The Royal Military Chapel, commonly known as the Guards' Chapel, is a British Army place of worship that serves as the religious home of the

Household Division The Household Division forms a part of the British Army's London District (British Army), London District and is made up of five regiments of foot guards#United Kingdom, foot guards and two Household Cavalry regiments. The division is responsible f ...

at the

Wellington Barracks Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards units on public duties in that area. The building is located about from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to reach the palace very q ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. Completed in 1838 in the style of a Greek temple and re-designed during the 1870s, the first chapel on the site was damaged by German bombing during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

in 1940 and 1941. On Sunday, 18 June 1944, the chapel was hit again, this time by a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

, during the morning service. The explosion of the bomb collapsed the concrete roof onto the congregation, which left 121 people killed and 141 injured (both military and civilian). Using the memorials from the old chapel as foundations, a new chapel was built in a

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

style in 1963. In 1970 the building was made a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

banner of

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969), was a senior and highly decorated British Army officer who served in both of the world wars. ...

was transferred from

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

, to the Guards' Chapel following his death in 1969.

Memorial garden

The Flanders Fields Memorial Garden, dedicated to the memory of Guardsmen lost in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, was opened by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 2014 and occupies land next to the chapel.

Music

In the 1970s an organ was installed by the firm of

Hill, Norman and Beard William Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Limited (commonly known as Hill, Norman and Beard) were a major pipe organ manufacturer originally based in Norfolk. History They were founded in 1916 by the merger of Norman and Beard and William Hill & So ...

using material from an instrument at Glyndebourne as well as new pipework. In addition to leading congregational singing, the organ accompanies the Chapel’s professional choir and works alongside military bands/ensembles. With the passing of time, it was decided that the organ was struggling to meet the demands placed on it, and in the 21st century the chapel commissioned a new organ from Harrison and Harrison. On the last Tuesday of each month, except in August, the chapel hosts a free 45-minute lunchtime concert featuring a wide variety of music.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

* *
Guards Chapel bombed by V1 on Sunday, 18 June 1944 – with photos
{{coord, 51.5003, -0.1356, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title 1944 in London Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in London Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed during World War II Chapels in London Church of England church buildings in the City of Westminster Guards Division (United Kingdom) G. E. Street buildings Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster Attacks on religious buildings and structures during World War II