Church Heritage Record 623171

Archaeology

Per the Greater London Historical Environment Record (HER), Chelsea Old Church is located within an Archaeological Priority Area that has been inhabited since prehistoric times; consequently a significant amount of archaeological and historical material has been found in the vicinity of the church, both on land and in the northern bank of the Thames beside the church.  These include a prehistoric pit, a Roman building, Saxon and Norman artefacts, a graveyard used in both the medieval and pre-Victorian eras, and a Victorian basement. The curtilage of the church itself has included two archaeological finds.

Finds from HER excavations demonstrate continuous habitation from the post-Norman period forward, although available pre-Conquest documentation suggests that the term ‘Chelsea’ has Saxon roots.

History

The church itself dates from 1290 at the latest.  The nave and chancel date from the late thirteenth century; the north Chapel (now the Lawrence Chapel) dates to the same period, and was owned by various members of the royal family including Henry VIII.  The south Chapel (now the More Chapel) may also have been built around 1290 but was certainly in existence by 1325, and was restored by Sir Thomas More in 1528 for his family’s private worship.

The arch connecting the More Chapel and chancel features the ‘Holbein capitals’, pillars designed by Hans Holbein the Younger, court painter to Henry VIII, and carved by two unknown artisans.  They are deliberately asymmetrical, with the western capital displaying More’s role in the church, and the eastern one his role in government.  The arch leading to the Lawrence Chapel was destroyed during the war and rebuilt afterwards.

The church is a Romanesque structure oriented precisely west-east.  It is composed of a Tower at the northwest entrance; the church is entered through a small vestibule on the northwest side.

Centuries of continuous use and post-war reconstruction have resulted in the presence of multiple construction types and materials from 1290 to the present.  This can be seen within the same section of wall and includes thirteenth-century stone, Tudor red brick, 1950s Portland stone, and modern plaster.  Both church and monuments therein have been subject to numerous conservation efforts over the centuries.  Consequently many other types of materials, similarly from a variety of time periods, can be found throughout the church.

The church has a wide nave, containing several features as it leads to the chancel and main altar.  When entering the church, a gallery is immediately above, with the church’s organ.  A small baptistry, with its seventeenth-century baptismal font and special seating area of three small pews, is to the left.  Two raised rows of pews with an aisle between them fill much of the nave.

The altar, with medieval piscina, aumbry and squint, survived the 1941 bombing.  It is small and accessed by a two steps, and is enclosed by a wooden rail.  It contains several monuments, most notably that of Sir Thomas More.

The chancel is not physically separated from the nave by either steps or a rail, although it has separate pews and a raised wooden pulpit (which includes its own set of stairs).  The chancel has two connected chapels, namely the Lawrence Chapel to the north and the More Chapel to the south; a connected vestry accessed through the Lawrence Chapel.  The Lawrence Chapel does not feature a seating area, although it remains in use for other church activities.  The More Chapel remains in use for smaller services, featuring pews and an altar.

The church contains a large amount of historical material in addition to the architecture and larger structures mentioned above.  115 funerary monuments survived the bombing, though many were either rebuilt or bear significant damage.  They can be found throughout the building.  The kneelers throughout the church were handmade by female parishioners in the 1950s as part of the restoration, and honour notable (particularly royal Tudor-era) members of the parish.