St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church on
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...
in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir
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 ...
.
The church is built of red
brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
with
Portland stone dressings. Its interior has galleries on three sides supported by square pillars and the nave has a
barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
supported by
Corinthian columns
The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...
. The carved
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design.
For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
and
limewood reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
are both notable examples of the work of
Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London church ...
. In 1902, an outside pulpit was erected on the north wall of the church. It was designed by
Temple Moore
Temple Lushington Moore (7 June 1856 – 30 June 1920) was an English architect who practised in London but whose work can be seen across England, particularly in the North. He is famous for a series of fine Gothic Revival churches built betwe ...
and carved by
Laurence Arthur Turner. It was damaged in 1940, but restored at the same time as the rest of the fabric.
History
In 1662,
Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans
Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of Saint Albans (25 March 1605 (Baptism, baptised) – January 1684) was an English Cavaliers, Royalist politician, diplomat, courtier and property developer.
Jermyn sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commo ...
, was granted land for residential development on what was then the outskirts of London. He set aside land for the building of a parish church and churchyard on the south side of what is now Piccadilly. Christopher Wren was appointed the architect in 1672 and the church was consecrated on 13 July 1684 by
Henry Compton, the
Bishop of London
The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723.
The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
. In 1685 the parish of
St James was created for the church.
The church was severely damaged by enemy action in the
London Blitz
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
on 14 October 1940. After the war ended, the church was restored by Sir
Albert Richardson. Specialist contractors,
Rattee and Kett, of Cambridge, under the supervision of Messrs. W. F. Heslop and F. Brigmore, undertook restoration work, which was completed in 1954. The old lead-covered spire was replaced by a much lighter fibreglass copy. The restored interior, with its pews and light fittings, represents a rare survival of a full suite of church furnishing by Richardson. Southwood Garden was created in the churchyard by
Viscount Southwood after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as a garden of remembrance, "to commemorate the courage and fortitude of the people of London", and was opened by
Queen Mary in 1946.
Present

Like many central London churches surrounded by commercial buildings and ever fewer local people, St James's lost numbers and momentum in the 1960s and 1970s. When, in 1980, Donald Reeves was offered the post of
rector, the bishop allegedly said "I don't mind what you do, just keep it open." During that decade and most of the 1990s numbers and activity grew, the clergy and congregation gaining a reputation for being a
progressive, liberal and campaigning church. That has continued. The "congregation" rejects that description and prefers "community". It is centred on the
Eucharist
The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
, the celebration of the principal Christian
sacrament
A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...
. It finds expression in a wide range of interest groups: spiritual explorers,
labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
walking,
Julian prayer meetings, the Vagabonds group (a lively discussion group which takes its name from a
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
poem and in faithfulness to that text meets in a local alehouse), an
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
group and many others. The community has actively supported, and supports, the
ordination of women
The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...
to all the orders of the church, the just treatment of
asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A per ...
s and those living in poverty. It celebrates what it regards as the "radical welcome" found in the heart of the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
s and attested to by the
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...
. The church was embroiled in a controversy in 2023 after organizing a drag show in the Church, it drew some criticism, being described as "inappropriate". In May 2024 St James's was the first church to have a show garden at
RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Its gold award-winning 'Imagine the World to be Different' garden was designed by Robert Myers to highlight the restorative power of urban green spaces and was sponsored b
Project Giving Backin support of its fundraising campaign for the Wren Project, to revitalise the church and garden.
Organ
The west wall of the Church is dominated by a sumptuous organ case of carved and gilded oak by
Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London church ...
, which originally contained an organ by Renatus Harris, originally built for the Roman Catholic chapel in Whitehall Palace, and installed here in 1691. This organ was entirely rebuilt in 1852 by J. C. Bishop, who added the choir case that now sits in front of the original Gibbons Case. A restoration project has been underway since at least 1982, which has not yet come to fruition. The current proposal is to re-build a new organ within the historic case. At present, the case sits empty, and an electronic replacement is used instead.
