Chelsea Hospital Chapel

England Middlesex  Middlesex Parishes  Chelsea Hospital Chapel

History
Work on the Chapel started in 1681 and was completed in 1687. It is a rare example of Wren's pure ecclesiastical work, being carried out without site constraints. It was designed to accommodate about 500 people, all the staff and pensioners, and rises 42' high.

The wainscoting and pews (originally for staff and Horse Guards) are by Sir Charles Hopson, the leading joiner of his day and deputy Clerk of Works at the Royal Hospital from 1691 to 1698. The choir stalls are modern additions. Backs have been fitted to the benches, and the three-decker pulpit has been dismantled to make the existing pulpit and reading-desk, otherwise the original plan is maintained. The plasterwork was carried out by Henry Margetts. The carving is by William Emmett, Master Carver before Grinling Gibbons and William Morgan. The organ case is the work of Renatus Harris, but his organ has been replaced by a modern instrument.

The old registers of baptisms, marriages and burials are now held at the Public Records Office. Burial services were discontinued in 1854, and weddings which were uncommon after 1753 were banned from 1815 to 1919.

The Chapel was consecrated in August 1691...

The Royal Chelsea Hospital is about one mile and a half from Grosvenor Place, Hyde Park Corner, going by Sloane Street, and nearly one mile and a quarter from Buckingham Palace, by Pimlico.

The Royal Hospital Chapel is a peculiar and is exempt from Episcopal jurisdiction in the diocese and the dean and chapter of St Paul's

Military Records
Findmypast.co.uk has now put online the second tranche of Chelsea Pensioners' records, series WO 97. The online service now covers 1873-1900.