TheQueen's Chapel(officially,The Queen's Chapel St. James Palaceand previously theGerman Chapel) is a chapel in centralLondon,England. Designed byInigo Jones,it was built between 1623 and 1625 as an adjunct toSt. James's Palace,initially as a Catholic chapel for theInfanta Maria Anna of Spain,Holy Roman Empress, who in the end never used it because she didn't marry King Charles I of England. Afterwards, it was used by the woman he did marry, QueenHenrietta Maria of England,a Catholic, and her retinue. In later years, it served various continental Protestants who were resident at Court. It is one of the facilities of the British monarch's household religious establishment, theChapel Royal,but should not be confused with the 1540 liturgical building also known as theChapel Royal,which is within the palace, just across Marlborough Road. Queen's Chapel is aGrade Ilisted building.[1]
| Queen's Chapel | |
|---|---|
 Marlborough Road front | |
  Queen's Chapel | |
| 51°30′18″N0°08′13″W/ 51.50500°N 0.13694°W | |
| Location | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Inigo Jones |
| Years built | 1623–1625 |
History
editThe Queen's Chapel was built as a Catholic chapel at a time when the construction of churches for that denomination was otherwise prohibited in England, and was used byCharles I's wife French QueenHenrietta Maria,who imported chapel furnishings from France.[citation needed]During theEnglish Civil Warit was used as a stable.[citation needed]It was refurbished in 1662,[citation needed]and again in the 1680s byChristopher Wren.From the 1690s the chapel was used by theContinental Protestantcourtiers ofWilliamandMary.In 1718, the chapel was given over to German courtiers ofGeorge Iwho had moved to England with him. The chapel was then called theGerman Chapel.[citation needed]On 17 September 1782 the German organistAugustus Frederic Christopher Kollmannbegan work at the Royal German Chapel and he was there for the rest of his life.[2]He was succeeded by his son George Augustus Kollmann and his daughter Johanna Sophia Kollmann who died in 1849.[3]
It became an administeredChapel Royalagain in 1938.[4]
The chapel was built as an integral part of St James's Palace, but when the adjacent private apartments of the monarch burned down in 1809 they were not replaced, and in 1856–57 Marlborough Road was laid out between the palace and the Queen's Chapel. The result is that physically the chapel now appears to be more part of theMarlborough Housecomplex than of St James's Palace.[4]
The body ofQueen Elizabeth The Queen Motherlay at the Queen's Chapel for several days in 2002, during the preparations for her lying-in-state inWestminster Hallbefore herceremonial funeral.[5][6]
Architecture
editThe brick building is rendered to appear as if it were stone built.[1]It was built in aPalladianstyle.[7]It hasgableends withpediments.The interior vault is gilded and painted.[1]
Gallery
edit-
East and North walls
from Marlborough House grounds -
The Queen's Chapel in 1688 after refurnishing byChristopher Wrenin 1682–1684 -
The German Chapel in 1819 -
Plaque next to the Queen's Chapel
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abc"Queen's Chapel".National Heritage List for England.Historic England.Retrieved15 March2020.
- ^Kassler, Michael (2004).The English Bach Awakening: Knowledge Of J.s. Bach And His Music In England 1750–1830.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 20-22.ISBN978-1-84014-666-0.Retrieved2 February2013.
- ^Kassler, Michael (23 September 2004).Kollmann, Augustus Frederic Christopher (1756–1829), music theorist.Vol. 1. Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15805.
- ^abBradley, Simon (2001), "The Queen's Chapel in the Twentieth Century",Architectural History,44:293–302,doi:10.2307/1568758,JSTOR1568758
- ^"Gun salutes honour Queen Mother".The Guardian.Retrieved21 July2014.
- ^Timms, Elizabeth Jane."The Queen's Chapel, St James's".Royal Central.Retrieved15 March2020.
- ^"The Queen's Chapel (St James's Palace)".Open House London.Retrieved15 March2020.
Further reading
edit
- The Buildings of EnglandLondon 6: Westminster(2003) pages 587–88.
- "The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace".Retrieved8 December2019.(note services page not updated since 2018)
