The King's Weigh House was the name of a

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

congregation in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Its Victorian church building in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

is now the

Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile The Cathedral of the Holy Family, previously ''Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile'', ( uk, Українська Католицька Катедра "Пресвятої Родини") is the cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Ca ...

History

A building called the "King's Weyhows" is mentioned in 1460, where two men lived or worked as porters. The church was formed around 1695 when

Thomas Reynolds Thomas, Tom or Tommy Reynolds may refer to: Politics * Thomas Reynolds (Assemblyman) (1840–1919), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly *Thomas Reynolds (Australian politician) (1818–1875), Premier of South Australia, 1860–1861 *Thomas Reyno ...

was called as minister. In 1697 the congregation built a meeting house over the King's

Weigh House A weighhouse or weighing house is a public building at or within which goods are weighed. Most of these buildings were built before 1800, prior to the establishment of international standards for weights, and were often a large and representative ...

in Little

Eastcheap Eastcheap is a street in central London that is a western continuation of Great Tower Street towards Monument junction. Its name derives from ''cheap'', the Old English word for market, with the prefix 'East' distinguishing it from Westcheap, an ...

, and from this home the church took its name. The King's Weigh House was where "Merchant Strangers" were required to have their goods weighed so that customs duties could be assessed. It was rebuilt after the

Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

. Reynolds ministered until 1727, then James Wood, 1727–42; William Langford, 1742–75; Samuel Wilton, 1776–1778; and

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

1778–1826.

Thomas Binney Thomas Binney (1798–1874) was an English Congregationalist divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the "Archbishop of Nonconformity". He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Nonconformity, for devotional ...

, 1829–69, was one of the notable Congregational ministers of the nineteenth century. During Binney's time the Weigh House site was required for widening the approaches to

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

. In 1833-4 a new building in Fish Street Hill designed by William Tate and seating 1000 people was erected. Prominent members during this period included Samuel Morley and George Williams who founded the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

in 1844. Binney was succeeded by William Braden, then Alexander Sandison, 1880–1901. In 1882 the church site was compulsorily purchased by the

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

. By now many members lived in the suburbs and there was less need to relocate 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 ...

. The

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

offered a site in

, part of which was occupied by a small Congregational church in Robert ow Weigh HouseStreet. The offer was accepted and in 1891 the new building in Duke Street, designed by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...

was opened. The church was of red brick with buff terracotta dressings. It has an oval nave and a tower in the south-west corner, built in a Romanesque style. The builders were John Shillitoe & Son, the structural steel work was by

Andrew Handyside and Company Andrew Handyside and Company was an iron founder in Derby, England, in the nineteenth century. Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1805, Handyside worked in his uncle Charles Baird's engineering business in St. Petersburg before takin ...

, heating and ventilation was by G. N. Haden, the ceramic tiles were manufactured by

Craven Dunnill Craven Dunnill & Co. Ltd. (formerly Hargreaves & Craven, then Hargreaves, Craven Dunnill & Co.) was formed on 9 February 1872, by Yorkshire businessman Henry Powell Dunnill (1821–95), at Jackfield, Shropshire, England. The firm was to become on ...

, faience tiling was by

Burmantofts Burmantofts is an area of 1960s high-rise housing blocks in inner-city east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England adjacent to the city centre and St. James's Hospital. It is a racially diverse area, with sizable Afro-Caribbean and Irish communities, ...

, and decorative ironwork by Hart Son Peard & Co.. The cost was £26,495. Sandison was succeeded by John Hunter, 1901–4, F.A. Russell, then E.W. Lewis. The next minister William E. Orchard ministered from 1914. During his pastorate the style of worship became increasing Catholic, and after Orchard's resignation in 1932, he joined the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Notable is the fact that in 1917 Claud and

Constance Coltman Constance Mary Coltman (née Todd; 23 May 1889 - 26 March 1969) was one of the first women ordination, ordained to Minister (Christianity), Christian ministry in Britain. She practised within the Congregational Church. A decade earlier Gertrude von ...

were ordained as assistant ministers, the latter being a member of the church before training at

Mansfield College, Oxford Mansfield College, Oxford is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded in Birmingham in 1838 as a college for Nonconformist (Protestantism), Non ...

and one of the first woman to be ordained in a mainstream English denomination. The next years were ones of decline. On 20 October 1940 a bomb fell on the chancel during a communion service, killing the minister's wife and injuring one other. The building was requisitioned as a fire watching centre and rest centre. In 1945 22 members decided to revive the work and appointed W.J.E. Jeffery as minister, with assistance from Claud and Constance Coltman who returned in 1946. After war damage reinstatement the building was rededicated in 1953. In 1956

Daniel Jenkins Daniel H. Jenkins (born January 17, 1963) is an American actor, best known for his stage work on Broadway, including his 1985 role as Huckleberry Finn in Roger Miller's '' Big River'', for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Personal life ...

was appointed as minister with the aim of providing a distinctive mission within central London but the work did not develop as hoped. In 1962 Jenkins accepted the invitation to become the first chaplain of the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. Roger Tomes was appointed as minister with aim of guiding the small Weigh House congregation towards union with another church. Following friendly discussions with Whitefield Memorial Church, Tottenham Court Road, separate services at the Weigh House ended in July 1965. In March 1966 the decision was taken to formally disband the church and dispose of the building. It was bought by the Ukrainian Catholic community in 1967 and is now the

. Waterhouse's building was listed as Grade II* in 1970.

Architectural history

Eastcheap building

16 Eastcheap is now occupied by Citibank. A plaque on the frontage commemorates the previous existence of the church.

Fish Street Hill building

This was the church from 1834 to 1888. The building was acquired by compulsory purchase by the railway company. It is now an exit of the Monument Underground station.

Binney Street building

King's Weigh House Chapel Plaque, Duke Street London - geograph

References