St George's, Hanover Square, is an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
church, the parish church of
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world.
...
in the
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...
,
central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its character ...
, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the
Queen Anne Churches). The church was designed by
John James; its site was donated by General
William Steuart, who laid the first stone in 1721. The building is one small block south of
Hanover Square, near
Oxford Circus. Because of its location, it has frequently been the venue for
society weddings.
Ecclesiastical parish
A civil parish of
St George Hanover Square and an
ecclesiastical parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
were created in 1724 from part of the ancient parish of
St Martin in the Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the medie ...
.
The boundaries of the ecclesiastical parish were adjusted in 1830, 1835 and 1865 when other parishes were carved out of it. The ecclesiastical parish still exists today and forms part of the Deanery of Westminster St Margaret in the
Diocese of London
The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England.
It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the nort ...
.
Architecture
The land for the church was donated by General Sir William Steuart. The church was constructed in 1721–1725, funded by the
Commission for Building Fifty New Churches
The Commission for Building Fifty New Churches (in London and the surroundings) was an organisation set up by Act of Parliament in England in 1711, the New Churches in London and Westminster Act 1710, with the purpose of building fifty new churc ...
, and designed by John James,
who had been one of the two surveyors to the commission since 1716.
Its portico, supported by six
Corinthian column
The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
s, projects across the pavement. There is a tower just behind the portico, rising from the roof above the west end of the nave.
The interior is divided into nave and aisles by piers, square up to the height of the galleries, then rising to the ceiling in the form of Corinthian columns. 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 ...
, and the aisles transverse barrel vaults.
Burial ground
St George's was opened in the new residential development of Hanover Square with no attached churchyard. Its first burial ground was sited beside its workhouse at Mount Street. When this filled up a larger burial ground was consecrated at
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
in 1765. They were closed for burials in 1854, when London's city churchyards were closed to protect public health. Burials at St George's included Mrs
Ann Radcliffe
Ann Radcliffe (née Ward; 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English novelist and a pioneer of Gothic fiction. Her technique of explaining apparently supernatural elements in her novels has been credited with gaining respectability for G ...
(1764–1823), an influential female writer of the "Gothic Novel", the Revd.
Laurence Sterne (1713–1768), abolitionist and author of ''
Tristram Shandy,'' and
Francis Nicholson, British military officer and colonial administrator.
The Mount Street ground was later cleared of monuments and turned into a small park. Some of the old tombstones were used for guttering and drainage, and may be seen today. During the
First World War the Bayswater ground was covered with 4' of top soil and used for growing vegetables. In 1969 the burial ground was cleared to enable land to be sold off for redevelopment. A skull, part anatomised, was conjectured to be Sterne's and a partial skeleton separated from the other remains to be transferred to
Coxwold
Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote '' A Sentimental Journey''.
History
...
churchyard by the Laurence Sterne Trust. 11,500 further remains were taken to
West Norwood Cemetery and cremated, for burial there.
In popular culture
In Chapter 43 of
Jane Austen's 1814 novel ''
Mansfield Park'' "perhaps you would not mind passing through London, and seeing the inside of St. George's, Hanover Square".
In the
William Makepeace Thackeray 1844 novel ''
The Luck of Barry Lyndon
''The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' is a picaresque novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in 1844, about a member of the Irish gentry trying to become a member of the English aristocracy. Thack ...
'' the protagonist, Redmond Barry, weds the Countess of Lyndon at St George's, Hanover Square.
In the
Sherlock Holmes 1892 story
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the tenth of the twelve stories collected in ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. The story was first published in ''The ...
it is the setting of the wedding of the eponymous Lord St Simon and American Hatty Doran, whose disappearance sparks Holmes' investigation.
In the musical
My Fair Lady (1956), Alfred Doolittle (
Stanley Holloway
Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in '' My F ...
), having just been provided with an inheritance and having to move into "middle-class morality", invites his daughter Eliza Doolittle (
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...
) to his wedding at this church. Following the invitation, he and his fellows sing "
Get Me to the Church on Time
"Get Me to the Church on Time" is a song composed by Frederick Loewe, with lyrics written by Alan Jay Lerner for the 1956 musical ''My Fair Lady'', where it was introduced by Stanley Holloway.
