St Clement's Church, King Square, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

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, in the

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. It is adjacent to King Square, within a walking distance from

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Construction

Church Building Commission purchased the land in King Square from the

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

in 1822 for the construction of a new church fronting a newly built garden square of middle-class villas. Foundation stone was laid on 27 January 1822. French ex-prisoners-of-war and the local community were likely involved in the construction. The building was designed by the neo-classical architect

Thomas Hardwick Thomas Hardwick (1752–1829) was an English architect and a founding member of the Architects' Club in 1791. Early life and career Hardwick was born in Brentford, Middlesex the son of a master mason turned architect also named Thomas Hardw ...

, designer of

St Marylebone Parish church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near Ox ...

. The design style was Greek (Ionic), though it features a slender spire, traditionally a

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feature. Construction was completed in July 1824 and cost £17,000. In its original layout and with galleries on three sides the church had space for 1600 worshipers; it was consecrated as St Barnabas, King Square on 12 June 1826. At the time the church was part of the St Luke's parish; it was designated a separate parish in 1846.

20th century

In 1940 the church and nearby housing in the parish suffered damage from German bombing in the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. The burned out church was repaired and the formerly plain galleried interior re-ordered in 1953 by architects working with designer Norman Haines with a compact interior of considerable grandeur. The sanctuary and nave are framed by giant Corinthian columns and pilasters and there is a neo-classical plaster ceiling. Some fittings from St Clement's church and the fine 18th century pulpit from St Marylebone chapel we re-used. The altar sits beneath a corinthian baldacchino and two huge classical urns flank the altar. On completion in 1952 the parishes of St Barnabas, St Clement, Lever Street and St Matthew, City Road were united as the other two churches were badly damaged by bombing. Re-consecrated on 12 June 1954 at which point parish changed its name to St Clement with St Barnabas and St Matthew, and the church known as St Clement's Finsbury for short. The building is Grade II

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and is the only survival of the King Square of 1822.

Organ

The church organ was built by "Father" Willis for St Thomas, Agar Town in the 1870s and moved to St Clements as part of the 1950s reconstruction, with some alterations, by Manders.

References

{{Reflist King's Square Diocese of London King's Square

Construction

20th century

Organ

See also

References