Chelsea Insider Low - Cadogan

17 | STREETS & SIGHTS |Chelsea Old ChurchChelsea Old Church is on the cornerof Old Church Street and ChelseaEmbankment. There has probably been achurch on this site ever since Christianitycame to England, and it used to be theparish church of the village of Chelseabefore it was part of London.The building – before it was bombedduring the Second World War – datedfrom the 13th century, and consisted ofthe chancel, north and south chapelsand the later nave and tower (datingfrom 1670).The chapels were private property andthe north one, the Lawrence Chapel,belonged to the Lord of the Manor ofChelsea. The south chapel was rebuilt in1528 as Sir Thomas More’s private chapel.The date appears on one of the capitalsof the pillars leading to the chancel, saidto have been designed by Holbein.The church was almost completelydestroyed when it was heavily bombedin 1941 and a painstaking period ofrebuilding and restoration followed, led bythe architect Walter Godfrey. The MoreChapel suffered the least damage andwas extended and reopened in 1950. Thechancel and Lawrence Chapel wererestored and were rededicated in May 1954and the entire church was reconsecrated inMay 1958 by the Lord Bishop of London, inthe presence of HM Queen Elizabeth theQueen Mother. It is still on the original foundations.The More Chapel was brought backinto use for weekday services in July 1964.Chelsea Old Church features manyimportant monuments commemoratingsome of the people who have worshippedthere. They were damaged in the SecondWorld War, but were mostly saved andrestored. These include the monument toSir Thomas More against the south wall ofthe sanctuary, with an inscription composedby More in tribute to his first wife and wishingthat he and his second wife should beburied in the same tomb. It’s a matter ofdebate where More’s final resting place wasafter he was executed in 1535.A tomb in the south-east corner of theMore Chapel remembers Jane Dudley,the Duchess of Northumberland, whowas the mother of Elizabeth I’s favourite,Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. On thenorth side of the nave, Lady JaneCheyne, daughter of the Duke ofNewcastle and a benefactor of thechurch andChelsea,is rememberedin a1669 memorialby GianLorenzoBernini. Theseare just a fewof the church’smonuments.Sir HansSloane isburied inChelsea OldChurchand amonumentwas erectedin his honouron the north wallof the chancery,paid for by theFriends of theBritish Museumand unveiled byEarl Cadogan, a descendent of HansSloane.Chelsea Old Church is Anglican andpart of the Church of England’s Dioceseof London. The church hall is the nearbyPetyt Hall, which can be hired. Thereare regular services and the church isalso open Tuesday to Thursday from2pm-4pm.For more information, telephone020 7795 1019 or visit www.chelseaoldchurch.org.uk.by Derby porcelain factory ownerWilliam Duesbury. It closed around1784.• For The Cross Keys, see Pubs andBars.• Novelist and poet Tobias Smollett(1721-1771), best known for TheAdventures of Roderick Random andThe Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, livedat 16 Lawrence Street and also lived inpart of the same house as the porcelainfactory from 1750 to 1762.Lennox Gardens• Polish statesman and diplomat CountEdward Raczynski (1891-1993) lived at8 Lennox Gardens from 1967-1993. Hewas the Polish ambassador to theLeague of Nations and became theambassador of the Republic of Poland inthe UK. He signed the Anglo-Polishalliance that led Britain to declare war onGermany after Hitler’s aggressiontowards Poland, and was his country'spresident-in-exile from 1979-1986.Mallord StreetMallord Street is named after JosephMallord William Turner.• Painter and etcher Augustus John(1878-1961) lived at 28 Mallord Street ina house modelled on Rembrandt’s studioin Amsterdam, designed for him byDutch architect Robert van’t Hoff. Helater lived at 33 Tite Street.• AA Milne (1882-1956), author ofWinnie-the-Pooh, lived at 13 MallordStreet.Oakley Gardens• Novelist George Gissing (1857-1903)lived at 33 Oakley Gardens from 1882to 1884.Oakley Street• Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1821-1896), Oscar Wilde's mother, lived at87 Oakley Street from 1887 to 1896.