Church of the Holy Sepulchre, London Church of saint Edmund the (King and) Martyr and of the Holy Sepulchre (obsolete) Church of saint/Saint Sepulchre, Holborn/Middlesex (dated)
Holy Sepulchre London, formerly and in some official uses Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate, is the largest Anglican parish church in the City of London. It stands on the north side of Holborn Viaduct across a crossroads from the Old Bailey, and its parish takes in Smithfield Market. During medieval times, the site lay outside ("without") the city wall, west of the Newgate.
It has London's musicians' chapel in which a book of remembrance sits and an October/November requiem takes place – unusual for a church associated with Low ChurchEvangelicalism. The church has two local army regiment memorials.
The vicar is appointed by St John's College, Oxford, which has held the church's patronage since 1622.
The church is today the largest parish church in the city.[5] It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century[5] but was gutted by the Great Fire of London in 1666,[6] which left the outer walls,[7] the tower and the porch standing.[8] It was rebuilt 1667–1679 by Joshua Marshall, the King's Master Mason, and appears to be remodelled to Marshall's own design.[9][10] Lightly modified in the 18th century,[11] the interior of the church is a wide, roomy space with a coffered ceiling[12] installed in 1834 with plasterwork of three years later.[11] The church underwent considerable re-facing and alterations in 1878.[11] During the Second World War the 18th-century watch-house, built in the churchyard to deter grave-robbers, was bomb-struck but later rebuilt. The vicarage was fully renovated in the early 2000s.
In 1605, London merchant tailor John Dowe paid the parish £50 (equivalent to £12,000 in 2021) to buy a handbell and to mark the execution of prisoners at the nearby gallows at Newgate.[14] This execution bell is displayed in a glass case in the nave. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the clerk was responsible for ringing it outside the condemned man's cell in Newgate Prison the night before his execution, and announcing the following "wholesome advice":[14][1]
All you that in the condemned hold do lie,
Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die;
Watch all, and pray, the hour is drawing near
That you before the Almighty must appear;
Examine well yourselves, in time repent,
That you may not to eternal flames be sent.
And when St Sepulchre's bell to-morrow tolls,
The Lord above have mercy on your souls.
Past twelve o'clock!
Given proximity to Newgate Prison and the Old Bailey, built on the site of the prison, certain of the bells in its tower, aside from marking time, celebrating weddings and communion, were rung to announce executions. In the first years of the court this was as the condemned felon was led to Tyburn.[1][15]
The bell tower
The Execution Bell
Exterior
Musicians' Chapel
By the north aisle is the Musicians' Chapel. As St Stephen's chapel it hosted votive masses to the 12th-century monastic saint Stephen Harding prior to the English Reformation and during the reign of Mary I of England.[16]
The ashes of conductor Sir Henry Wood, founder of The Proms, who learnt to play the organ at the church as a boy, were interred here in the 1940s.[16]
The chapel's appearance and the Musicians' Book of Remembrance are maintained by the Friends of the Musicians' Chapel. A Service of Thanksgiving for all those in the book is held at the church each year as well as a requiem close to All Souls' Day. Many concerts and memorial events for musicians have been held in the church. In 2017 the vicar ceased parish funds financing the requiem and allowing of most free rehearsing time. A protest was held and many prominent musicians including John Rutter sought continued benevolence from the wider congregation and church patron. Attempts to mediate failed.
The north aisle is dominated by a splendid organ built by Renatus Harris in 1670;[19] the organ case is its sole mention in the architectural listing, adding a date, 1677.[11]
The swell was added by John Byfield in c. 1730. The organ was enlarged in 1817 by James Hancock and by John Gray in 1828 and 1835, and Gray and Davison in 1849, 1852 and 1855. It was rebuilt in 1932 by Harrison and Harrison. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[20] It is not currently playable, though efforts are being made to restore it to a playable condition.[21] A Makin digital organ is used when required for services.
The choir has now composed of eight professional singers.
^"The Survey of Building Sites in London after the Great Fire of 1666" Mills, P/ Oliver, J Vol I p. 124: Guildhall Library MS. 84 reproduced in facsimile, London, London Topographical Society, 1946
^Cobb, G (1942). The Old Churches of London. London: Batsford.
^Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 by Rupert Gunnis
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