The church's website [visit link] tells
us:
"Christ Church – A Brief History
Christ Church was consecrated on 26th June 1839. It was
originally a ‘Chapel of Ease’ to the parish church of St Luke’s, Sydney Street,
but was given its own parish in 1860.
In 1839 Chelsea was still an independent village
separated from London by open countryside; however, there was pressure for
development, particularly for the construction of streets of small cottages to
house the numerous servants who were employed in the grand houses on Cheyne Walk
and in the newly constructed streets and squares of Belgravia and Hans
Town.
It was as a church for these working class people that
Christ Church was built and it was designed to accommodate the maximum number of
people at minimum cost. The construction cost was just over £4,000. (St Luke’s
Church, built 15 years, earlier cost ten times this sum.)
The site for the new church was part of an extensive
area of land used for market-gardening, just off Flood Street, which was then
one of Chelsea’s main shopping streets.
The plan of the church was traditional, comprising nave
and aisles, but with a gallery over each of the aisles and also over much of the
west end. The interior was dominated by a centrally positioned three-tier
pulpit; the altar was behind it as the majority of services would not have
included Holy Communion. There was no special place set aside for the choir;
they sat in the front rows of the west gallery. The church would therefore have
been barely distinguishable from a non-conformist chapel.
The cost of building the new church was paid for by the
Hydman Trust, the Hydman family having originally made their money in the West
Indies, where they owned extensive sugar plantations. The trustees, however,
were concerned about the spiritual well-being of the new urban working class
emerging in this country and they used the considerable funds at their disposal
for the erection of churches.
Soon after its consecration, Christ Church established
its own church school. To begin with, premises were rented in Flood Street and
the school was for boys only, but by 1843, new schools for boys and girls were
erected on land donated by Lord Cadogan, directly opposite the church. The
school still exists as a Church of England Primary School.
The Architect:
The church was
designed by Edward Blore (1789-1879). In the 1830s, Blore had an extensive and
successful practice which specialised in church and country house work. This
included restoration work at Westminster Abbey and the cathedrals of
Peterborough and Glasgow; he designed many new parish churches, church schools
and parsonages, and also a new wing at Lambeth Palace. In 1846, he designed a
new principal front for Buckingham Palace, later to be re-faced by Sir Aston
Webb.
Blore’s design for Christ Church is typical of his early
church work; it is in Gothic style, but not the full-blooded Gothic which came
later in the Victorian era. The design retained much of the elegance and
symmetry of the Regency period, with its Gothic elements used in a decorative
manner.
The Organ and Pulpit:
In
1876, Queen Victoria Street was cut through the medieval street pattern of the
City of London, with the loss of several churches. Christ Church was fortunate
in being given two articles salvaged from these churches, and these are
undoubtedly its finest features: they are its organ and its
pulpit.
After a long decline the organ, which had been brought
from St Michael, Queenhithe in 1876 and altered several times, finally expired
in 2007.
Existing plans to renew the organ were rapidly taken
forward and the Dutch firm of Flentrop were commissioned to build a new
instrument. To our delight they found that much of the 18th century pipework was
in excellent condition and also the front of the casework, when stripped of
accretions, was particularly beautiful. So a new organ, 2 manuals & pedal,
27 stops, tracker action, with considerable original pipework and contemporary
additions was installed in 2009, to the joy and delight of the congregation.
This wonderful new instrument came into being through the vision and generosity
of many benefactors, whose contribution we gratefully acknowledge. Now, Christ
Church's Felentrop organ is used not only for all our services, but also by the
Royal College of Music for their advanced organ studies students and as a
concert instrument of international renown, having received its opening recital
by Tom Koopman. Click here (PDF) for more details on the organ.
The pulpit is typical of those designed for Wren’s City
churches; it is characteristic of the famous wood carver Grinling Gibbons
(1648-1721) and his school. The pedestal is modern.
Alterations:
By the 1890s the
parish had not only become more populous but its social character had also
changed. New houses of palatial proportions were erected along the new
embankment, Tite Street was in its heyday as an artist’s colony, Tedworth Square
was being completed and the old shops and cottages that once clustered around
the junction of Flood Street and Cheyne Walk were being replaced with large
blocks of mansion flats.
Christ Church, too, was extended and ‘improved’ at this
time. The nave roof was completely rebuilt and the pillars between nave
and aisles which, probably for reasons of economy, had never been encased in
plaster, were completed, with pointed arches between, but without the capitals
shown in Blore’s design. Both the east and west ends were extended right up to
their respective boundaries (the church had originally been free-standing on its
site) and the tiny vestry on the south side was replaced with two new vestries
designed by a little-known architect called J. Arthur Reeve. Lastly, the western
gallery was completely removed and the old box-pews, with the exception of those
in the remaining side galleries, were replaced with new, more spacious pews. The
new west front was designed by W.D. Caroe who, like the church’s original
architect, Edward Blore, had a highly successful practice which specialised in
ecclesiastical work; in addition to designing new churches and restoring or
altering others, he was the architect of the offices of the Church Commissioners
at no.1 Millbank, Westminster, and he re-built the Archbishop’s Palace at
Canterbury.
During the last century, there were many minor
modifications and embellishments to the church, all of them continuing the trend
of the 1890s whereby the somewhat basic simplicity of the original building was
both re-ordered and adorned. Most have been internal amendments, the only
alteration to the exterior being the addition, in 1933, of the entrance porch
designed by G.G. Woodward.
The Church Today:
Christ
Church, though far from being a masterpiece of architecture, dominates the
Christchurch Street area. The small friendly scale of this quiet backwater, in
contrast to the grandeur of the Royal Hospital and Cheyne Walk nearby, is
typical of the unique and special character of Chelsea.
In 1986 the parish of Christ Church re-joined that of St
Luke’s to form a new combined parish known as ‘The Parish of Chelsea: Saint Luke
and Christ Church’. Each church continues to manage its own affairs and retains
the status of a parish church."
The church is Grade II listed and the entry at the English
Heritage website [visit
link] tells us, very briefly:
"Church. 1839. Additions 1900 Caroe. Amber brick, stone
dressings. Gothic. Six-bay galleried nave with tall arcades. Shallow chancel
lancet windows. Contains Wren pulpit and organ from former City Church of St
Michael Queenhithe."
The church's website [visit link] tells us of
the times of services:
"Sunday: 11.00am: Sung Eucharist: Join us in our main
act of worship as our community gathers to be inspired by music and challenged
by a sermon. Childrens groups are available.
Monday: 9.05am: Morning
Prayer."