All Souls Church, Langham Place
All Souls Church, Langham Place | |
---|---|
AEO) | |
Rector | Charlie Skrine |
Laity | |
Director of music | Michael Andrews |
Churchwarden(s) | Rob Turner Jo Richards |
All Souls Church is a
As it is directly opposite Broadcasting House, the BBC often broadcasts from the church. As well as the core church membership, many hundreds of visitors come to All Souls, bringing the average number of those coming through the doors for services on Sundays to around 2,500 every week. All Souls has an international congregation, with all ages represented.
History
The church was designed by
All Souls was a
The building was completed in December 1823 at a final cost of £18,323 10s 5d. and was consecrated the following year by the Bishop of London.
Architecture
The church is built of
Nash's design was not met with universal praise. A reviewer for
To our eye, the church itself, apart from the tower, (for such it almost is) is perhaps, one of the most miserable structures in the metropolis,—in its starved proportions more resembling a manufactory, or warehouse, than the impressive character of a church exterior; an effect to which the Londoner is not an entire stranger. Here, too, we are inclined to ascribe much of the ridicule, which the whole church has received, to its puny proportions and scantiness of decoration, which are far from being assisted by any stupendousness in their details, the first impression of which might probably have fixed the attention of the spectator. Indeed, the whole style of the tower and steeple appears peculiarly illadapted for so small a scale as has here been attempted.[4]
Crown appointment
The Rector of All Souls Church is still appointed by the
Post-war restoration
On 8 December 1940, a Luftwaffe
Mid-1970s building project
Despite only having recently been fully restored in 1951, the church was again extensively renovated and modified in 1975-1976,[7] in an unusually invasive scheme for a Grade I listed building, under the supervision of then rector, Michael Baughen. A large basement was excavated under the church to provide a church hall and other spaces for the congregation and visitors to meet together after services and during the week. The rebuilt floor was also raised to facilitate this, resulting in the original proportions of the room being significantly changed, resulting in the current squat appearance, with very low ceilings under the galleries, and unusually low windowsills. The gallery fronts were also replaced and date from this time, and the west gallery was also extended forward, now looking rather unusually unsupported for a classical building. The then-new Waldegrave Hall was built in the typical style of the 1970s, with wall-to-wall carpeting and fluorescent lighting. It is also designed in such a way that the original brick foundations of the Church are visible.
At the same time, the opportunity was taken to restructure the interior of the church to make it more suitable for then-present-day forms of worship favoured by the more evangelical wing of the Church of England in the 1970s, and no original furnishing remains apart from the organ case and the reredos. The side altar in the south aisle was also removed, and the area is now used for chair storage. At present, the body of the church is carpeted, and stackable chairs and tables are provided to enable alternative uses of the space.
Organ and music
All Souls is well known for its musical tradition and part of this includes the Hunter organ installed in the west gallery in a Spanish mahogany case designed by Nash. The case was enlarged and extended in 1913. In 1940, anticipating war damage to the church, the organ was dismantled and put into storage, then in 1951 remodelled and rebuilt, with a new rotatable electric manual and pedal console, and installed in the chancel by the firm of Henry Willis (IV). The organ was again rebuilt, by Harrison & Harrison, during the building project of 1975–1976, when a four-manual console was added, plus a positive division and a pronounced fanfare-trumpet en-chamade.[8] In 1933, John Ivimey was appointed as organist and Director of Music.[9]
Musical worship mixes contemporary and traditional styles, featuring either the church's worship band, orchestra, singing group or choir at all the main regular Sunday services, under the leadership of Michael Andrews. In 1972, the All Souls Orchestra was founded by former director of music and Emeritus Conductor, Noël Tredinnick, and has accompanied Sir Cliff Richard, Stuart Townend and other notable Christian artists. The orchestra and a massed choir perform annually at the Royal Albert Hall for the All Souls "Prom Praise" concert, which also tours across the UK and internationally. "Prom Praise for Schools" is sometimes held alongside Prom Praise, providing children from across the Diocese of London the chance to sing with the All Souls Orchestra. In 2012, the All Souls Orchestra celebrated its 40th anniversary, alongside special guests including Graham Kendrick, Keith & Kristyn Getty, and Jonathan Veira.
Present day
All Souls celebrates four services each Sunday, with an early morning
Sermons from Sunday services are uploaded for free streaming and download by the following Monday afternoon. The archive now contains over 3,000 sermons.
The church stands in the
Clergy
The current rector is the Revd Charlie Skrine who was installed on 28 April 2021.
