St Jude's Church, Courtfield Gardens,

Kensington, London Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensing ...

, was designed by architects

George Godwin George Godwin (28 January 1813 – 27 January 1888) was an influential British architect, journalist, and editor of ''Building (magazine), The Builder'' magazine. Life He was one of nine children of the architect George Godwin senior (1780� ...

and Henry Godwin, and built between 1867 and 1870; the tower and spire were constructed in 1879. It was built on the northern portion of Captain Robert Gunter's estate. The project was overseen by Reverend J. A. Aston, and financed by

John Derby Allcroft John Derby Allcroft (19 July 1822 – 29 July 1893) was an English philanthropic entrepreneur, evangelical Anglican and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1878 to 1880. Early life Allcroft was born on 19 July 1822, th ...

, a wealthy glove manufacturer.Listed Buildings Online: 'Church of St Jude'
Accessed 03.07.2009 The construction, not including the tower, pulpit, font and organ cost £11,300, and was undertaken by Myers & Sons.May 13th, 1871 ' The Builder' The building is now occupied by

St Mellitus College St Mellitus College is an English theological college established in 2007 by the Diocese of London and the Diocese of Chelmsford of the Church of England. It has campuses in Earl's Court, Chelmsford, Plymouth, and Nottingham, with growing links wi ...

, led by the Dean, Russell Winfield. The college runs

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

and theology courses. On Sundays the building is one of five sites where the church of

Holy Trinity Brompton Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's Onslow Square and St Augustine's South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (''formerly ...

meets.

Original exterior

St Jude's Church is surrounded by Courtfield Gardens, Collingham Road, and Courtfield Road. Adjacent to the north is the Vicarage (built in 1874), also designed by George and Henry Godwin.Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner: 'The Buildings of England – London 3: North West' pp458-9 The building was realised in a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. It was built of

Kentish ragstone Kentish ragstone is a hard grey limestone in Kent, England, drawn from the geological sequence known as the Hythe Beds of the Lower Greensand. For millennia it has been quarried for use both locally and further afield. Geology Ragstone occurs ...

, with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone dressings and has steeply pitched gabled roofs, of more than forty roof slopes. The roof is slate, in varying coloured bands of pale and dark grey tiles.

Original interior

The nave has galleries at a first floor level, on the north, west and south sides. It is unusually wide for its length, and has banded iron columns with sheet copper crafted capitals. The brickwork contains elaborate patterns of buff, red and black bricks, and murals in roundels above the column

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, and in the reveal of the chancel arch, painted by Edward Frampton. The nave has diagonally-set quarry tiles, and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

is Minton tiles. The chancel has several interesting features: the

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 ...

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

, with mosaics by Antonio Salviati, and sculpted figures of St Jude, St Peter, and St Augustine. The pulpit is marble and alabaster, and the

lectern A lectern is a standing reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of ...

is brass. These were designed by Thomas Earp and crafted by Edward Frampton.

Use of the building

The Reverend Robert William Forest D.D. was the first incumbent of the church, and later was Dean of Worcester.St Mary the Boltons Website
The building was designed for a capacity of up to 1600 during services by utilising the nave, narthex, and galleries. The building was listed Grade II* on 7 November 1984. In 2006, the parishioners of St Jude's Church were absorbed into

St Mary the Boltons St Mary The Boltons is an Anglican church in The Boltons, Brompton, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The Boltons, a street in Brompton, was farmland until the middle of the 19th century. As part of westward expansion of ...

, doubling the latter's congregation. Meanwhile, the building was taken over by

Holy Trinity Brompton Church Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's Onslow Square and St Augustine's South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (''formerly ...

(HTB).

Building project

Under the leadership of HTB, and designed by HMDW Architects, work began in 2010 to transform the building into a

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

–

. The roof was entirely replaced, with like-for-like slates. The newly excavated

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...

houses two lecture rooms, offices and amenities. On the ground floor, the nave has been divided with intrusive glass screens, reducing its width significantly, and reducing its length by a full bay. A café has been installed in the greatly enlarged

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

. It has all been floored with a typical office-style carpet, which complements the modern commercial building ceiling of the new narthex. A new first floor, at the same level of the galleries, provides a library above the Narthex Café for students of the college. The western exterior entrance stonework has been cleaned, and the interior white paint, applied to cover the brickwork, has been removed. Archived memorials have been reinstated.Information on HMDW Architects Website
/ref> The appearance of the nave has been greatly altered, the sides of which have been lined with vertical blinds, which hang in front of the new glass partitions. File:St Jude Courtfield Gdns Interior 2009.JPG, Nave, looking west, before building work began, 2009 File:St Jude Courtfield Gdns, NE exterior 2009.jpg, North East exterior, before building work began, note the slate banding File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, External view, new roof.JPG, After redevelopment by HMDW Architects. External view from the garden of the new roof File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, Cafe view east 543.JPG, Cafe view east File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, Nave view east 486.JPG, Nave view east, towards the Pulpit, the North Gallery and Offices under the Gallery File:St Jude's Church, Kensington, Nave view west 502.JPG, Nave view west, towards the Cafe, with Library at first floor level. The Timber Gallery balustrade surrounds the nave at first floor level

References

External links

HTB's Official Site

HMDW Architects website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jude's Church, Kensington 19th-century Church of England church buildings 2006 disestablishments in England Church of England church buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II listed churches in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Kensington St Mellitus College