All Souls Church, Langham Place

All Souls Church, Langham Place
All Souls' Church
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Architecture
Architect(s)	John Nash
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of London
Clergy
Rector	Revd. Hugh Palmer

All Souls Church is an Anglican Evangelical church in central London, situated in Marylebone at the north end of Regent Street on Langham Place, just south of BBC Broadcasting House. As well as the core church membership, many hundreds of visitors come to All Souls, bringing the average number of those coming through the doors for services on Sundays to around 2,500 every week. All Souls has an international congregation, with all ages represented.

History

The church was designed by John Nash, favourite architect of King George IV, to provide an eye-catching monument where the newly laid-out Regent Street, linking Piccadilly with the new Regent's Park, takes an awkward abrupt bend to align with the pre-existing Portland Place, providing a visible hinge where the street plan swings abruptly west. Its peripteral portico— capped with an anomalous slender cone— is of an enriched Ionic order that substitutes winged cherub's heads for the usual rosettes on the abacus; the prominent portico is attached to the reticent main church by the width of a single intercolumniation. BBC Broadcasting House (1932) reflects Nash's portico with its quadrant-curved corner. The church was consecrated in 1824 by the Bishop of London.

The church is built of Bath stone and the unique spire is made of seventeen concave sides encircled by a peripteros of Corinthian columns, making two separate sections. The capitals are Ionic in design and made from Coade stone. All Souls is noted for being the last surviving church by John Nash. The building was completed in December 1823 at a final cost of £18,323-10s-5d.

All Souls is a Commissioners' church, a grant of £12,819 (£930,000 as of 2011)^[1] being given by the Church Building Commission towards the cost of its construction.^[2]

Nash's design did not meet with universal praise. A reviewer for The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction August 2, 1828, said:

“

To our eye, the church itself, apart from the tower, (for such it almost is) is perhaps, one of the most miserable structures in the metropolis,—in its starved proportions more resembling a manufactory, or warehouse, than the impressive character of a church exterior; an effect to which the Londoner is not an entire stranger. Here, too, we are inclined to ascribe much of the ridicule, which the whole church has received, to its puny proportions and scantiness of decoration, which are far from being assisted by any stupendousness in their details, the first impression of which might probably have fixed the attention of the spectator. Indeed, the whole style of the tower and steeple appears peculiarly illadapted for so small a scale as has here been attempted.

”

Crown Appointment

The Rector of All Souls Church is still appointed by the Crown Appointments Commission at 10 Downing Street. The links with the Crown date back to the time of George IV when the Crown acquired the land around the church. The Coat of Arms adorns the West Gallery.

Post War restoration

All Souls Church

On 8 December 1940, a landmine exploded, causing extensive damage to the church. The church was closed for some ten years while repair works were carried out. During this time, the congregation met for worship at St. Peter's, Vere Street.

Mid-1970s building project

In the early 1970s excavations were carried out at All Souls and when it was discovered that the foundations to the church were some 13 feet deep, the church undertook a massive building project under the supervision of then Rector, Michael Baughen (who later became Bishop of Chester before returning to the London Diocese to become an Honorary Assistant Bishop). The decision was taken to embark on this work, to facilitate having a Hall area underneath the church for the congregation and visitors to meet together after Services and during the week. At the same time, the opportunity was taken to restructure the interior of the church to make it more suitable for present day forms of worship.

Organ

All Souls is well known for its musical tradition, and part of that includes the organ installed in the west gallery in a handsome Spanish mahogany case designed by Nash. This case was enlarged and extended in 1913. In 1940 after war damage to the church, the instrument was dismantled and stored, then remodelled and rebuilt in 1951 with a new rotatable electric manual and pedal console situated on the chancel. The organ was rebuilt again, by Harrison & Harrison, during the mid-70s building project.

Worship

All Souls conducts four Services each Sunday, with an early morning Communion Service at 8am, followed by two Morning Services at 9.30am and 11.30am and an Evening Service at 6.30 pm. There is also a midweek Service on Thursdays during term time at 1.05 pm.

Sermons from Sunday services are uploaded for free streaming and download by the following Monday afternoon. The archive now contains over 3,000 sermons.

Clergy

All Souls Church Interior

The current rector is the Revd Hugh Palmer. Other clergy staff include Rico Tice who has developed the Christianity Explored course (an introduction to Christian beliefs, based on the Gospel of Mark), Roger Salisbury and Mark Meynell. As a reflection of the huge diversity of the church's congregation (over 60 nationalities represented amongst the c2500 present on Sundays), the staff team has been gradually becoming more diverse with staff from across the globe including Kenya, the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Korea and Ireland amongst others.

The church's most famous former cleric was John Stott CBE who was associated with All Souls for his entire ministry and virtually all his life. The author of more than 50 Christian books, Stott was regarded as one the most important theologians and leaders within the evangelical movement during the 20th century.^[3] Stott was a curate at All Souls from 1945 to1950 and Rector from 1950-1975. He resigned as Rector in 1975 to pursue his wider ministry, but maintained his involvement with the church and was given the title of Rector Emeritus, which he held until his death in 2011. Stott's obituary in Christianity Today described him as "An architect of 20th-century evangelicalism [who] shaped the faith of a generation".^[4]

The Revd Richard Bewes was Rector of All Souls from 1983 until his retirement in 2004. He was awarded an OBE for services to the Church of England.

See also

• List of churches and cathedrals of London
• List of Commissioners' churches in London

References

1. ^ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Lawrence H. Officer (2010) "What Were the UK Earnings and Prices Then?" MeasuringWorth.
2. ^ Port, M. H. (2006), 600 New Churches: The Church Building Commission 1818-1856 (2nd ed.), Reading: Spire Books, p. 328, ISBN 978-1-904965-08-4 
3. ^ In a November 2004 editorial on Stott, New York Times columnist David Brooks cited Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center as saying that "if evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person they would likely choose." http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/30/opinion/30brooks.html
4. ^ Obituary in Christianity Today

External links

• All Souls Church website
• ASLAN charity based at All Souls
• Photographs of All Souls Church at London Architecture.co.uk
• Christianity Explored website
• Mystery Worshipper Report at the Ship of Fools website

Coordinates: 51°31′05″N 0°08′36″W / 51.5180°N 0.1432°W / 51.5180; -0.1432