Grosvenor Chapel
Encyclopedia
Grosvenor Chapel, is an Anglican
church in what is now the City of Westminster
, England
, built in 1730s it inspired many churches in New England
. It is situated on South Audley Street in Mayfair
.
, owner of the surrounding property, who had leased the site for 99 years at a peppercorn
rent to a syndicate of four “undertakers” led by Benjamin Timbrell, a prosperous local builder.
The new building was completed and ready to use by April 1731.
Soon after the original 99-year lease ran out in 1829 the Chapel was brought within the parochial system as a chapel of ease to St George's, Hanover Square.
The Chapel has been the spiritual home to a number of famous people including John Wilkes
, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
, Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington
and his wife (parents to the Duke of Wellington), Florence Nightingale
, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
and Bishop Charles Gore
.
During the Second World War men and women of the American armed forces were welcomed to the Chapel for their Sunday services, as recorded on a tablet outside the west wall, and after the War the congregation regularly included such people as the writer Rose Macaulay
and Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death in 1984.
The Anglo-Catholic liturgical style of the chapel was expressed in the building by the introduction of fittings and adornments by Sir John Ninian Comper
in 1912-13.
. It was altered twice in the 19th c. by Bishop, and rebuilt in 1908 by Ingram. In 1930 J.W.Walker and Sons built a new two manual organ incorporating much second-hand pipework both from the old instrument and from elsewhere. This instrument was replaced in 1991 by William Drake, Organ Builder
of Buckfastleigh, Devon, who built a new organ in a broadly 18th c. English style.
A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
The Chapel enjoys a high standard of music with a resident professional group of 5 singers and an organist. The group is often augmented with other singers and instrumentalists for special occasions including an orchestra for Easter Day and the Requiem Mass on All Souls.
The choir performs a large range of music from Renaissance to the present day.
There are regular free lunchtime concerts on Tuesdays at 1.10pm
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
church in what is now the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, built in 1730s it inspired many churches in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. It is situated on South Audley Street in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
.
History
The foundation stone of the Grosvenor Chapel was laid on 7 April 1730 by Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th BaronetSir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet
Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet was an English Member of Parliament and an ancestor of the modern day Dukes of Westminster....
, owner of the surrounding property, who had leased the site for 99 years at a peppercorn
Peppercorn (legal)
A peppercorn in legal parlance is a metaphor for a very small payment, a nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract. "A peppercorn does not cease to be good consideration if it is established that the promisee does not like pepper and will throw...
rent to a syndicate of four “undertakers” led by Benjamin Timbrell, a prosperous local builder.
The new building was completed and ready to use by April 1731.
Soon after the original 99-year lease ran out in 1829 the Chapel was brought within the parochial system as a chapel of ease to St George's, Hanover Square.
The Chapel has been the spiritual home to a number of famous people including John Wilkes
John Wilkes
John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
The Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and writer. Montagu is today chiefly remembered for her letters, particularly her letters from Turkey, as wife to the British ambassador, which have been described by Billie Melman as “the very first example of a secular work by a woman about...
, Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington
Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington
Garret Colley Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington was an Anglo-Irish politician and composer, best known today for fathering several distinguished British military commanders and politicians.-Life:...
and his wife (parents to the Duke of Wellington), Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and Bishop Charles Gore
Charles Gore
Charles Gore was a British theologian and Anglican bishop.-Early life and education:Gore was the third son of the Honourable Charles Alexander Gore, and brother of the fourth Earl of Arran...
.
During the Second World War men and women of the American armed forces were welcomed to the Chapel for their Sunday services, as recorded on a tablet outside the west wall, and after the War the congregation regularly included such people as the writer Rose Macaulay
Rose Macaulay
Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, DBE was an English writer. She published thirty-five books, mostly novels but also biographies and travel writing....
and Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death in 1984.
Building
The simple classical form of the building, a plain rectangular box with two tiers of arched windows in the side walls, at the east a shallow projection for the communion table and at the west a portico over the pavement and a short spire containing a clock and bell to call the faithful to worship, is derived from recently completed churches such as James Gibbs’ St Martin in the Fields or John James’ St George's, Hanover Square. With the aid of these examples and the illustrations in numerous pattern books available at the time a competent builder like Timbrell, who had worked with Gibbs at St. Martin’s, could himself have easily produced the design for the Chapel without needing to commission an architect.The Anglo-Catholic liturgical style of the chapel was expressed in the building by the introduction of fittings and adornments by Sir John Ninian Comper
Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper was a Scottish-born architect. He was one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects, noted for his churches and their furnishings...
in 1912-13.
Music
The organ in Grosvenor Chapel was built by Abraham Jordan and installed in 1732 at the expense of Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th BaronetSir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet
Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet was an English Member of Parliament and an ancestor of the modern day Dukes of Westminster....
. It was altered twice in the 19th c. by Bishop, and rebuilt in 1908 by Ingram. In 1930 J.W.Walker and Sons built a new two manual organ incorporating much second-hand pipework both from the old instrument and from elsewhere. This instrument was replaced in 1991 by William Drake, Organ Builder
William Drake, Organ Builder
William Drake, Organ Builder is a manufacturer of pipe organs based out of the town of Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Drake has an appointment as an organ builder to the Queen....
of Buckfastleigh, Devon, who built a new organ in a broadly 18th c. English style.
A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
The Chapel enjoys a high standard of music with a resident professional group of 5 singers and an organist. The group is often augmented with other singers and instrumentalists for special occasions including an orchestra for Easter Day and the Requiem Mass on All Souls.
The choir performs a large range of music from Renaissance to the present day.
There are regular free lunchtime concerts on Tuesdays at 1.10pm
External links
- http://www.grosvenorchapel.org.uk/main.htm
- Deanery of Westminster (St Margaret)