Fitzrovia Chapel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fitzrovia Chapel |
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 Fitzrovia Chapel
Location in City of Westminster
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| 51°31′08″N 0°08′18″W / 51.5190°N 0.1383°W | |
| Location | Fitzrovia, London, W1 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Previous denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Middlesex Hospital Chapel |
| Status | Hospital chapel |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Deconsecrated |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architect(s) | John Loughborough Pearson |
| Style | Victorian Gothic |
| Years built | 1891–92 |
| Closed | 2008 |
The Fitzrovia Chapel is a beautiful building in London, found in the W1 area. It stands in the middle of Pearson Square, which is part of a new development called Fitzroy Place. This area is in a part of London called Fitzrovia, in Westminster.
The chapel was designed by a famous architect named John Loughborough Pearson. He created it in a style called Gothic Revival. This means it looks like old Gothic churches but was built much later. The inside of the chapel is very colorful, with amazing mosaics. It was built between 1891 and 1892. The detailed inside decorations were finished much later, in 1929, by Pearson's son, Frank Loughborough Pearson.
The chapel used to be in the middle of the old Middlesex Hospital. This hospital was rebuilt between 1929 and 1935. Later, the hospital buildings were taken down between 2008 and 2015. But the chapel was saved! It is now a special Grade II* listed building, which means it's very important and protected. It was then renamed the Fitzrovia Chapel.
Contents
History of the Chapel
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The building we now call the Fitzrovia Chapel was first built in 1891 and 1892. It was originally the Middlesex Hospital Chapel. From 1929 to 1935, the old hospital buildings were slowly taken down. New hospital buildings were then built around the chapel.
After the Middlesex Hospital joined with University College Hospital, most of its buildings were completely taken down. This happened between 2008 and 2015. A new set of homes was built in their place. But the chapel was carefully kept safe during all this work. Today, the chapel stands in Pearson Square. This square is a public space, but it's privately owned. It is named after John Loughborough Pearson, the chapel's architect.
Amazing Architecture
The chapel is known as a great example of Gothic Revival architecture. John Loughborough Pearson designed it in an Italian Gothic-style. The inside of the chapel has a rib vaulted ceiling. This ceiling is beautifully decorated with colorful marble and mosaics. The mosaics were finished in the 1930s by Maurice Richard Josey and his son, John Leonard Josey.
The ceiling mosaic shows blue stars on a gold background. It looks like the night sky. The wall mosaics are lined with green onyx and have a cool zigzag pattern. In the arched area called the chancel, there is a special pillar for washing hands, called a piscina. It has a unique pattern called Cosmatesque. There's also a small cupboard called an aumbry. It has a carving of a Pelican in her Piety made from white marble. This was put there to remember Prince Francis of Teck, who passed away in 1910. He was the younger brother of Queen Mary.
Around the arches, there are sculpted busts. These are head and shoulder statues of the Twelve Apostles and Old Testament prophets. The organ gallery is at the chapel's west end. Above it is an arch with a mosaic inscription. These words are from a famous prayer, the Gloria in excelsis Deo:
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO ET IN TERRA PAX HOMINIBUS BONÆ VOLUNTATIS
(GLORY BE TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST AND ON EARTH PEACE TO MEN OF GOODWILL)
The baptismal font is carved from a solid block of green marble. It has symbols of the Four Evangelists on it. There's also a special inscription on the font. It's a palindrome in Ancient Greek, which means it reads the same forwards and backwards. It says:
Νίψον ἀνομήματα, μὴ μόναν ὄψιν
(Wash the sins, not only the face)
Usually, chapels face east. But this chapel is unusual because it faces mostly north and south.
Inside Features
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Its fresco
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The aumbry
People Remembered at the Chapel
The Fitzrovia Chapel has memorials for several important people:
- Diana Beck: She was the first female neurosurgeon.
- Rudyard Kipling: A famous writer.
- Prince Francis of Teck: A member of the royal family.
The Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation
The Fitzrovia Chapel is looked after by a charity called the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation. It doesn't hold regular religious services anymore. Instead, it's a historic building that can be used for non-religious events. For example, people can have weddings or memorial services there.
Exhibitions and Events
The chapel often hosts interesting exhibitions and events.
- In May 2017, the Horiuchi Foundation showed photographs by Tomohiro Muda. The exhibition was called "Icons of Time: Memories of the Tsunami that Struck Japan."
- The Richard Ingleby Gallery held an exhibition in October 2017. It featured works by artists like David Batchelor and Peter Liversidge.
- In July 2017, Erskine, Hall & Coe presented Claudi Casanovas's "Minvant."
- The TJ Boulting gallery showed Stephanie Quayle's Jenga in 2016. They also showed Siân Davey's Looking for Alice in December 2017.
- The Stephen Friedman Gallery has shown works by Yinka Shonibare and Jonathan Baldock at the chapel.
- In January 2019, photographer Richard Ansett showed his portrait of artist Grayson Perry. It was called Birth.
- The Fitzrovia Chapel has also been used by music artists. These include Katie Melua, Allman Brown, and the Vickers Bovey Guitar Duo.
- In 2024, King Charles III recorded his Christmas message at the chapel.
"The Ward"
Before World AIDS Day in 2017, the chapel held its first exhibition. It was called The Ward. This exhibition showed the lives of four young men who stayed in special wards at the former Middlesex Hospital. These wards were among the first in London to care for patients with a particular illness. Diana, Princess of Wales, opened one of these wards in 1987. A photographer named Gideon Mendel took pictures of these wards in 1993.
"Nina Hamnett - 'Everybody was Furious'"
In 2019, the chapel had an exhibition about the Welsh artist Nina Hamnett. She used to live in Fitzrovia. The exhibition was called Nina Hamnett - 'Everybody was Furious'. It included art from the Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, which is in the town where she was born.
"Portraits of NHS Heroes"
During the time of the coronavirus crisis, Tom Croft created a special online exhibition at the Fitzrovia Chapel. It showed portraits of NHS staff. The project was called Portraits for NHS Heroes. It included work by 15 artists who are part of the Contemporary British Portrait Painters group.
"Tell Them I've Gone to Papua New Guinea"
In 2022, an exhibition celebrated the performance artist Leigh Bowery. It included his costumes and videos. The film The Legend of Leigh Bowery by Charles Atlas was also part of the show.
"Lee Miller: Nurses"
In May and June 2022, an exhibition showed pictures of nurses taken by photographer Lee Miller. She took these photos across Europe during the Second World War. The pictures showed nurses in Oxford, in field hospitals in France, and even German prisoner-of-war nurses.
