The Queen's Chapel (officially, ''The Queen's Chapel St. James Palace'' and previously the German Chapel) is a chapel in central

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Designed by

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

, it was built between 1623 and 1625 as an adjunct to

St. James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

, initially as a Catholic chapel for the

Infanta Maria Anna of Spain Maria Anna of Spain (18 August 160613 May 1646)Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria of France ( French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649. She was ...

, a Catholic, and her retinue. In later years, it served various continental Protestants who were resident at Court. It is one of the facilities of the British monarch's household religious establishment, the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

, but should not be confused with the 1540 liturgical building also known as the ''

'', which is within the palace, just across Marlborough Road. Queen's Chapel is a

Grade I 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, H ...

listed building.

History

The Queen's Chapel was built as a Catholic chapel at a time when the construction of churches for that denomination was otherwise prohibited in England, and was used by

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

's wife French Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

, who imported chapel furnishings from France. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

it was used as a stable. It was refurbished in 1662, and again in the 1680s by

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

. From the 1690s the chapel was used by the Continental Protestant courtiers of

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

. In 1718, the chapel was given over to German courtiers of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

who had moved to England with him. The chapel was then called the ''German Chapel''. On 17 September 1782 the German organist Augustus Frederic Christopher Kollmann began work at the Royal German Chapel and he was there for the rest of his life. He was succeeded by his son George Augustus Kollmann and his daughter Johanna Sophia Kollmann who died in 1849. It became an administered

again in 1938. The chapel was built as an integral part of St James's Palace, but when the adjacent private apartments of the monarch burned down in 1809 they were not replaced, and in 1856–57 Marlborough Road was laid out between the palace and the Queen's Chapel. The result is that physically the chapel now appears to be more part of the

Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent to St James's Palace. The ...

complex than of St James's Palace. The body of

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

lay at the Queen's Chapel for several days in 2002, during the preparations for her lying-in-state in

Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

before her ceremonial funeral.

Architecture

The brick building is rendered to appear as if it were stone built. It was built in a

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

style. It has

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

ends with

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s. The interior vault is gilded and painted.

Gallery

File:The Queen's Chapel from Marlborough House.jpg, East and North walls
from Marlborough House grounds File:Queen's Chapel Jan Kip 1688.jpg, The Queen's Chapel in 1688 after refurnishing by

in 1682–1684 File:German Chapel, St James's Palace, from Pyne's Royal Residences, 1819 - panteek py107-331.jpg, The German Chapel in 1819 File:Information board on The Queen's Chapel.jpg, Plaque next to the Queen's Chapel

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading