Fitzrovia Chapel
| Fitzrovia Chapel | |
|
Fitzrovia, Middlesex | |
|---|---|
| Status: | Deconsecrated hospital chapel |
 Fitzrovia Chapel's sanctuary | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ292816 |
| Location: | 51°31’8"N, 0°8’18"W |
| History | |
| Victorian Gothic | |
| Information | |
| Website: | fitzroviachapel.org |
The Fitzrovia Chapel is a deconsecrated hospital chapel, formerly of the Church of England, in Pearson Square, in the centre of the Fitzroy Place, a development site in Fitzrovia, Westminster, Middlesex.
Designed by John Loughborough Pearson RA in the Gothic Revival style with colourful interior decor using mosaics, the chapel was built between 1891 and 1892. The interior was completed 32 years after Pearson's death in 1929, the works being overseen by his son, Frank Loughborough Pearson (1864–1947).[1]
Located in the central courtyard of the former Middlesex Hospital, which was rebuilt between 1929 and 1935 and demolished between 2008 and 2015, the hospital chapel was preserved as a Grade II* listed building and renamed as the Fitzrovia Chapel.[2]
History
.jpg)
The building now known as the Fitzrovia Chapel was built in 1891–92 as the Middlesex Hospital Chapel. Between 1929 and 1935 the decaying 18th-century hospital building was gradually demolished and rebuilt around the chapel.[3][4]
After the Middlesex Hospital was amalgamated into University College Hospital, its hospital buildings other than the chapel were completely demolished 2008–15, being replaced by a new residential development. The listed structure was preserved throughout the demolition,[5][4] and today the chapel stands within Pearson Square, a privately owned public space named after the chapel's architect, belonging to Jones Lang LaSalle.[6]
Architecture
The chapel is noted as a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture, designed by John Loughborough Pearson in the Italian Gothic style. The interior of the chapel features a rib vaulted ceiling richly decorated with polychrome marble and mosaics. The mosaics were completed in the 1930s by Maurice Richard Josey, assisted by his son John Leonard Josey.[2]
The ceiling mosaic depicts blue stars against a gold background representing the firmament. The wall mosaics are lined with green onyx and a zigzag pattern. In the arched chancel there is a Cosmatesque pillar piscina. Set into an ogee arch is an aumbry adorned with an image of the Pelican in her Piety carved in white marble, erected in memory of Prince Francis of Teck, younger brother of Queen Mary, who died in 1910. Set into roundels beneath the arches are sculpted Bust (sculpture)|busts of the Twelve Apostles and the Old Testament prophets. The organ gallery at the chapel's west end is surmounted by an arch decorated with a mosaic inscription of words from the Gloria in excelsis Deo:[2]
The baptismal font is carved from a solid block of green marble and is adorned with the Religious symbol|symbols of the Four Evangelists. The inscription, "Nipson anomemata me monan opsin", is a palindrome in Ancient Greek as inscribed on a holy water font outside the Church of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, in mediæval times:[2]
| “ | Νίψον ἀνομήματα, μὴ μόναν ὄψιν (Wash the sins, not only the face) |
” |
Unusually, the chapel is aligned approximately on a north–south axis instead of the traditional alignment towards the liturgical east.[2]
Interior features
-
An arch mosaic -
Its fresco -
The aumbry
The Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation
The Fitzrovia Chapel is managed by a charity, the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation. It no longer holds religious services, and is a historic building. It is also a venue for non-religious ceremonies such as weddings and memorials.[7]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Fitzrovia Chapel) |
References
- ↑ The Fitzrovia Chapel
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 National Heritage List 1223496: Middlesex Hospital Chapel (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ Rivett, Geoffrey (1986) (in en). The Development of the London Hospital System, 1823-1982. King Edward's Hospital Fund for London. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-19-724633-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=-XcgAQAAIAAJ&q=middlesex+hospital+demolition+1929+1935. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Richardson, Ruth (29 March 2014). "Preserving the name of Middlesex Hospital Chapel" (in en). The Lancet 383 (9923): 1120–1121. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60554-7. SSN 0140-6736. PMID 24693549. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60554-7/fulltext. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ↑ Aminoff, Michael Jeffrey (2016) (in en). Sir Charles Bell: His Life, Art, Neurological Concepts, and Controversial Legacy. Oxford University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-19-061496-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=PDHKDAAAQBAJ&dq=middlesex+hospital+demolition+2008&pg=PA85. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ↑ "Exemplar pay tribute to chapel architect in proposal for street name at Fitzroy Place" (in en). 23 May 2013. https://news.fitzrovia.org.uk/2013/05/23/exemplar-chapel-architect-street-name-fitzroy-place/.
- ↑ The Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation - Registered Charity no. 1160458 at the Charity Commission