St Christopher's Chapel is the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...

in London, England. It is 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 ...

and is noted for its highly decorated interior.

History

was built from 1871 to 1876, and the chapel was completed in 1875. It had been designed by

Edward Middleton Barry Edward Middleton Barry RA (7 June 1830 – 27 January 1880) was an English architect of the 19th century. Biography Edward Barry was the third son of Sir Charles Barry, born in his father's house, 27 Foley Place, London. In infancy he was ...

who donated his work to the hospital in memory of one of his children who had died in infancy. The chapel cost £60,000 to build. The chapel is a small rectangle with an

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

at its east end. Its interior is highly decorated. The chapel was consecrated on 18 November 1875 by Canon

Alfred Barry Alfred Barry (15 January 18261 April 1910) was the third Bishop of Sydney serving 1884–1889. Over the course of his career, Barry served as headmaster of independent schools, Principal of King's College London university and founded Angl ...

, later Bishop of Sydney and Primate of Australia. On 10 March 1980, the chapel was designated a

. Due to its listed status, the chapel could not be demolished when the old hospital building was knocked down in the 1980s. It was decided that the whole chapel would be moved to a new site. This was done by encasing the chapel in a large, water-proof box and

underpinning In construction or renovation, underpinning is the process of strengthening the foundation of an existing building or other structure. Underpinning may be necessary for a variety of reasons: * The original foundation isn't strong or stable enough. ...

with a concrete raft. Having emptied the interior of all its furniture and removed the stained glass windows, the now encased chapel was lowered from the first floor to the ground floor. It was then moved by hydraulic rams to its new location; this is "thought to be the largest en bloc transportation of a structure ever undertaken". Six years after it was moved and after extensive renovation, the chapel was re-opened on 14 February 1994 by Diana, Princess of Wales.

Present day

The chapel is open at all times. There is a service of morning prayer at 10:30am during the week (Monday to Friday), and a service of Holy Communion on Wednesdays. Along the rear of the chapel is a row of teddy bears and other soft toys, provided by families of ill children, known as the Teddy Bear Choir. In addition, the chapel has a prayer tree where messages of hope and support can be written for sick children at the hospital, and placed on the tree.

Interior

The chapel has been described as of the

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Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

style and was influenced by the

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

.G. W. Burnet, 'Barry, Edward Middleton (1830–1880)', rev. David G. Blissett, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 16 June 2017
/ref> The chapel "is divided by four columns, and has a central dome, with an apse at the east end". The

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

floor was designed 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 ...

, an Italian mosaicist, and is said to be influenced by a pavement in St Mark's Basilica, Venice. The interior is highly decorated with many of its images referring to childhood. The central dome is "painted with musician angels around the rim and pelican in piety" in its centre. The apse windows are stained glass designed by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

, and depict the childhood of Jesus Christ. The ceiling of the apse is decorated with eight angels (Faith, Truth, Patience, Purity, Obedience, Charity, Honour and Hope) with a central roundel depicting the Lamb and flag. There are a number of Bible quotes with accompanying murals decorating the walls. These include "Suffer little children to come unto me" () and "feed my lambs + feed my sheep" (). Above the door it states: "I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the House of the Lord" ()

Memorials

There are a number of memorial plaques on the walls of the chapel. They include: * Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet (1860–1937), novelist and playwright, author of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

''. He gave the copyright to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929. * William Henry Barry (1823–1880), who

endowed A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are of ...

the chapel *

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, author and early fundraiser for the hospital. * Lt Col Alexander Simpson-Smith,

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

(1900–1942). He was a surgeon at the hospital but volunteered for the British Army during the Second World War. He died in 1942 while serving in Egypt.

References

External links

Great Ormond Street Hospital chaplaincy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond Street Hospital Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Chapels in London Edward Middleton Barry buildings Bloomsbury Grade II* listed churches in London Churches completed in 1875 19th-century Church of England church buildings 1875 in London