and some occasional services have been held.
The Jewin Welsh Presbyterian Chapel is a Presbyterian Church of Wales church in Clerkenwell, London, England.
The Welsh Church of Central London, also known as The Welsh Baptist Chapel is a Welsh Baptist church in Eastcastle Street, in the City of Westminster, London, England. The church building is a grade II listed building with Historic England on the National Heritage List for England. It currently performs Baptist services bilingually in English and in Welsh as well as hosting concerts following a merger of the Welsh Baptist church with two nearby Independent churches in 2006.
Dilys Glynne Jones (1857–1932) was an advocate for the education of girls and women in Wales. The University College of North Wales lowered its flag to half mast on the day of her funeral.
