Holy Trinity Church, Dalston, also known as the Clowns’ Church, is a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

in Beechwood Road in the

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It is in the parish of Holy Trinity with St Philip Dalston and All Saints Church, Haggerston (St Philip having been bombed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and demolished some time between 1947 and 1952). From 1998 to 2014, the vicar was

Rose Hudson-Wilkin Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin, (born 19 January 1961) is a British Anglican bishop, who has been suffragan Bishop of Dover in the diocese of Canterbury - deputising for the Archbishop - since 2019: she is the first black woman to become a Chur ...

, who held the roles of

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

’s chaplain to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, priest vicar at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

and chaplain to the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

History and design

Holy Trinity was designed by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

– a noted church builder and restorer and architect of the National Portrait Gallery. The main phase of construction took place in 1878-79 and was funded from the proceeds of the sale of St Martin Outwich in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. It is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

-listed building; its 1975 designation noted both the reputation of its architect and its impressive

High Victorian High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Promo ...

style with continental influences. It is constructed in red brick in the

Early English style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

and has a slate roof. Inside Holy Trinity is a screen brought from St Philip, Dalston after that church was damaged by bombing in December 1940. The post-war east window of the church has glass by A. F. Erridge.

The Clowns' Church

Holy Trinity is known as the Clowns’ Church for the annual

Clowns International A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

service held on the first Sunday in February in honour of

Joseph Grimaldi Joseph Grimaldi (18 December 1778 – 31 May 1837) was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era.Byrne, Eugene"The patient" Historyextra.com, 13 April 2012 In the early 1800s, ...

and deceased clowns. The service was established in 1946/7 at St James's Episcopal Chapel in Pentonville Road, where Grimaldi is buried (now Joseph Grimaldi Park). It moved to Holy Trinity in 1959 after St James's was deconsecrated. The service is attended by clowns in full costume and is usually followed by a performance for members of the public. The vestry of Holy Trinity Church is home to the

Clowns Gallery-Museum The Clowns Gallery-Museum is a museum of clowning. Established in 1959, the collection contains costumes and props from famous clowns, as well as a reference library, and is home to the Clown Egg Register. History The collection is split betwe ...

, which includes the Clown Egg Register.

References

External sources

Clowns’ Service in pictures
{{Churches in Hackney Grade II listed churches in London Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Hackney Churches completed in 1879 Diocese of London Victorian architecture in England Clowning 19th-century Church of England church buildings Ewan Christian buildings Dalston