The Commissioners for the Fifty New Churches Act of 1711 realised that, due to rapid development in the Bloomsbury area during the latter part of the 17th and early part of the 18th centuries, the area (then part of the parish of St Giles in the Fields) needed to be split off and given a parish church of its own. They appointed Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil and former assistant of Sir Christopher Wren, to design and build this church, which he then did between 1716 and 1731. This was the sixth and last of his London churches. St George's was consecrated on 28 January 1730 by Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London. Its construction—which cost £31,000—was completed in 1731.
Until 2006 the church was the subject of major conservation work led by the World Monuments Fund and closed to visitors, with the congregation continuing as normal in its parish life, holding services in a nearby chapel. The building reopened fully from October 2006, including a new exhibition on the church, Hawksmoor and Bloomsbury housed in its undercroft.
Architecture
Interior
The land on which the church is built ("Ploughyard") was bought for £1,000 from Lady Russell, widow of the Whig rebel William Russell, Lord Russell who had been executed in 1683.[2] This was a substantial sum and its expenditure on a narrow and rectangular plot of land on a north–south axis, hemmed in by buildings on all sides, seemed to fly in the face of the commissioners' 1711 stipulation that "no site ought to be pitched upon for the erecting [of] a new church where the same will not admit the church to be placed East and West".[citation needed] Perhaps the orientation of the site was deemed a surmountable obstacle, especially since the site met the needs of the commissioners in that it was situated "amongst the… better sort ... [and on] the larger and more open streets, not in obscure lanes, nor where coaches will be much obstructed in the passage."[citation needed] In 1715, the Commissioners agreed that the church would be constructed on the north to south alignment.[3]
The land purchase was the work of Nicholas Hawksmoor, one of the two surveyors appointed by the commissioners of the 1711 act. Unlike others appointed by the commissioners, Hawksmoor continued to work as a surveyor of the 1711 act churches until his death in 1736. Of the 12 churches completed, he was responsible for designing six, of which St George's Bloomsbury was the last. His final designs for St George's, however, were only commissioned and then adopted after earlier designs by James Gibbs and Sir John Vanbrugh (who proposed building a church with the altar in the north) were rejected by the commissioners.
The statue of George I was humorously described in a rhyme:
When Henry VIII left the Pope in the lurch,
The Protestants made him the head of the church,
But George's good subjects, the Bloomsbury people
Instead of the church, made him head of the steeple.
Services are held on Monday and Wednesday at 1:10 pm and Sunday mornings at 10:30 am. The church is usually open to visitors from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm every day of the week.
St George's runs educational workshops and lectures for schools, families and adults. It also hosts events and classes for the local community events (flower festivals, dance, choir classes).
A hymn used on St George's Day (written by Ursula Roberts, wife of the rector[when?]) begins:
A maid in fetters wailing
Her sore and sorry plight
A foul and slimy dragon
A brave and glorious knight!
(chorus) Let lusty voices sing!
"St George for Merry England"
Triumphant echoes ring.
Museum of Comedy
The crypt was renovated and used as an art gallery in the 1990s.[6]
Since April 2014 it has housed the Museum of Comedy.[7][8] The museum focuses on the history of British comedy and includes photos, posters, props, clothing and costumes, scripts, films and videos of British comedic performers and shows.[9] There is also a 100-seat performance space.[10]
Meller, Hugh (1975). St. George's Bloomsbury: an illustrated guide to the church. London: St George's Church. ISBN0-9504224-0-1.
Miles, Susan (pseud. Ursula Roberts) (1955). Portrait of a Parson. London: Allen & Unwin. [a biography of William Corbett Roberts, 1873–1953, rector of St George's]
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