Christ Church Spitalfields
Encyclopedia
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...
is an Anglican church built between 1714 and 1729 to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor was a British architect born in Nottinghamshire, probably in East Drayton.-Life:Hawksmoor was born in Nottinghamshire in 1661, into a yeoman farming family, almost certainly in East Drayton, Nottinghamshire. On his death he was to leave property at nearby Ragnall, Dunham and a...
. Situated on Commercial Street
Commercial Street (London)
Commercial Street is a road in Tower Hamlets, east London that runs north to south from Shoreditch High Street to Whitechapel High Street through the East End district of Spitalfields...
, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
, on the eastern border and facing the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, it was one of the first (and arguably one of the finest) of the so-called "Commissioners' Churches" built for the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches
Commission for Building Fifty New Churches
The Commission for Building Fifty New Churches was an organisation set up by Act of Parliament in England in 1711, with the purpose of building fifty new churches for the rapidly growing conurbation of London...
, which had been established by an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1711.
The purpose of the Commission was to acquire sites and build fifty new churches to serve London’s new settlements. This parish was carved out of the huge medieval Stepney
Stepney (parish)
Stepney was an ancient civil and ecclesiastical parish in the historic county of Middlesex to the east and north east of the City of London, England.-Origins:...
parish for an area then dominated by Huguenots (French Protestants and other 'dissenters' who owed no allegiance to the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and thus to the King) as a show of Anglican authority. Some Huguenots used it for baptisms, marriages and burials but not for everyday worship, preferring their own chapels (their chapels were severely plain compared with the bombastic English Baroque
English Baroque
English Baroque is a term sometimes used to refer to the developments in English architecture that were parallel to the evolution of Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London and the Treaty of Utrecht ....
style of Christ Church) though increasingly they assimilated into English life and Anglican worship—which was in the eighteenth century relatively plain.
The Commissioners for the new churches included Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
, Thomas Archer
Thomas Archer
Thomas Archer was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Archer was born at Umberslade Hall in Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire, the youngest son of Thomas Archer, a country gentleman, Parliamentary...
and John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
appointed two surveyors, one of whom was Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor was a British architect born in Nottinghamshire, probably in East Drayton.-Life:Hawksmoor was born in Nottinghamshire in 1661, into a yeoman farming family, almost certainly in East Drayton, Nottinghamshire. On his death he was to leave property at nearby Ragnall, Dunham and a...
. Only twelve of the planned fifty churches were built, of which six were designed by Hawksmoor.
Architecture
The architectural composition of Christ Church demonstrates Hawksmoor’s usual abruptness: the very plain rectangular box of the naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is surmounted at its west end by a broad tower of three stages topped by a steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
more Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
than classical.The magnificent porch with its semi circular pediment and Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
columns is attached bluntly to the west end: it may indeed be a late addition to the design intended to add further support to the tower. Like those of Hawksmoor’s other London churches and many of Wren’s, the central space is of the nave is organised around two axes, the shorter originally emphasised by two entrances of which only that to the south remains. It has a richly decorated flat ceiling and is lit by a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
. The aisles are roofed with elliptical barrel-vaults carried on a raised Composite order (cf. Wren’s St James's, Piccadilly
St James's Church, Piccadilly
St James’s Church, Piccadilly is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren....
), and the same order is used for the screens across the east and west ends. The Venetian window at the east may show the growing influence of the revival of Palladian Architecture
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
, or it may be a rhyme with the arched pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
of the entrance portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
, repeated in the wide main stage of the tower. The east window is a double window, one inside, one outside, the effect now obscured by the Victorian stained glass window between the two.
Alterations
The church was savagely alteredVictorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1850 by Ewan Christian (better known as architect of London’s National Portrait Gallery), who removed the side galleries, blocked in the windows at the corners of the central space, and combined upper and lower aisle windows to make tall, thin windows. After years of neglect, the church was restored to its pre-1850 condition, working from the original building documents where possible, aprocess that stretched over more than 25 years. The restoration revealed the most complex and sumptuous of Hawksmoor’s interiors in London. Key players in the restoration were Andrew D ("Red") Mason (Project Architect and building historian from 1976–2004), Revd. Eddie Stride (Rector), Eric Elstob (Chair of The Friends of Christ Church), Howard Kenward, Derek Stride, and Hosten Garroway (Wardens), The Hon Simon Sainsbury
Simon Sainsbury
The Hon Simon David Davan Sainsbury was a British businessman, philanthropist and art collector.-Early and private life:...
