St Jude's Church, Courtfield Gardens,

Kensington, London Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Gar ...

, was designed by architects

George Godwin George Godwin FRS (28 January 1813 – 27 January 1888) was an influential British architect, journalist, and editor of ''The Builder'' magazine. Life He was one of nine children of the architect George Godwin senior (1780–1863) and trained a ...

and Henry Godwin, and built between 1867–70; the tower and spire were constructed in 1879. It was built on the northern portion of Captain Robert Gunter's estate. The project was overseen by Reverend J. A. Aston, and financed by

John Derby Allcroft John Derby Allcroft (19 July 1822 – 29 July 1893) was an English philanthropic entrepreneur, evangelical Anglican and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1878 to 1880. Early life Allcroft was born on 19 July 1822, th ...

, a wealthy glove manufacturer.Listed Buildings Online: 'Church of St Jude'
Accessed 03.07.2009 The construction, not including the tower, pulpit, font and organ cost £11,300, and was undertaken by Myers & Sons.May 13th, 1871 '

The Builder ''Building'' is one of the United Kingdom's oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as ''The Builder'' in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed ''Bu ...

' The building is now occupied by

St Mellitus College St Mellitus College is an English theological college established in 2007 by the Diocese of London and the Diocese of Chelmsford of the Church of England. It has campuses in Earl's Court, Chelmsford, Liverpool and Plymouth, with growing links wit ...

, led by the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

, Andy Emerton. The College runs

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

and theology courses. It is also occupied by a homeless charity, the Earl's Court Project. On Sundays the building is one of five sites where the church of

Holy Trinity Brompton Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's, Onslow Square and St Augustine's, South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (former ...

meets.

Original exterior

St Jude's Church is surrounded by Courtfield Gardens, Collingham Road, and Courtfield Road. Adjacent to the north is the Vicarage (built in 1874), also designed by George and Henry Godwin.Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner: 'The Buildings of England – London 3: North West' pp458-9 The building was realised in a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. It was built of Kentish ragstone, with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone dressings and has steeply pitched gabled roofs, of more than forty roof slopes. The roof is slate, in varying coloured bands of pale and dark grey tiles.

Original interior

The nave has galleries at a first floor level, on the north, west and south sides. It is unusually wide for its length, and has banded iron columns with sheet copper crafted capitals. The brickwork contains elaborate patterns of buff, red and black bricks, and murals in

roundels A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

above the column capitals, and in the reveal of the chancel arch, painted by Edward Frampton. The nave has diagonally-set quarry tiles, and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

is Minton tiles. The chancel has several interesting features: the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

, with mosaics by

Antonio Salviati Antonio Salviati (18 March 1816 – 25 January 1890) was an Italian glass manufacturer and founder of the Salviati family firm. Biography A native of Vicenza, Salviati was a lawyer who became interested in glass work after participating in re ...

, and sculpted figures of St Jude, St Peter, and St Augustine. The pulpit is marble and alabaster, and the

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

is brass. These were designed by

Thomas Earp Thomas Earp may refer to: * Thomas Earp (politician) * Thomas Earp (sculptor) Thomas Earp (1828–1893) was a British sculptor and architectural carver who was active in the late 19th century. His best known work is his 1863 reproduction of t ...

and crafted by Edward Frampton.

Use of the building

The Reverend Robert William Forest D.D. was the first incumbent of the Church, and later was Dean of Worcester.St Mary the Boltons Website
The building was designed for a capacity of up to 1600 during services by utilising the nave, narthex, and galleries. The building was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Grade II* on 7 November 1984. In 2006, the parishioners of St Jude's Church were absorbed into

St Mary the Boltons St Mary The Boltons is an Anglican church in The Boltons, Brompton, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The Boltons, a street in Brompton, was farmland until the middle of the 19th century. As part of westward expansion of Lo ...

, doubling the latter's congregation. Meanwhile, the building was taken over by

Holy Trinity Brompton Church Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's, Onslow Square and St Augustine's, South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (formerl ...

(HTB).

Building project

Under the leadership of HTB, and designed by HMDW Architects, work began in 2010 to transform the building into a

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

–

. The roof was entirely replaced, with like-for-like slates. The newly excavated

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

houses two lecture rooms, offices and amenities. On the ground floor, the nave has been renovated, and a café has been installed in the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

. A new first floor, at the same level of the galleries, provides a library above the Narthex Café for students of the college. The western exterior entrance stonework has been cleaned, and the interior white paint, applied to cover the brickwork, has been removed. Archived memorials have been reinstated.Information on HMDW Architects Website
/ref> File:St Jude Courtfield Gdns Interior 2009.JPG, Nave, looking west, before building work began, 2009 File:St Jude Courtfield Gdns, NE exterior 2009.jpg, North East exterior, before building work began, note the slate banding File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, External view, new roof.JPG, After redevelopment by HMDW Architects. External view from the garden of the new roof File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, Cafe view east 543.JPG, Cafe view east File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, Nave view east 486.JPG, Nave view east, towards the Pulpit, the North Gallery and Offices under the Gallery File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, Nave view west 502.JPG, Nave view west, towards the Cafe, with Library at first floor level. The Timber Gallery balustrade surrounds the Nave at first floor level

References

External links

HTB's Official Site

HMDW Architects website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jude's Church, Kensington 19th-century Church of England church buildings 2006 disestablishments in England Church of England church buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II listed churches in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Kensington St Mellitus College