Holy Trinity, Sloane Square: ‘A Cathedral Of The Arts And Crafts Movement’

Just a couple of minutes from Sloane Square underground station you can find a beautiful, historic church. 

It holds the title of the widest church in London (9 inches wider than St Paul’s Cathedral), but also is very architecturally significant. It is a real artistic jewel in the crown of West London.

A New Church For A Growing Congregation

Holy Trinity Sloane Square was constructed from 1888-1890. It was built on the site of a smaller Gothic church that had been constructed in 1828. It was commissioned by the 5th Earl of Cadogan to cater for the spiritual needs of the growing population on the Cadogan Estate. 

The architect John Dando Sedding was the man assigned the task. Sedding designed a church that was later described by John Betjeman as a ‘Cathedral of the Arts and Crafts Movement’. 

An Arts And Crafts Masterpiece

Sedding was a founding member and Master of the Art Workers Guild. Arts and Crafts, beginning in the 1860s, championed traditional methods and good quality materials over mass-produced, machine produced items. It was essentially a rejection of and pushback against the industrialisation of the Victorian period.

It was also all about incorporating art into life, with beautiful but functional objects. Sedding trained under G.E. Street, who designed and restored over 100 churches in his career, as well as the Gothic Revival Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. William Morris is, of course, the most famous and central figure to this movement, he had also trained in the offices of G.E. Street.

John Ruskin was a foundational intellectual figure of the movement, promoting the dignity of labour, critical of industrialisation and linking good design to moral health. 

Holy Trinity Sloane Square is a late 19th century Gothic church, but also incorporates elements from early medieval, Byzantine and pre-Renaissance Italian. As well as an architect, Sedding was a sculptor, metalworker and designer of wallpaper and textiles. Through his work he aimed to revive the relationship between architect and craftsman. 

J.D. Sedding sadly died in April 1891, just after the main body of the church had been completed, with some of the interior decorations then finished by his assistant Henry Wilson. 

Details To Spot

Walking in, you are immediately struck by the stunning East stained glass window.

This was designed by Edmund Burne-Jones and made by William Morris and Co. It is considered the largest Arts and Crafts stained glass window ever created and depicts biblical scenes, virtues such as Wisdom and Faith and various Saints. 

There are also other stained glass windows to the North and South by William Blake Richmond and Christopher Whall. 

There are various sculptures, for example F.W Pomeroy’s bronze angels on the chancel screen and his sculptured reliefs above and on the choir stalls. 

The beautiful marble reredos was carved by John Tweed. 

The bronze angel lecturn is by Henry Hugh Armstead.

The pulpit, with its intricate multi-coloured marble, was designed by Sedding.

All of the little details combine to make the church a work of art in and of itself. This is reflected in its Grade I listing with Historic England, giving it maximum protection from any changes. It is apparently one of the few churches in Britain that can be considered a ‘gesamtkunstwerk’, a German word for a total work of art, incorporating different art forms. Nikolaus Pevsner described the church as a ‘a museum of 1890s design’.

Parishioners over the decades have included political figures such as William Gladstone and artists such as Oscar Wilde, who lived nearby. 

Survival And rescue

The church was hit by several incendiary bombs during the Blitz. The roof of the nave was totally destroyed and the church exposed to the elements. Services crammed into the Lady Chapel for around ten years until the roof was finally replaced. The stained glass remarkably survived the bombs. 

In the 1960s and 70s, church authorities tried to have the church demolished and replaced with a smaller building. This plan was thankfully stopped by a campaign led by John Betjeman and the Victorian Society. Betjeman, who also famously saved what is now the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, even wrote a poem about the church during the campaign:

‘Bishop, archdeacon, rector, wardens, mayor Guardians of Chelsea’s noblest house of prayer. You your church’s vastness deplore

‘Should we not sell and give it to the poor?’

Recall, despite your practical suggestion

Which the disciple was who asked that question.’

Memorials

I always like to browse and spend a bit of time reading the memorials around the walls of churches. They are little insights into individual lives but also often link in with broader histories and world events as well. Here are a few I saw, that stood out to me.

How To Visit

It is absolutely worth paying Holy Trinity, Sloane Square church a visit, particularly if you are interested in church architecture.

The church is open for general viewing Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm. The current services are an 11am Choral Eucharist and a 6pm Choral Evensong every Sunday and 6.30pm Eucharist, every Wednesday.

You can find out more from their website here. 

Thank you very much for reading, more of London’s historic churches below…