St John's Chapel, Bedford Row, in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(opened 1721 - demolished 1863), was a

proprietary chapel A proprietary chapel is a chapel that originally belonged to a private person, but with the intention that it would be open to the public, rather than restricted (as with private chapels in the stricter sense) to members of a family or household, ...

and the home of a large evangelical Anglican congregation in the 19th century. According to '' The Eclectic Review'' it was built for people who seceded from the congregation of St Andrew's, Holborn after

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

was forced on them by Queen Anne in 1713. It was located at the northwest corner of Millman Street and Chapel Street (now Rugby Street),

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

, London, in the proximity of Bedford Row, and was opened in the year 1721. When Rev Richard Cecil became minister there in March, 1780, it was described as being "the largest Church of England chapel in London. Having been much neglected, it required a large sum for its repair. Daniel Wilson, later Bishop of Calcutta, became assistant curate there in 1808 and was the minister from 1812 to 1824. From 1824 to 1826 Charles Jerram was minister, before resigning to return to his incumbency as vicar of

Chobham Chobham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Surrey Heath, Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England. The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne ...

, Surrey. From 1827 to 1848, Baptist Wriotheseley Noel was the incumbent. He afterwards became a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

. In 1848–9 Thomas Dealtry, perhaps better known as Archdeacon of Calcutta and Bishop of Madras, was incumbent, as was Joseph Butterworth Owen later from 1854 to 1857. According to Grayson Carter in ''Anglican Evangelicals'' after Noel's departure the chapel continued its evangelical ministry but not its prominence. The roof collapsed in November 1856, and the building was demolished in 1863. The church was associated with the

Clapham Sect The Clapham Sect, or Clapham Saints, were a group of social reformers associated with Holy Trinity Clapham in the period from the 1780s to the 1840s. Despite the label "sect", most members remained in the Established Church, established (and do ...

and the Eclectic Society, and with

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

and

Zachary Macaulay Zachary Macaulay (; 2 May 1768 – 13 May 1838) was a Scottish statistician and abolitionist who was a founder of London University and of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, and a Governor of British Sierra Leone. Early life Macaulay wa ...

. In an earlier period John Worgan was organist (from 1760), and William Riley (''fl.'' 1760–90), author of ''Parochial music corrected'' and ''The divine harmonist's assistant'' was singing master and clerk at this chapel. In 1814 Miss Theophania Cecil produced ''The Psalm and Hymn Tunes used at St. John's Chapel, Bedford Row''. The organ built for the chapel in 1821 by Henry Lincoln was moved to Thaxted Parish Church in 1858. This organ was played at Thaxted by

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

at the time he composed ''

The Planets ''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is name ...

''. It was restored in 2014-15 by Goetze & Gwynn.

References

External links

Life of Daniel Wilson, by Bateman, see pages 96-97 for the chapel's history and roof collapse

Picture of the chapel

Old and New London: Volume 4 at British History Online

Notes and Queries article (subscription)

Notes and Queries article continued (subscription)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Chapel, Bedford Row

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...