Concerts
Concerts are regularly held in the church. Concerts have included performances by popular contemporary musicians such as
John Grant,
Tokio Myers,
Victoria Canal,
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
, the folk musician
Laura Marling
Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is an English Folk music, folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist, Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for th ...
as part of her "church tour", the collegiate Indian-American music group
Penn Masala and
Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...
on his 2015 UK acoustic tour.
Creative art programme
Hauser & Wirth, a contemporary art gallery, ran a programme of outdoor sculpture exhibitions in Southwood Garden in the grounds of the church in 2009–2010. The first exhibition was of work by the Swiss sculptor
Hans Josephsohn.
From 23 December 2013 to 5 January 2014 the "Bethlehem Unwrapped" demonstration against the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...
featured an art installation by Justin Butcher, Geof Thompson, and Dean Willars, which included a large replica section of the wall. The installation blocked the view of the church, other than a section of the top of the tower, which was stated by church authorities to be part of the point of the demonstration.
Following a short-term residency based in the bell tower at St James's, Turner Prize nominated artist Jesse Darling's ''Miserere'' (a substantial new work in the form of a choir or congregation) was installed in the church 12–16 October 2022.
In September 2023, a series of murals by
Che Lovelace were unveiled in the church, to mark the 250th anniversary of the baptism of abolitionist
Ottobah Cugoano
Ottobah Cugoano ( – ), also known as John Stuart, was a British abolitionist and activist who was born in the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). He was sold into slavery at the age of thirteen and shipped to Grenada in the West Indies. In 1772, h ...
, which took place at St James's in 1773; it was the first permanent artwork commissioned by the church, as well as the first anywhere in the world to commemorate Cugoano.
Rectors of St James's
* 1685–1692
Thomas Tenison
Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs.
Life
He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...
(later Archbishop of Canterbury)
* 1692–1695
Peter Birch (in opposition to Wake, removed by House of Lords adjudication in 1695)
* 1693–1706
William Wake
William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a minister in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to his death.
Life
Wake was born in Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, o ...
(later Archbishop of Canterbury)
* 1706–1709
Charles Trimnell (also Bishop of Norwich from 1708, later Bishop of Winchester)
* 1709–1729†
Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley. Clarke's altered, Nontrinitarian revision of the 1 ...
(philosopher)
* 1729–1733 Robert Tyrwhitt
* 1733–1750
Thomas Secker (also Bishop of Bristol then Oxford, later Archbishop of Canterbury)
* 1750–1759
Charles Moss (also Archdeacon of Colchester, later Bishop of St David's then Bath & Wells)
* 1759–1763† Samuel Nicolls
* 1763–1802†
William Parker
* 1802–1825†
Gerrard Andrewes (also Dean of Canterbury from 1809)
* 1825–1845
John Giffard Ward (later Dean of Lincoln)
* 1846–1853
John Jackson (later Bishop of Lincoln then London)
* 1853–1895 John Edward Kempe
* 1895–1900
Alfred Barry (formerly Bishop of Sydney)
* 1900–1914†
Joseph McCormick
* 1914–1918
William Temple (later Archbishop of Canterbury)
* 1918–1922 Herbert Priestley Cronshaw
* 1922–1954†
Charles Lambert (also Archdeacon of Hampstead)
* 1954–1967
John Brewis (formerly Archdeacon of Doncaster)
* 1967–1980
Bill Baddeley (formerly Dean of Brisbane)
* 1980–1998 Donald Reeves
* 1999–2009 Charles Hedley
* 2010–
Lucy Winkett
† ''Rector died in post''
Other staff
*
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...
was choirmaster from 1902 until 1905, when he left for a similar position in New York.
Notable baptisms
* Sir
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...
, baptised 13 February 1743.
*
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
, baptised 1757.