One of the church's most notable clerics was
The Revd Richard Bewes was rector from 1983 until his retirement in 2004. He was awarded an
Other notable former clergy include Rico Tice, who developed the Christianity Explored course; an introduction to Christian beliefs based on the Gospel of Mark and influenced by the conservative evangelical tradition.[15]
List of rectors
- George Chandler, Rector 1825–1847[16]
- Charles Baring, Rector 1847–1855, later Bishop of Gloucester
- William Thomson, Rector 1855–1861, but in residence only in 1855; later Archbishop of York[17]
- Edward Revell Eardley-Wilmot, Vicar 1855–1861, Rector 1861–1872[18]
- John Minet Freshfield, Rector 1873–1878[19]
- Sholto D. C. Douglas, Rector 1878–1886[20]
- William Hay Chapman, Rector 1886–1893[21]
- Johnston Hamilton Acheson, Rector 1893–1898[22]
- Francis Scott Webster, Rector 1898–1920[23]
- Arthur Buxton, Rector 1920–1936[24]
- Harold Earnshaw Smith, Rector 1936–1950
- John Stott, Rector 1950–1975
- Michael Baughen, Rector 1975–1982, later Bishop of Chester
- Richard Bewes, Rector 1983–2004
- Hugh Palmer, Rector 2005–2020
- Charlie Skrine, Rector 2021–
See also
- List of churches and cathedrals of London
- List of Commissioners' churches in London
References
- Footnotes
- ^ a b c d Summerson 1962, p. 220.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ISBN 9781904965084
- ^ Byerley & Timbs 1828, p. 66.
- ^ "All Souls, Langham Place, London: Elevated view of the nave showing the damage caused by a landmine explosion in 1940".
- ^ History A brief look back at the All Souls story so far. Why Are We Here? www.allsouls.org, accessed 3 December 2020
- ^ "All Souls, Langham Place : History".
- ^ Organ specifications Archived 23 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine www.harrisonorgans.com
- ^ "MUSIC APPOINTMENT" in Cheltenham Chronicle dated Saturday 19 August 1933, p. 6
- ^ "Job Description – Minister (Pastoral & Discipleship)" (PDF). All Souls Church, Langham Place. 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
All Souls Today: In the heart of London's West End All Souls is a conservative evangelical Anglican church with a large and diverse congregation.
[permanent dead link] - ^ "Rector - Job Advert". All Souls, Langham Place. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- David Brooks cited Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center as saying that "if evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person they would likely choose."
- ^ John Stott Has Died Obituary in Christianity Today www.christianitytoday.com, accessed 3 December 2020
- ^ 'Engagements' Archived 2012-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, Duke of York. [accessed 18 August 2012]
- ISBN 978-0715142844.
Some courses are more catholic in tone (Knowing God Better), some are conservative evangelical (Christianity Explored), some are broad church (Emmaus) and some are charismatic (Alpha).
- ISBN 0-85033-924-3), p. 126
- ^ "York, 86 archbp. of" in Kelly's Handbook to the Titles, Landed & Official Classes (Kelly's Directories, 1875), p. 518: "... rector of All Souls, Langham Place, London 1855–61"
- ^ Rev Edward Revel EARDLEY-WILMOT 10712 at thekingscandlesticks.com, accessed 26 April 2019
- ^ "ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE" in Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated Thursday 23 January 1873, p. 3: "Rev. J. M. Freshfield, M.A. Rector of All Souls, St. Marylebone"
- ^ "PREFERMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS" in Bristol Mercury dated Friday 15 November 1878, p. 3: "Rev. Sholto D. C. Douglas, Vicar of All Saints', Derby; Rector of All Souls', Marylebone"; "APPOINTMENTS" in Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer dated Friday 3 December 1886, p. 8: "APPOINTMENTS. The Rev. Sholto D. C. Douglas has resigned the vicarage of All Souls', Langham Place, having come into possession of some large property in Scotland..."
- ^ "CHURCHES & CHURCHMEN" in North Wales Chronicle dated Saturday 4 December 1886, p. 7: "Rev William Hay Chapman, vicar of Southborough, rector of All Souls', Langham-place; patron, the Crown"; Chester Chronicle dated 1 July 1893, p. 8: "The Rev. W. Hay Chapman, Rector of All Souls, Langham Place, London, has resigned through ill health."
- ^ "ECCLESIASTICAL NEWS PREFERMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS. Rev. Canon J. H. Acheson, M.A., Rector St Peters, Chaster : Rector of All Souls', Langham place." in York Herald dated 3 July 1893, p. 2; "Pall Mall Gazette Office" in Pall Mall Gazette dated 6 April 1898, p. 4: "Lord Berners has presented the Rev. Canon Acheson, rector of All Souls', Langham-place, to the rectory of Kirby-Cane, Norfolk. The vacant living of All Souls, which is worth about £650 ..."
- ^ "Webster, Rev. Francis Scott" in Who Was Who: A Companion to Who's Who, Vol. 2 (London: A. & C. Black, 1929), p. 1,104
- ^ "Buxton, Arthur" in Crockford's Clerical Directory (1930), p. 190
- Sources
- Summerson, John (1962), Georgian London (Revised ed.), Harmondsworth: Penguin Books
- Byerley, Thomas; Timbs, John (1828), "All Souls' Church", The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Volume 12, J. Limbird
External links
- Media related to All Souls Church, Langham Place at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website