It is sung by the cockney character Alfred P. Doolittl ...
".
The church is mentioned as the venue for the forthcoming marriage of Iris Henderson in ''
The Lady Vanishes''.
In the
Dorothy Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages.
She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...
novel ''
Busman's Honeymoon
''Busman's Honeymoon'' is a 1937 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her eleventh and last featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, and her fourth and last to feature Harriet Vane.
Plot introduction
Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane marry and go to spend th ...
'',
Lord Peter Wimsey's sister-in-law (without consulting him) seeks to have his upcoming wedding held at St George's, Hanover Square.
In Chapter 2 of ''
The Return of the Soldier'' by
Rebecca West
Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...
, it is mentioned that Chris and Kitty got married in this church in February of 1906.
Music
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training ...
was a regular worshipper at St George's, which is now one of the venues used by the annual
London Handel Festival. He used to play the organ, and wrote ''
Messiah'' in the church.
St. George's has a full-time professional choir and a strong choral tradition and is a venue for classical music concerts. A Restoration Fund Appeal was launched on
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
2006 to raise a total of five million pounds, with a target of one and a half million pounds needed for the first phase of essential restoration work to the fabric of the church. A recent concert series in support of the Restoration Fund was supported by the William Smith International Performance Programme and featured solo piano performances by students from the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performance ...
, including Ren Yuan, Ina Charuashvili, Meng Yan Pan and the London debut of Maria Nemtsova of Russia.
The church is one of the two main bases of the
Orpheus Sinfonia, an orchestra of players recently graduated from music colleges.
Rectors
The following have served as rector of St George's, Hanover Square:
*1725–1759† Andrew Trebeck
*1759–1774
Charles Moss (as Bishop of St David's 1766–74, later Bishop of Bath and Wells)
*1774–1803†
Henry Reginald Courtenay (as Bishop of Bristol 1794–97, Bishop & Archdeacon of Exeter 1797–1803)
*1803–1844†
Robert Hodgson (as Archdeacon of St Alban's 1814–16, Dean of Chester 1816–20, Dean of Carlisle 1820–44)
*1845–1876† Henry Howarth
*1876–1890† Edward Capel Cure
*1891–1911 David Anderson
*1911–1933
Norman Thicknesse (as Archdeacon of Middlesex 1930–33)
*1933–1940
Henry Montgomery Campbell
Henry Colville Montgomery Campbell (11 October 1887 – 26 December 1970) was a Church of England bishop. He was ordained in 1910 and served as vicar or rector in a number of London parishes before being consecrated as a bishop in 1940, ...
(later Bishop of Willesden, Kensington, Guildford, and London)
*1940–1955
Stephen Phillimore (as Archdeacon of Middlesex 1933–53)
*1955–2000 William Maynard Atkins
[
*2001–2004† John Slater
*2005– Roderick Leece
† ''Rector died in post''
]
Weddings
From its early days, the church was a fashionable place for weddings, which have included those of:
*Sir Francis Dashwood
Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer, PC, FRS (December 1708 – 11 December 1781) was an English politician and rake, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club.
Life and career
Early life
Dashwood was ...
, founder of the second Hellfire Club, later Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Sarah, daughter of George Gould of Iver, Buckinghamshire, and widow of Sir Richard Ellis, Baronet, on 19 December 1745.
* Viscount Stopford and Mary Powys, 19 April 1762
* Henry Holland and Bridget Brown, a daughter of Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English lan ...
, on 11 February 1773.
*William Hodges
William Hodges RA (28 October 1744 – 6 March 1797) was an English painter. He was a member of James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific Ocean and is best known for the sketches and paintings of locations he visited on that voyage, includi ...
and Martha Bowden Nesbit, on 11 May 1776.
*The botanist and antiquary Edward Rudge
Edward Rudge (27 June 1763 – 1846) was an English botanist and antiquary.
Life
He was the son of Edward Rudge, a merchant and alderman of Salisbury, who possessed a large portion of the abbey estate at Evesham. He matriculated from Queen' ...