*
Ottobah Cugoano
Ottobah Cugoano ( – ), also known as John Stuart, was a British abolitionist and activist who was born in the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). He was sold into slavery at the age of thirteen and shipped to Grenada in the West Indies. In 1772, h ...
, baptised (as John Stuart) on 20 August 1773.
*
George Thomas Smart, baptised 2 June 1776.
*
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
* Lord Chatham
Notable weddings
* John Ross and Alicia Arnold (the paternal great-grandparents of
Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" which was set to a popular British tune and eventually became t ...
; who wrote the American
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
) were married.
* The Scottish composer
James Oswald married Mary Ann Melvill on 12 February 1744.
*
Ince and Mayhew, founding partners of the furniture makers, married sisters in a double wedding here in 1762.
*
Frederick de Horn and
Angelica Kauffman
Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss people, Swiss Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered prima ...
, 1767. Horn was an imposter who was already married and Kauffman was a successful artist.
*
George Bass
George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.
Early life
Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George B ...
, explorer of Australia and the
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...
, married Elizabeth Waterhouse in 1800.
*
Michael William Sharp
Michael William Sharp (1776? – 1840) was an English painter.
Life
He was born in London, and was a pupil of Sir William Beechey. He also studied in the schools of the Royal Academy. In about 1804 he married the actress and dancer Arabella Me ...
, portrait painter, married the actress and dancer
Arabella Menage in 1804.
* Georges-Alexis, marquis d'Amboise and Louisa Barwell, daughter of Richard Barwell, Member of Parliament, in 1815.
*
Philip Hardwick, the
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, married Julia Shaw in 1819.
*
General Sir Robert Arbuthnot, KCB, married Harriet Smith in 1826.
* Prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Hanau, eldest son of
Frederik William, Elector of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), married actress Auguste Birnbaum in 1856.
* Also in 1856, George Augustus Hopley, the Belgian Consul to Charleston South Carolina, in the US, married the French-born Felicité Claudine Rancine on 26 July. (George later died in Paris on 28 May 1859, aged 52.)
* On 5 November 1865,
Samuel Baker
Sir Samuel White Baker (8 June 1821 – 30 December 1893) was an English explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. He also held the titles of Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt ...
, explorer of Africa, married
Florence Barbara Maria von Sass, a woman he had rescued from the
white slave trade when she was a girl. He was twenty years her senior.
*In 1873 the actor and dancer
Fred Vokes married the actress Martha Isabella 'Bella' Moore.
*
John Cyril Porte
Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat aviation pioneer, pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe.
Early life and career
Porte was b ...
, an aviation pioneer and
air racer, married Minnie Miller on 16 August 1916. The ceremony was conducted by John E. T. Evitt, Curate.
*
Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...
, an author and poet, married
Nancy Nicholson in the church in 1918. The best man was
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh-Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English Mountaineering, mountaineer who participated in the first three British Mount Everest expeditions from the early to mid-1920s. He and climbing partner An ...
.
*
John Seward Johnson I, the American heir and son of
Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
, married Ruth Dill, the sister of
Diana Dill, in 1924.
*
James Arbuthnot
James Norwich Arbuthnot, Baron Arbuthnot of Edrom, (born 4 August 1952), is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Wanstead and Woodford ...
MP, married Emma Broadbent, daughter of
Michael Broadbent, in 1984.
* The marriage of Flora Ogilvy, granddaughter of
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, and Timothy Vesterberg, was blessed in the church on 10 September 2021.
Notable burials
*
John Arbuthnot, buried 1735
*
Charles Bridgeman. Buried 22 July 1738. King's Gardener to George I, George II. Laid out the Serpentine and gardens between it and Kensington Palace. Designed many landscapes, such as Richmond, Kew ''et alia ., Depicted clutching a garden plan, behind the dancing-master in William Hogarth's 'A Rake's Progress, No. 2, 1732–173
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/202475489/charles-bridgeman. Birth 1690 Exning, Suffolk'' Charles Bridgeman Esq. Buried 22 July 1738.