, benefactor, and Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
. Mason worked from 1972-2000 with Architects Whitfield Partners, and from 2000 with Purcell Miller Tritton.
Organ
The organ in the church was inaugurated in 1735, the work of Richard Bridge, a most celebrated builder of the time. With over two thousand pipes it was, when built, the largest organ in England, a record it held for over a hundred years. In the nineteenth century work was done at various times and further changes were made in the 1920s; remarkably, much of the original Richard Bridge organ survives. The organ became derelict and has not been heard in public since about 1960. The magnificent organ case, largely of walnut, and the completeness of the GeorgianGeorgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
survivals make this a historic instrument of national importance. The involvement of local expert Michael Gillingham was very largely responsible for the decision to have it restored to working condition. The organ parts were dismantled and removed for safe keeping and to protect them from damage during the restoration of the building. A scheme of conservative restoration is being prepared by organ builder William Drake and fund-raising for it is already under way for it will be the crowning glory of the restored church.
Restoration
By 1960 Christ Church was nearly derelict and services were held in the Church Hall (an ex Huguenot Chapel) as the roof of Christ Church itself was declared unsafe. The Hawksmoor Committee staved off the threat of wholesale demolition of the empty building—proposed by the then Bishop of Stepney, Trevor HuddlestonTrevor Huddleston
Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston CR, KCMG was an English Anglican bishop. He was most well known for his anti-apartheid activism and his 'Prayer for Africa'...
—and ensured that the roof was rebuilt with funds from the sale of the bombed out shell of St John's, Smith Square, now a concert hall. A rehabilitation centre for homeless alcoholic men was housed in part of the crypt from the 1960s until 2000 when it relocated to purpose built accommodation above ground. In 1976 the Friends of Christ Church Spitalfields was formed to restore the church and to bring this Grade I Listed Building back into use: parish worship returned in 1987.
As part of the restoration process, the burial vaults beneath the church had to be cleared. Instead of hiring a commercial undertaker for this job, the Friends of Christ Church fundraised for the employment of an archaeological team, who excavated nearly 1000 interments between 1984 and 1986. Of these, about 390 were identifiable from coffin name plates. Archaeologists and physical anthropologists took this opportunity to study Victorian mortuary practices and anthropology, including health and causes of death of the local population. The project was written up as a two-volume landmark study.
The portico at the west end was repaired and cleaned in 1986, when Ewan Christian's re-arrangement of the aisle windows was also replaced by a recreation of the originals, scrupulously researched. The 202 ft tower and spire were consolidated and cleaned in 1997. The south façade was cleaned and repaired in 1999 revealing the striking whiteness and beauty of the Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
and the delicate detailing, both so quickly obscured by weather and city pollution. At the same time Hawksmoor’s magnificent double flight of steps on the south side, which was removed in the nineteenth century, was rebuilt. In addition, the gate piers of the Rectory yard were repaired and the large iron gates restored. Regency style railings to the churchyard, removed in World War II, were replaced. The north and east façades were repaired and cleaned in 1999–2000. The restoration of the interior, begun in 2000 and completed in 2004. This has restored the fabric of the church, removed the nineteenth- and twentieth-century alterations, reinstating the original arrangement of galleries following careful building archaeology to establish their original pattern; and has recaptured the proportions, light and clarity of Hawksmoor’s original design.
Almost the single constant factor throughout the decades-long restoration process was the oversight of the Project Architect "Red" Mason, especially the examplary scholarship of his historical research, and the patient perseverance through which he turned this into reality. Together these ensured a scrupulous re-creation of Hawksmoor's design, from overall concept through to the minutest details.
External links
- Christ Church at the Survey of LondonSurvey of LondonThe Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
- Christ Church Spitalfields homepage
- Great Buildings - Christ Church