St Mary's, Bourne Street, is an Anglican church on Bourne Street near
Sloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the central London districts of Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The area forms a boundary betw ...
in
London
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 was built 'quickly and cheaply' in 1874 by
Robert Jewell Withers
Robert Jewell Withers (1824–1894) was an English ecclesiastical architect.
Early life
Robert Jewell Withers was born on 2 February 1824 in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. His father was John Alexander Withers and his mother, Maria Jewell. ...
, with the intention of providing ministry to the poor living in the nearby slums of Pimlico.
History and architecture
In London during the 19th century, there was rapid development of Belgravia and Pimlico which was accompanied by the building of many new churches in the area. In addition, the construction of the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
resulted in many houses being demolished by the '
cut and cover
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
' works. In 1874, St Mary's was built directly over the path of the
District line
The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...
in the Early English style using cheap machine-made red brick. The church was designed by RJ Withers, a little known architect practising predominantly in the West Country. Withers had previously undertaken alterations to churches in London, and was working at
St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge
St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, is a Grade II*listed Anglican church of the Anglo-Catholic tradition located at 32a Wilton Place in Knightsbridge, London.
History and architecture
The church was founded in 1843, the first in London to champion ...
, when the decision to build St Mary's was taken. With his reputation, according to his obituarist, of building "a good cheap type of brick church", he was the obvious choice to design St Mary's, which was originally intended to act as a servant's church. Other architectural features resulting from the economic construction include low windowless aisles and plain slate roof with a bell cote housing a solitary bell. Buttressing was added by
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (1887 in Cambridge – 21 June 1959 in Westminster, London) was a British architect, writer and musician.
Life
Harry Stuart Goodhart was born on 29 May 1887 in Cambridge, England. He added the additional name Rende ...
following bomb damage in
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 opposing ...
.
In its report of the dedication on 4 July 1874, the ''
Church Times
The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays.
History
The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...
'' described the interior of St Mary's:
''"A spacious nave is terminated in an apsidal chancel and there are two aisles. The nave is very lofty and the interior of the roof is elaborately decorated with colour. Bold figures of Our Lady and St John on either side of a crucifix appear on the reredos, in front of which stands one of the most effective altars we have seen of late. It is formed of sweet cedar, and is richly ornamental with gold and colour. The chapel as a whole is remarkably effective, and has a solid and substantial look which is highly satisfactory. It is, in a word, an excellent specimen of an inexpensive church, the cost of the whole, not counting special gifts such as the reredos, altar, font etc., being about £4,500."''.
The paintings in the arcade spandrels are by
Nathaniel Westlake
Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake FSA (1833–1921) was a 19th-century British artist specialising in stained glass.
Career
Nathaniel Westlake was born in Romsey in 1833. He began to design for the firm of Lavers & Barraud, Ecclesiastical Design ...
(1895–1896): Eve, Ruth, Esther, David and Daniel on the south wall and Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Ezekiel on the north. Also the Annunciation and Mary meeting Elizabeth in the chancel. In the chapel of the Seven Sorrows, next to the altar, a new rose window by
Margaret Aldrich Rope replaced that damaged in the war. The west window of St George and St Edward the Confessor, hidden behind the organ, was added in 1897, designed by
Mary Lowndes
Mary Lowndes (1857–1929) was a British stained-glass artist who co-founded the stained glass studio and workshop Lowndes and Drury in 1897. She was an influential leader in the Arts and Crafts movement, not only for her stained glass work a ...
.
Present day
The liturgy and worship at St Mary's combines Gregorian chant, Renaissance, Viennese and contemporary sacred music with the language of the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
''. The ceremonial is traditional. The musical staff is led by the Director of Music, Richard Pinel, supported by the Organist, Richard Hills. Previous Directors of Music include
Paul Brough,
David Trendell and
William Whitehead.
The parish stands within the
Catholic
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 ...
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
of the Church of England. It has passed
resolutions A and B, thereby rejecting the
ordination of women. The church is not a member of the traditionalist Catholic organisation,
Forward in Faith
Forward in Faith (FiF) is an organisation operating in the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church. It represents a traditionalist strand of Anglo-Catholicism and is characterised by its opposition to the ordination of women to the pr ...
, nor of the
Liberal Catholic group,
Affirming Catholicism.
External links
Church website
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's, Bourne Street
Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the City of Westminster
Churches completed in 1874
Religious organizations established in 1874
19th-century Church of England church buildings
Diocese of London
Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster