St George's, Bloomsbury
| St George's, Bloomsbury | |
|---|---|
| Parish Church of Saint George in Bloomsbury | |
 | |
 | |
| Location | Bloomsbury Way,Bloomsbury,LondonWC1A 2SA |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic |
| Website | stgeorgesbloomsbury |
| History | |
| Founded | 1730 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Architect(s) | Nicholas Hawksmoor |
| Style | Classical |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | London |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | David Peebles |
| Honorarypriest(s) | Rene Jarrett James Walters |
| Laity | |
| Churchwarden(s) |
|
St George's, Bloomsbury,is aparish churchinBloomsbury,London Borough of Camden,United Kingdom. It was designed byNicholas Hawksmoorand consecrated in 1730. The church crypt houses the Museum of Comedy.
History[edit]
TheCommissioners for the Fifty New ChurchesAct of 1711 realised that, due to rapid development in the Bloomsbury area during the latter part of the 17th and early part of the 18th centuries, the area (then part of the parish ofSt Giles in the Fields) needed to be split off and given a parish church of its own. They appointedNicholas Hawksmoor,a pupil and former assistant of SirChristopher Wren,to design and build this church, which he then did between 1716 and 1731. This was the sixth and last of his London churches. St George's was consecrated on 28 January 1730 byEdmund Gibson,Bishop of London.Its construction—which cost £31,000—was completed in 1731.
The Victorian novelistAnthony Trollopewas baptised at the church in 1824. The wedding ofF. B. Chatterton,manager of theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane,took place in 1853.Richard Meux Benson,founder of the firstAnglican religious orderfor men, theSociety of St John the Evangelist(also known as the "Cowley Fathers" ), was baptised in the church. A funeral service forEmily Davison,the suffragette who died when she was hit by the King's horse during the 1913 Derby, took place that same year. The funeral was officiated byClaude Hinscliffand Charles Baumgarten, both part of theChurch League for Women's Suffrage.[1]EmperorHaile Selassieof Ethiopia attended a controversial requiem for the dead of theAbyssinian Warin 1937.
Until 2006 the church was the subject of major conservation work led by theWorld Monuments Fundand closed to visitors, with the congregation continuing as normal in its parish life, holding services in a nearby chapel. The building reopened fully from October 2006, including a new exhibition on the church, Hawksmoor and Bloomsbury housed in itsundercroft.
Architecture[edit]
The land on which the church is built ( "Ploughyard" ) was bought for £1,000 fromLady Russell,widow of the Whig rebelWilliam Russell, Lord Russellwho had been executed in 1683.[2]This was a substantial sum and its expenditure on a narrow and rectangular plot of land on a north–south axis, hemmed in by buildings on all sides, seemed to fly in the face of the commissioners' 1711 stipulation that "no site ought to be pitched upon for the erecting [of] a new church where the same will not admit the church to be placed East and West".[citation needed]Perhaps the orientation of the site was deemed a surmountable obstacle, especially since the site met the needs of the commissioners in that it was situated "amongst the… better sort... [and on] the larger and more open streets, not in obscure lanes, nor where coaches will be much obstructed in the passage."[citation needed]In 1715, the Commissioners agreed that the church would be constructed on the north to south alignment.[3]
The land purchase was the work of Nicholas Hawksmoor, one of the two surveyors appointed by the commissioners of the 1711 act. Unlike others appointed by the commissioners, Hawksmoor continued to work as a surveyor of the 1711 act churches until his death in 1736. Of the 12 churches completed, he was responsible for designing six, of which St George's Bloomsbury was the last. His final designs for St George's, however, were only commissioned and then adopted after earlier designs by James Gibbs and Sir John Vanbrugh (who proposed building a church with the altar in the north) were rejected by the commissioners.
The stepped tower is influenced byPliny the Elder's description of theMausoleum at Halicarnassus,and topped with a statue ofKing George Iin Roman dress. Its statues of fighting lions and unicorns symbolise the recent end of theFirst Jacobite Rising.The portico is based on that of theTemple of BacchusinBaalbek,Lebanon.
The tower is depicted inWilliam Hogarth's well-known engraving "Gin Lane"(1751) and byJames Mayhewin the children's book Gaspard's Foxtrot (2021).Charles Dickensused St George's as the setting for "The Bloomsbury Christening" inSketches by Boz.
