St George's Cathedral is an

Antiochian Orthodox The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

church in

Albany Street Albany Street is a road in London running from Marylebone Road to Gloucester Gate following the east side of Regent's Park. It is about three-quarters of a mile in length. History The street was laid out during the 1820s, and takes its name ...

, St Pancras, in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...

. Built to the designs of James Pennethorne, it was consecrated as an Anglican place of worship called Christ Church in 1837. It became an Orthodox cathedral in 1989.

Description

The building, designed by James Pennethorne, stands on the corner of Redhill Street (formerly Edward Street) and Albany Street. It is not strictly orientated, its ceremonial east end, with the altar, facing slightly west of north. It is rectangular in plan, and built of brick with stucco and stone dressings, its four corners emphasised by wide tower-like features, projecting slightly beyond the main lines of the walls. The architecture is broadly classical in style. A deep stucco entablature runs around the whole building, with a simple brick parapet above it. The windows are round-headed. There is a tower above the entrance, topped by an octagonal spire. The steeple is unusually small in comparison with the main body of the church.

History

Anglican church

It was built as an Anglican church to serve the largely working class district of Cumberland Market. Consecrated on 13 July 1837, it established itself firmly within the

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

Oxford Movement. Its first incumbent, William Dodsworth, previously of the Margaret Street Chapel, resigned on his conversion to Roman Catholicism. On the recommendation of the painter William Collins R.A, a copy of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

's ''Transfiguration'' by Thomas Brigstocke was purchased as an altarpiece. Alterations were made to the church between 1839 and 1843 by the architect R.C. Carpenter, and further changes, including the installation of an elaborate inlaid marble floor, were made in 1867 by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

. Christ Church was frequented by

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

who lived in Albany Street for a couple of years. Her brother

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

produced a stained-glass window depicting the Sermon on the Mount for the church (a second version is elsewhere). A school grew up on Redhill Street near the church, called Christ Church Primary School. On 26 January 1950 the funeral service of George Orwell, was held at the church, as it was near to both

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

where he died and BBC Broadcasting House, where he worked. In 1974, the Albany Consort, an early music group, was founded at the church. The church was designated a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

on 10 June 1954.

Orthodox cathedral

In 1989 Christ Church ceased to be a place of Anglican worship and became St George's Cathedral. With

St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate is a Church of England church in the Bishopsgate Without area of the City of London, and also, by virtue of lying outside the city's (now demolished) eastern walls, part of London's East End. Adjoining the buildi ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

it is one of two Antiochan churches in London. A new roof was built in 2000.

References

Sources

Mary-Mags
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Cathedral, London

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Former Church of England church buildings Church buildings converted to a different denomination