*
Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet, equerry to
Frederick, Duke of York
*
Sir George Baker, 1st Baronet, FRS, FSA, physician to
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
(memorial in church)
*
Mary Beale
Mary Beale () (16331699) was an English portrait painter. She was part of a small band of female professional artists working in London. Beale became the main financial provider for her family through her professional work a career she maintai ...
, one of the first professional women artists, buried 1699
*
Robert Anning Bell
Robert Anning Bell (14 April 1863 – 27 November 1933) was an English artist and designer.
Early life
Robert Anning Bell was born in London on 14 April 1863, the son of Robert George Bell, a cheesemonger, and Mary Charlotte Knight. He studied ...
, artist and designer (memorial in church)
* Lieutenant-General Sir
Colin Campbell, KCB, British Army officer and colonial governor
*
Charles Cotton
Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Complea ...
, poet and writer, best known for translating the work of
Michel de Montaigne
Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...
from the French, for his contributions to
The Compleat Angler
''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton, first published in 1653 by John and Richard Marriot, Richard Marriot in Lon ...
and for the influential ''
The Compleat Gamester'' (memorial in church)
*
Sir Richard Croft, 6th Baronet, physician to the
British Royal Family
The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...
and
obstetrician
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
to
Princess Charlotte of Wales. He became famous due to his role in 'the triple obstetrical tragedy' of 1817 (memorial in church).
*
William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry (also known as "Old Q.")
*
William Elliot of Wells, equerry to
King George II, buried 1764
*
James Gillray
James Gillray (13 August 1756Gillray, James and Draper Hill (1966). ''Fashionable contrasts''. Phaidon. p. 8.Baptism register for Fetter Lane (Moravian) confirms birth as 13 August 1756, baptism 17 August 1756 1June 1815) was a British list of c ...
, notable caricaturist
*
Lieutenant General Hugh Mackay Gordon,
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer who became
Lieutenant Governor of Jersey (memorial in church)
* The
Earl of Grantham, Lord Chamberlain to Queen
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline; 1 March 1683 – 20 November 1737) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and List of Hanoverian royal consorts, Electress of Hanover from 11 J ...
*
Lord Anne Hamilton
Lord Anne Hamilton (12 October 1709 – 25 December 1748) was a Scottish nobleman. He is said to have married the richest woman in Great Britain and they had a child.
Early life
Hamilton was born at St. James's Square, London, the third son of ...
, younger son of
James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton
* Field Marshal Studholme Hodgson, British Army officer who served throughout the 18th century
* William Hunter (anatomist), William Hunter, anatomist (memorial in church)
* Pedro Vicente Maldonado, Ecuadorian scientist (memorial in church)
* William McGillivray and his wife, Magdalen MacDonald (memorial in church)
* Stephen Peter Rigaud, mathematical historian and astronomer (memorial in church)
* David Ross (actor, born 1728), David Ross (1728-1790) actor and theatre owner
* Bartholomew Ruspini, 18th-century surgeon-dentist and philanthropist, remembered for founding the Royal Masonic School for Girls (memorial in church)
* Benjamin Stillingfleet, botanist, the first Blue Stockings Society, bluestocking
[Barbara Brandon Schnorrenberg,]
Montagu, Elizabeth (1718–1800)
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (eds). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
* Thomas Sydenham (1624–89)
* Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney (March 1641 – 8 April 1704)
* Samuel Turner (diplomat), Samuel Turner, early British visitor to Tibet, interred 1802
* Willem van de Velde, the elder, marine painter (memorial in church)
* Willem van de Velde, the younger, marine painter (memorial in church)
* Frances Deering Wentworth, wife of Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet
Notable memorials
*
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
, poet, painter and printmaker, now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age
* Sir William Bowman, 1st Baronet, surgeon, histologist and anatomist, best known for his research using microscopes to study various human organs
* Richard Bright (physician), Richard Bright, physician and early pioneer in the research of kidney disease, particularly known for his description of Bright's disease
