Chelsea Old Church

There has probably been a Church on this site ever since Christianity came to England. It used to be the Parish Church of the Village of Chelsea before this village became part of London.

The building, as it stood before World War II, consisted of the Chancel, dating probably from the 13th century, with Chapels on the North and South (about 1325), and the Nave and Tower (1670).

Both Chapels were private property, that on the North, now known as the Lawrence Chapel, belonging to the Lord of the Manor of Chelsea. The present arch leading from the Chancel is a reproduction of the original 14th century one, which collapsed in 1784 and was only partly restored.

To the East of this arch is a "squint", probably intended to enable worshippers in the Chapel to see the Altar; this purpose was interfered with by the raising of the floor of the Chapel and the placing of the Bray Tomb on the North of the Chancel.

The Chapel on the South was rebuilt in 1528, as his private Chapel, by Sir Thomas More. This date is inscribed on one of the capitals of the pillars leading to the Chancel. These capitals are alleged to have been designed by Holbein and represent the symbols of More's offices in Church and State.

Of the whole Church, the More Chapel was the least heavily blasted by the bombing in 1941. For 9 years the congregation carried on its worship in a ward of the adjoining hospital. In 1950 the More Chapel, with extensions, was reopened for service; the Chancel and Lawrence Chapel

were restored and rededicated in May 1954; and the whole Church reconsecrated in May 1958 by the Lord Bishop of London in the presence of H. M. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The Consistory Court having granted a Faculty, the Stanley monument was transferred to the Lawrence Chapel, and the More Chapel was furnished and dedicated in July 1964, being thus brought into use again as a Chapel for weekday services for probably the first time in 408 years.

The Church has been restored in its entirety on its old foundations and looks substantially as it did before, with its square Nave built in the classical style from which the mediaeval Chancel and Chapels can be seen through the three arches. The King Post at the West end of the More

Chapel, which had been plastered over, was revealed by the bombing and has been left uncovered as an example of pre-Tudor building.

The Furnishings       

These date from the 17th century and the rails comply with the regulations laid down by the Bishop of Norwich in 1663: "Neer one yarde in height, so thick with pillars that dogges may not get in".
 
 

This was originally a three-decker, dating from the 17th century, and adapted to its present form in 1908. After the bombing the present copy was made, incorporating the original vertical carving, door and Southernmost panel.
 
 

The Font dates from 1673. The marble is original, the cover a reproduction of the one destroyed in the bombing.
 
 

The only chained books in any London Church were the gift of Sir Hans Sloane (1661-1753), and consist of the Vinegar Bible (1717), two volumes of Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1684), a Prayer Book (1723) and Homilies (1683).
 
 

Hanging from its headstock in the Porch is the bell presented by the Hon. William Ashburnham as a thank-offering in 1679.
 
 

The Cartouche in the West window of the Lawrence Chapel is German or Flemish of the 16th century; and the panels in the North and South windows at the Westernmost end of the Nave are of 17th century Flemish stained glass.

The Monuments

THE MONUMENTS were badly damaged, but thanks to the zeal of the architect, Mr. W. Godfrey, they were mostly saved and restored. Among those commemorating the great families who lived in Chelsea and the most notable are:
 
 
 
 

On the South side is the Dacre Monument (1595) to Gregory Fiennes, Lord Dacre of the south, and his wife Ann Sackville, who inherited the Chelsea properties of Sir Thomas More and founded the Emanuel Charity which now supports a boys' Grammar School in Battersea.
 
 

The mutilated tomb (1555) in the S.E. corner of the More Chapel commemorates Jane Guildford, Duchess of Northumberland, who was the mother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey, the mother of Queen Elizabeth's favourite Leicester, and the grandmother of Sir Philip Sidney.
 
 

The monument to Sir Thomas More (1532) stands in the Sanctuary against the South wall. The inscription was composed by Sir Thomas More himself, commemorating his first wife and expressing the wish that he and his second wife should be buried in the same tomb. He was beheaded in 1535; his head is known to be in Canterbury. Unsubstantiated tradition states that his daughter, Margaret Roper, brought his body to Chelsea for burial at the Old Church.
 
 

On the North side of the Chancel in a recess is the tomb of Sir Edmund, first Lord Bray (1539) and heir to the Sir Reginald Bray who was Master of Works to Henry VII and in charge of the building of Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster and St. George's Chapel at Windsor.
 
 

Above is the Hungerford Monument(1581),a family monument very similar to that of Sir Thomas Lawrence in the North Chapel.
 
 

Sir Thomas Lawrence, Goldsmith and Merchant Adventurer of the City of
London, is commemorated (1593) in his chapel. Sir John Lawrence, his brother, is also buried here.
 
 

His eldest daughter, Sara Colvile, is also commemorated there (1632),
and is depicted rising in her grave clothes from the tomb.
 
 

At the East end of the Lawrence Chapel is the monument (1632) to Sir
Robert Stanley, son-in-law of Sir Arthur Gorges, whose brass is in the
North wall of the More Chapel.
 
 

Within the West arched entrance of the Lawrence Chapel is the triumphal
arch (1563) commemorating Richard Jervoise.
 
 

On the North side of the Nave is the memorial to Lady Jane Cheyne
(1669), daughter of the Duke of Newcastle, and a great benefactor to
this Church and the village of Chelsea. The memorial is the work of an Italian artist Bernini.

The Kneelers

The kneelers were begun in 1953 and have been embroidered by members of
the congregation and their friends. Each is designed to commemorate
someone who was a worshipper in this Church or in some way connected
with it, thus Pope Adrian IV is commemorated because he granted to the
Abbey of Westminster the grounds on which the Church stood and
Bartholomew Nutt because he ferried the faithful across the river to
church before there were any bridges. Some bear the Coat of Arms others
an illustration of an incident in the life, or foible in the character,
of the person commemorated. There is a catalogue which may be consulted.

The Church seats 400.

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