Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury
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Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury | |
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Raphael Brandon | |
Years built | 1850–1854 |
Groundbreaking | 27 June 1851[3] |
Completed | 1856 |
The Church of Christ the King belongs to
Construction and design
The main entrance is at the east end, from Gordon Street, through a gabled porch with angle buttresses (with mouldings, a pointed-arch door and a two-light and oculus plate tracery window above the door) which links onto the Lady Chapel via an octagonal turret and two-light room. (There is also a north side entrance approached by a cloister walk from the porch.)
The five-bay nave (only 13 feet lower than that of Westminster Abbey) has a gabled east facade with three large
The
The church's three-bay sanctuary has a roof with stone rib-vaulting and foliated bosses, along with a sanctuary lamp by Augustus Pugin. The three-bay Lady Chapel (formerly the English Chapel) is beyond this sanctuary, separated from it by a screen behind the high altar with open traceried window to the chapel. The chapel itself has a richly painted timber roof and stone angel along with an east facade with arcaded lancet windows below a small rose window and gable, along with gabled and pinnacled buttresses.[2]
Annette Peach, in her entry for Raphael Brandon in the Dictionary of National Biography, writes:
"The Catholic Apostolic Church in Gordon Square, London, was built between 1850 and 1854 and, though reproducing features recorded by the Brandon brothers in their scholarly works, this extremely large church was criticized by a contemporary for its lack of originality of design.[4] Recent scholars, however, have drawn attention to the combination of 13th- and 15th-century Gothic precedents in its design, which offer a tangible record of the Brandon brothers' study of ecclesiastical architecture."[5][6]
The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 10 June 1954.[2]
In 1853, a fine organ was erected by
University Church
From 1963 to 1994, it was known as the University Church of Christ the King and served the Anglican Chaplaincy to the Universities and Colleges of the Diocese of London. In practice, it was a worship centre for students living in the university halls nearby, but was also used occasionally for London-wide events, with a very strong emphasis on music in worship (under the successive musical directorships of Ian Hall, Alan Wilson and Simon Over).
This new role was begun with a morning Eucharist at which the
The last Chaplaincy Sunday service was held on 28 June 1992, but a weekday Eucharist continued to be celebrated in the English Chapel. The last chaplaincy service was conducted on Ash Wednesday (16 February) 1994 by the Reverend Alan Walker of the University of Westminster; The Diocese surrendered its lease on the church to the Trustees on 30 June. A popular student venue, the Crypt Café, ran in the basement for several years until that date.
Euston Church
Euston Church, a Church of England Bishop's Mission Order plant from St Helen's Church, Bishopsgate, started meeting in the church from September 2015, with services at 11am, 3pm and 5pm.[10]
Forward in Faith
The Lady Chapel / English Chapel at the east end of the Church is used by the Anglican Forward in Faith movement. Mass is celebrated on each weekday at 12.30pm.[11]
References
- ^ "Catholic Apostolic Church Alias Irvingite Church in Gordon Square". Morning Advertiser. England. 3 January 1853. Retrieved 11 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "Church of Christ the King and attached railings and walls (1113038)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "Laying the foundation stone of a new Irvingite or Catholic Apostolic Church". Nottinghamshire Guardian. England. 3 July 1851. Retrieved 11 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- RIBASessional Papers, 10
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3264. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ G. Stamp and C. Amery, Victorian buildings of London, 1837–1887: an illustrated guide (1980), 40–41
- National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ Charles William Pearce, A Biographical Sketch of Edmund Hart Turpin, 1911
- ^ Pevsner service Archived 15 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine – JSTOR access required
- ^ "Euston church". Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "English Chapel". Forward in Faith. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
Further reading
- Site remembering the Anglican university chaplaincy formerly based at the church
- Mystery Worshipper report from Ship of Fools
- Letter of John Betjeman on the church