The chapel in November 2015

The Welsh Presbyterian Chapel is a former Presbyterian Church of Wales church on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London, England. It was opened in 1888; the last service was held in July 1982. It was the site of the Limelight nightclub in the 1980s.

Design

The chapel was designed by James Cubitt in the Romanesque Revival style and built in 1888.[1] It is made from white brick 'Yorkshire parpoints' with Ancaster stone dressings topped by a slate roof. Internally it is dominated by a large central square space with short transepts to the east and west. An organ was situated above the gallery behind the pulpit. The chapel has a prominent octagonal dome. In 1984 it was converted internally for use as an office.[1] The chapel was built as a Presbyterian church for the Welsh community in London.[2] The interconnected Minister's house is located at 136 Shaftesbury Avenue and was the official entrance to the chapel.[3] The building facing Shaftesbury Avenue housed the chapel's library. It is a four-storey house in red brick designed to be reminiscent of the medieval domestic architecture of Bruges.[3]

The chapel was listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England in February 1982.[1]

History

The rear entrance to the chapel on Shaftesbury Avenue
The Shaftesbury Avenue entrance to the chapel in 2008

The Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Connexion leased the site from the Metropolitan Board of Works in November 1886.[4] The creation of Shaftesbury Avenue in 1884 by the Metropolitan Board of Works had necessitated the move from the group's previous chapel in Nassau Street (now Gerrard Place). The freehold of the site was acquired by the group from London County Council in 1889.[4] The first marriage to take place at the chapel was between the educationalist Dilys Glynne Jones (born Davies) and John Glynne Jones from Bangor.[5]

Prior to the Second World War the chapel had the largest weekly attendance of any the Welsh chapels of London. In 1903 a Sunday service at the chapel was attended by 623 people.[6] The chapel was perceived as the most 'fashionable' of London's Welsh chapels due to its location in the West End. The services were attended by prominent Welsh businesspeople, politicians, and lawyers based in London.[6] The presiding minister, Peter Hughes Griffths, was a celebrity in his native Wales and served as the minister at the chapel from 1902 until his death in 1937.[6] The chapel was the first of the Welsh chapels in London to close.[6] The last service was held at the chapel on 9 July 1982.[7] It was sold in March 1985 for £1 million.[8]

In the 1980s the chapel was the site of the Limelight nightclub, which saw performers such as Boy George and Duran Duran at the venue.[1] It subsequently became a branch of the Walkabout Australian themed pub chain.[1] It was bought by a Ukrainian philanthropist in 2011; it is owned by the charity Stone Nest.[9][2][10] Stone Nest were granted approval by Westminster City Council in 2018 to transform the site into a space for the performing arts as well as hosting a restaurant and bar.[2]

In November 2023 the former chapel and minister's house were put up for sale through Knight Frank, with a guide price of £14,750,000.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic England. "Former Welsh Presbyterian Church (1217930)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Talia Shadwell (10 October 2018). "Famous West End nightclub loved by Boy George and Duran Duran to 'reopen'". MyLondon. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  3. 1 2 Edwards 2014, p. 195.
  4. 1 2 "Survey of London: Volumes 33 and 34, St Anne Soho: Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road". Survey of London. Victoria County History. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  5. ↑ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004), "Dilys Glynne Jones (born Davies)", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48526, retrieved 31 July 2023
  6. 1 2 3 4 Edwards 2014, p. 197.
  7. ↑ Edwards 2014, p. 212.
  8. ↑ Edwards 2014, p. 198.
  9. ↑ Andy Dangerfield (19 July 2013). "West End's ex-Limelight Club transforms into arts venue". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  10. ↑ Edwards 2014, p. 194.
  11. ↑ "Mixed Use Property for sale in 136 Shaftesbury Avenue & 83 Charing Cross Road, London, W1D 5EZ Guide price £14,750,000", knightfrank.co.uk, accessed 3 December 2023
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