St. Alban's Church, locally often referred to simply as the English Church, is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. It was built from 1885 to 1887 for the benefit of the growing English congregation in the city. Designed by

Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...

as a traditional English parish church in the

Gothic Revival style 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 ...

, it is in a peaceful park setting at the end of

Amaliegade Amaliegade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which makes up the longer of the two axes on which the Rococo district Frederiksstaden is centred. Amaliegade extends from Sankt Annæ Plads to Esplanaden, passing through the central plaza ...

in the northern part of the city centre, next to the citadel Kastellet and the

Gefion Fountain The Gefion Fountain ( da, Gefionspringvandet) is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of oxen pulling a plow and being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It is located in Nordre Toldbod ar ...

and

Langelinie Langelinie (English: Long Line) is a pier, promenade and park in central Copenhagen, Denmark, and home of '' The Little Mermaid'' statue. The area has for centuries been a popular destination for excursions and strolls in Copenhagen. Most cruise ...

. The church is part of the

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 Brit ...

's Diocese in Europe. It is dedicated to Saint Alban, the first martyr of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

History

The first sizable British community in Denmark settled in Elsinore in the early 16th century. The town was an important logistical hub for the collection of

Sound Dues The Sound Dues (or Sound Tolls; da, Øresundstolden) were a toll on the use of the Øresund, or "Sound" strait separating the modern day borders of Denmark and Sweden. The tolls constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income in the 16th ...

. First to arrive was a community of Scots which had a Scottish altar dedicated to

Saint Jacob James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob ( Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin ' ...

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

and the Scottish

Saint Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedicatio ...

in the local Saint Olaf's Church. The altar has now been moved to the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

. Much of the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

traffic was British (in 1850 7,000 out of 20,000 passing ships were British) and over the course of time many English shipping agencies were established in Elsinore. There was even a British consul there, while Copenhagen had only a vice-consul. However, under the

King's Law The King's Law () or ''Lex Regia'' () (also called the Danish Royal Law of 1665) was the absolutist constitution of Denmark and Norway from 1665 until 1849 and 1814, respectively. It established complete hereditary (agnatic-cognatic primogenitu ...

from 1665, which had instituted absolutism in Denmark,

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

was the only faith allowed to hold religious services in Denmark. During the second half of the 18th century more and more foreign denominations were granted royal exemptions to this prohibition. Up through the 19th century the English community in Copenhagen grew as the city's significance as a centre of commerce increased. An English congregation held religious services in rented rooms in

Store Kongensgade Store Kongensgade ( lit. English. Great King's Street) is the longest street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends northeast from Kongens Nytorv to Esplanaden, running parallel to Bredgade, where it breaks left, continuing northwest to Grø ...

near

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv ( lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection wit ...

from 1834. The congregation had ambitions to build their own church and a Church Building Committee was established in 1854 but remained unable to find the means needed for the project. In 1864, it made an appeal to the then-

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

, and his consort, the Danish-born Princess Alexandra, took it upon her to assist. She managed to raise funds as well as provide a very attractive site for its construction when she persuaded the Danish Ministry of War to grant permission to have the church built on the

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

outside the citadel Kastellet. The foundation stone of St. Alban's Church was laid on 19 September 1885. The church was designed by

. It was consecrated two years later on 17 September 1887. Present on the opening day was a large display of European royalty, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, King

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

and Queen Consort Louise of Denmark, Tsar Alexander III and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna of Russia and George I and Olga of Greece. Like Princess Alexandra, both George I and Maria Feodorovna were born Danish, issue of the Danish King and Queen Consort. Also present were the entire Diplomatic Corps, Ministers, representatives of the Army and Navy, church officials, and Greek, Russian and Roman Catholic Priests. After the consecration, the Prince and Princess of Wales hosted a lunch on board the Royal Yacht HMY ''Osborne'' to which all those who had been closely connected with the realisation of the church were invited.

Architecture

St Albans Church Copenhagen 2019 Copenhagen

St. Alban's Church is designed as a traditional English church by

who designed a number of parish churches around Britain and received the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

in 1891. It is built in the

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 inspired by the Early English Style, also known as Lancet Gothic. The church is built in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

from the

Faxe Faxe or Fakse is a town on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It is located in Faxe Municipality in Region Zealand. The town is most known for the Faxe Brewery, Royal Unibrew, a relatively large brewery producing a range of beer and soft ...

south of Copenhagen, knapped flint from Stevns and

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

stone for the spire. The conspicuous use of flint as a building material, unusual in Denmark, is another typical trait from England where it is commonly seen in church buildings in the south of the country, particularly

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

. The tiles on the roof are from

Broseley Broseley is a market town in Shropshire, England, with a population of 4,929 at the 2011 Census and an estimate of 5,022 in 2019. The River Severn flows to its north and east. The first The Iron Bridge, iron bridge in the world was built in 17 ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. The tower contains fifteen tubular bells. It was not deemed strong enough to support regular bells, and a set of eight was presented by the Prince of Wales when the church was built. These can be played manually on an Ellacombe Frame, on which the player pulls a rope for the relevant bell. In 2013 the

contributed to a new fund, which enabled a further seven bells to be installed, and for all fifteen to be played automatically by computer. Every quarter-hour the 80 louvres (two sets of ten on each face) open while the bells sound a quarter chime, and after striking the hour play a hymn tune. The original bells are by the English firm of Harringtons, as are the additional seven, which were made redundant by Holy Trinity Church,

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough ...

, and retuned to suit. The striking system is by the Dutch firm of Petit & Fritsen.

Furnishings

Many items of the church's inventory and fittings were donated, including the tiles on the floor and dado which are from Campbell Tile Co. and the carved oakwood pews which were a gift from

Thomas Cook and Son Thomas Cook & Son, originally simply Thomas Cook, was a company founded by Thomas Cook, a cabinet-maker, in 1841 to carry temperance supporters by railway between the cities of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham. In 1851, Cook arranged ...

. The altarpiece, pulpit and font were donated by Doulton,

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

, London, a leading manufacturer of stoneware and ceramics. For the first time, they were all made in

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...

with salt glazed details. They were designed by the artist

George Tinworth George Tinworth (5 November 1843 – 11 September 1913) was an English ceramic artist who worked for the Doulton factory at Lambeth from 1867 until his death.'George Tinworth', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ir ...

. The church organ was made by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd and is located in the choir in the southern transept. It was renovated in 1966 by the same company. Image:Saint Albans Church, altertavle, efter konservering.jpg, The altar Image:St Albans Church Copenhagen pulpit.jpg, The pulpit Image:St Albans Church Copenhagen font.jpg, The font Image:St Albans Church Copenhagen organ.jpg, The organ

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alban's Church, Copenhagen Churches in Copenhagen

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

Gothic Revival architecture in Copenhagen Churches completed in 1887 19th-century Anglican church buildings 1887 establishments in Denmark Anglican church buildings in Denmark Diocese in Europe Arthur Blomfield church buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in Denmark Flint buildings Stone churches in Denmark Limestone churches in Denmark