St. James's Church Piccadilly, London, UK
St. James's Church Piccadilly, London, UK
During a brief trip to the UK last fall my wife and I spent some time roaming the streets of London and Edinburgh. I tried to pop into churches that had open doors when I had the time, and St. James was one such site we stumbled upon. At the time of our visit their yard was over run by a food truck festival, which I believe may have been a fund raiser. We explored a bit, however due to these circumstances my photographs are primarily limited to the interior as opposed to the outside architecture and grounds.
Over the course of working on Pillars & Foundations, I began following several "Church Crawling," forums in social media, and through this I often heard of Sir Christopher Wren, famed architect of St. Paul's Cathedral (I also visited St. Paul for a choir recital, unfortunately they are very prohibitive with photography so I'm on the fence on whether I'll put together a post with the several exterior photos I took). Wren was prolific in the UK, perhaps in part due to a "Great Fire," in London in 1666 which created the opportunity for him to build or rebuild 52 churches. St. James is one of his many pieces of art standing the tests of time.
The Wikipedia page for St. James describes the church as having a barrel vault and Corinthian columns which you can see in the pictures. I enjoy the contrast of the dark hues in the woodwork, the gold accents, and the off-white walls, characteristic of so many protestant churches. Wiki also describes how the church courtyard has been a host for public market and art showings since 1981. It is an excellent space without doubt, however, between the proximity of the neighboring buildings and the crowded courtyard, it certainly inhibits an appreciation of the red brick exterior which otherwise may be more picturesque.
The church was consecrated in 1684, and unfortunately like so many others was damaged during WWII in 1940. However without a keen eye, or a knowledge of the history you would not know it today.
Above is my one attempt of an exterior photograph. Rather gloomy, however perhaps it is befitting of external/stereotypical perception of London. The Piccadilly area and the courtyard are both anything but gloomy, bustling with commerce and culture.
The church remains an active pillar of the London community. At the time in which I write this post their webpage is a sign of the times, dedicated to the Covid-19 inconveniences, however it describes in the various ways this congregation remains connected to the community. The church website has a page dedicated to frequent concerts in the space which must be an especially special venue to take in some music. St. James Church of Piccadilly describes itself as an inclusive parish of the Church of England.
Text and photographs by George Parks
Sources are embedded in links
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