* Mary Delany, artist and Bluestocking, equally famous for her "paper mosaicks" and her lively correspondence
* William Curtis Green, architect
* John Hodgson (British Army officer), General John Studholme Hodgson,
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer who served as Colonel of the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot
* Sir Herbert Hughes-Stanton, watercolour and oil painter, predominantly of landscapes
* Francis Ernest Jackson, painter, draughtsman, poster designer and lithographer
* Sir George Johnson (physician), George Johnson, eminent physician, who became recognized as an authority on cholera and kidney diseases
*
Joseph McCormick, cricketer, Canon of York and Chaplain to Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V
* Frederick William Pomeroy, prolific sculptor of architectural and monumental works
* Sir Henry Rushbury, painter and etcher
* Sir James Jebusa Shannon, Anglo-American artist
* Air Vice Marshal Sir Arthur Vyell Vyvyan, KCB, DSO, officer in the Royal Navy in the early 20th century and later a senior officer in the newly created Royal Air Force
* George Spencer Watson, portrait artist of the late romantic school who sometimes worked in the style of the Italian Renaissance
* William Yarrell, zoologist, writer, bookseller and naturalist, admired by his contemporaries for his precise scientific work
Detached burial ground
A separate burial ground of St James's Church was developed in Camden Town, Camden, in use from 1790 until 1853. It had been obtained via a 1789 act of Parliament (29 Geo. 3. c. 47), which also provided for the erection of a chapel of ease for the parish, designed by Thomas Hardwick and opening in 1791.
With the railway-related expansion around Euston Station, the Chapel was given a parish of its own in 1871, but the cemetery fell into disrepair and became St James's Gardens in 1878 with only a few gravestones lining the edges of the park. Part of the Gardens, located between Hampstead Road, London, Hampstead Road and Euston railway station, was built over when Euston station was expanded in around 1887. To avoid public outcry, the affected remains were reinterred at St Pancras Cemetery. The Gardens were closed to the public in 2017 to allow the further expansion of Euston station for the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project.
Between October 2018 and 2020, archaeologists working on HS2 excavated approximately 40,000 burials.
It was proposed to re-bury the remains after they had been examined by Osteoarchaeology, osteo-archaeologists.
The remains were agreed to be re-interred at Surrey's Brookwood Cemetery which has received relocated remains from London since the 1870s. While almost all remains would be relocated there, it was agreed in 2019 that Matthew Flinders' remains would be buried in his home village of Donington, Lincolnshire. Work to prepare for the arrival of the remains at Brookwood began around August 2020 and was completed sometime after November 2020. The Church hosted an exhibition, Stories of St James's Burial Ground, with Museum of London Archaeology in spring 2023.
Notable burials included:
* James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie (1730–1803), naval officer and auctioneer
* Matthew Flinders (1774–1814), naval officer and explorer, whose burial was re-located in January 2019.
* Lord George Gordon (1751–1793), politician
* Bill Richmond (1763–1829), boxer
* John Charles Felix Rossi (1762–1839), English sculptor
* Thomas Garnett (physician), Thomas Garnett (1766 to 1802), English physician and natural philosopher, first professor of natural philosophy and chemistry at the Royal Institution (1799)
Sources
*''London Architecture'', written by Marianne Butler, published in 2004 by Metro Publications,
See also
* List of Christopher Wren churches in London
* List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished
* List of churches and cathedrals of London
References
External links
*
Detailed architectural description and history from the Survey of London*
Piccadilly Market at St James's Church Piccadilly360° panorama inside St James's Church Piccadilly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jamess Church, Piccadilly
Churches completed in 1684
17th-century Church of England church buildings
Christopher Wren church buildings in London
Church of England church buildings in the City of Westminster
Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in London, Piccadilly
Diocese of London
English Baroque church buildings
Grade I listed churches in the City of Westminster
Buildings and structures on Piccadilly
1684 establishments in England
Burials at St James's Church, Piccadilly,