The statue of George I was humorously described in a rhyme:
WhenHenry VIIIleft thePopein the lurch,
The Protestants made him the head of the church,
But George's good subjects, the Bloomsbury people
Instead of the church, made him head of the steeple.
The church was designated aGrade I listed buildingon 24 October 1951.[5]
Opening times and services[edit]
Services are held on Monday and Wednesday at 1:10 pm and Sunday mornings at 10:30 am. The church is usually open to visitors from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm every day of the week.
St George's runs educational workshops and lectures for schools, families and adults. It also hosts events and classes for the local community events (flower festivals, dance, choir classes).
- Location
St George's Bloomsbury is located on Bloomsbury Way, next door to theBloomsbury Thistle Hotel.
- Hymn
A hymn used on St George's Day (written by Ursula Roberts, wife of the rector[when?]) begins:
A maid in fetters wailing
Her sore and sorry plight
A foul and slimy dragon
A brave and glorious knight!
(chorus) Let lusty voices sing!
"St George for Merry England"
Triumphant echoes ring.
Museum of Comedy[edit]
Thecryptwas renovated and used as an art gallery in the 1990s.[6]
Since April 2014 it has housed the Museum of Comedy.[7][8]The museum focuses on the history of British comedy and includes photos, posters, props, clothing and costumes, scripts, films and videos of British comedic performers and shows.[9]There is also a 100-seat performance space.[10]
Gallery[edit]
-
Spiral staircaseinside the church -
Rear of the church -
Plaque toPaul Mellon,anglophile,in the church
References[edit]
- ^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001) [1999].The Women's Suffrage Movement: a reference guide 1866–1928.London: UCL Press. p. 475.ISBN9781841420318.
- ^Port, M.H."Minutes of the Commissioners: 1714 Pages 28-39 The Commissions for Building Fifty New Churches: The Minute Books, 1711-27, A Calendar".British History Online.London Record Society.Retrieved7 September2021.
- ^Port, M.H."Minutes of the Commissioners: 1715 Pages 39-45 The Commissions for Building Fifty New Churches: The Minute Books, 1711-27, A Calendar".British History Online.London Record Society.Retrieved7 September2021.
- ^Weinreb, Ben;Hibbert, Christopher(1993).The London Encyclopaedia(2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 841.ISBN0333560280.
- ^Historic England."Details from listed building database (1272341)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved22 January2009.
- ^"CV".Archived fromthe originalon 26 June 2015.Retrieved2015-06-25.
- ^Cavendish, Dominic (1 April 2014)."London's first Museum of Comedy launches today".Telegraph.Retrieved25 July2016.
- ^Bruce Dessau (30 May 2014)."Museum of Comedy, St George's Church, Bloomsbury – review | Comedy | Going Out | London Evening Standard".Standard.co.uk.Retrieved25 July2016.
- ^"Review: Museum of Comedy".Beyond the Joke. 16 June 2014.Retrieved26 March2015.
- ^"The Museum of Comedy: where the old ones are the best".Time Out London. 26 May 2014.Retrieved26 March2015.
Further reading[edit]
- Meller, Hugh (1975).St. George's Bloomsbury: an illustrated guide to the church.London: St George's Church.ISBN0-9504224-0-1.
- Miles, Susan (pseud. Ursula Roberts)(1955).Portrait of a Parson.London: Allen & Unwin.[a biography of William Corbett Roberts, 1873–1953, rector of St George's]
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Images of St George's, Bloomsbury
- Sunday Times article regarding the restoration
- Museum of Comedy
| Buildings |  | |
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| Squares and parks | ||
| Roads | ||
| History | ||
| Authority control databases:Geographic |
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- 1731 establishments in England
- Buildings and structures in Bloomsbury
- Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Camden
- Churches completed in 1731
- 18th-century Church of England church buildings
- Grade I listed churches in London
- Diocese of London
- Nicholas Hawksmoor buildings
- Georgian architecture in the London Borough of Camden
- Greek Revival church buildings in the United Kingdom
- Neoclassical architecture in London
- Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the London Borough of Camden
- Neoclassical church buildings in England
- Mausoleum at Halicarnassus