(1763-1846) married the botanical illustrator Anne Rudge here in 1791.
* John Nash, architect, and Mary Ann Bradley on 17 December 1798.
* John Shaw (1776–1832), architect, and Elizabeth Hester Whitfield in 1799.
*Sackville Tufton, 9th Earl of Thanet
Sackville Tufton, 9th Earl of Thanet (30 June 1769 – January 1825) succeeded to his title in April 1786, following the death of his father Sackville Tufton, 8th Earl of Thanet. Two of his younger brothers were John Tufton and Henry Tufton, ...
, and Anne Charlotte de Bojanowitz, on 28 February 1811
*Joseph Wolff
Joseph Wolff (1795 – 2 May 1862) was a Jewish Christian missionary born in Weilersbach, near Bamberg, Germany, named Wolff after his paternal grandfather. He travelled widely, and was known as "the missionary to the world". He published sev ...
(1795–1862), German-born Christian convert, known as “the missionary to the world”, in 1827.
* Sir John Ogilvy, 9th Baronet, and Juliana Barbara, a daughter of Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard
Lord Henry Thomas Howard-Molyneux-Howard (7 October 1766 – 17 June 1824), known as Henry Howard until 1812, and as Henry Molyneux-Howard until 1817, was a British gentleman who served as Deputy Earl Marshal in the latter part of the reign of Ge ...
, on 7 July 1831.
* Theodore Roosevelt, future United States President, aged 28, and Edith Carow
Edith Kermit Roosevelt (née Carow; August 6, 1861 – September 30, 1948) was the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and the First Lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. She also was the Second Lady of the United States in 1901. ...
, aged 25, on 2 December 1886.
* Leopold Albu, of 4 Hamilton Place, Mayfair, the brother of Sir George Albu, to Adelaide Veronica Elizabeth Burton, daughter of Edgar Henry Burton, and granddaughter of Henry Marley Burton
Captain Henry Marley Burton (1821–1880) was a British architect.
Family
He was the eldest illegitimate son of the gunpowder manufacturer William Ford Burton (1784 – 1856) and the grandson of the pre-eminent London property developer James B ...
, on 19 August 1901.
*Alfreda Ernestina Albertina Bowen, daughter of Sir George Ferguson Bowen and Diamantina, Contessa di Roma, and Robert Lydston Newman, in October 1899.
*Euphemia Dunsmuir, daughter of Robert Dunsmuir
Robert Dunsmuir (August 31, 1825April 12, 1889) was a Scottish-Canadian coal mine developer, owner and operator, railway developer, industrialist and politician in British Columbia.
He was recognized as a National Historic Person by the govern ...
, and Somerset Gough-Calthorpe
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe (23 December 1865 – 27 July 1937), sometimes known as Sir Somerset Calthorpe, was a Royal Navy officer and a member of the Gough-Calthorpe family. After serving as a junior officer duri ...
, February 27, 1900
* John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1906–1921) and its sequels, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of the Chapter''. He won the Nobel Prize i ...
, Nobel Prize in Literature recipient and Ada Nemesis Cooper on 23rd September 1905 after a 10-year affair.
* Henry Hall, band leader, and Margery Harker, a girl he had met on a train, January 1924.
*The actress Charlotte Wattell married Thomas Sandon here in 1799.''The Seasonal Papers Printed by Order of the House of Lords''
Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords (1847-8) - Google Books
High society weddings at St. George's Hanover Square fell in numbers in the late 20th century, a social change discreetly mentioned in the obituary of the Reverend W. M. Atkins, Rector of St George's from 1955 to 2000.
(obituary) at telegraph.co.uk
References
External links
Parish data(Vision of Britain)
*http://www.stgeorgeshanoversquare.org/
Deanery of Westminster (St Margaret)at the
Ship of Fools website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's, Hanover Square
Buildings and structures in Mayfair
Church of England church buildings in the City of Westminster
Diocese of London
Burials at West Norwood Cemetery
18th-century Church of England church buildings
Grade I listed churches in the City of Westminster
John James (architect) buildings