View source for Savoy Chapel

{{Short description|Anglican church in London}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox church
|name                   = King's Chapel of the Savoy
|image                  = SavoyChapel.jpg
|caption                = View of the associated green and the chapel's east side, from Savoy Street
|pushpin map            = United Kingdom Greater London
|pushpin label position = top
|coordinates            = {{coord|51.5105|-0.1199|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|osgraw                 = TQ 30568 80743 
|location               = [[Liberty of the Savoy]], near [[Temple, London]]
|country                = England
|denomination           = [[Church of England]]
|previous denomination  = [[Lutheran]]<br/>[[Catholic]]
|churchmanship          = 
|website                = {{URL|http://royalchapelsavoy.org/}}
|founded date           = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} - but see note below -->
|founder                = 
|dedication             = 
|dedicated date         = 
|consecrated date       = 
|status                 = [[Royal Peculiar]]
|functional status      = Active
|architect              = Richard Griffiths Architects (renovations)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rgarchitects.sites.server1.netready.biz/Projects/Gardens-and-Landscapes/Savoy-Chapel|title=www.rgarchitects.com}}</ref>
|style                  = [[Tudor style architecture|Tudor]]; [[Perpendicular architecture|Perpendicular]]
|years built            = 
|groundbreaking         = 
|completed date         = 1512
|length                 = Nave: {{convert|200|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|width                  =
|height                 =
|width nave             =
|other dimensions       =
|tower quantity         = 1
|tower height           = <!-- {{convert| }} -->
|materials              = Stone
|bells                  = 
|bells hung             = 
|bell weight            = <!-- {{long ton|0| }} -->
|parish                 = 
|diocese                = [[Diocese of London|London]] (location) 
|province               = [[Province of Canterbury|Canterbury]]
|chaplain               =  Rev. Canon Thomas M B Woodhouse
|organistdom            =
|director               = Philip Berg
|organist               = Justin Luke
|embedded               = 
{{Infobox historic site
 |embed = yes
 |designation1 = UK Grade II*
 |designation1_offname = Savoy Chapel (King's Chapel of the Savoy)
 |designation1_date = 24 February 1958
 |designation1_number = 1264731<ref name="NHLE">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1264731|access-date=10 November 2016 |desc=Savoy Chapel}}</ref>
}}
}}
'''The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy''', also known as the '''King's Chapel of the Savoy''' (called '''The Queen's Chapel''' during much of modern history in the reigns of [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]] and [[Elizabeth II]]), is a [[Church (building)|church]] in the [[City of Westminster]], [[London]]. Facing it are 111 [[Strand, London|Strand]], the [[Savoy Hotel]], the [[Institution of Engineering and Technology]] and &ndash; across the green to its side &ndash; the east side of Savoy Street. The chapel is designated as a Grade II* [[listed building]].<ref name="NHLE"/>

The chapel sits on the site of the [[Savoy Palace]], once owned by the prince [[John of Gaunt]], that was destroyed in the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381. Gaunt's [[Duchy of Lancaster]], the owner of the [[Precinct of the Savoy|site of the palace]], eventually came into the hands of the monarch. Work was begun on the chapel in 1502 under [[Henry VII of England|King Henry VII]] and it received its first charter to operate as a hospital foundation in 1512 to look after 100 poor and needy men of London.  The hospital had fallen into ruin by the late 18th century; only the chapel survived the consequent demolition, which as to the hospital's eastern end was ceded for an approach to [[Waterloo Bridge]].

The [[chapel]] is still owned by the [[Duchy of Lancaster]] and as such is a [[Royal Peculiar]] &ndash; outside the jurisdiction of a diocese, but under that of the reigning [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch]].  It is the chapel of the [[Royal Victorian Order]], whose full gathering takes place at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]], to accommodate those numbers. In 2016, the church was brought under the [[Chapel Royal]] for ecclesiastical purposes.

==History==
[[File:Savoy Hospital, off the Strand; ruins of the walls. Etching. Wellcome V0013828.jpg|thumb|left|Part of the old Savoy Hospital (top) and the 'Church of St Mary Savoy' (bottom) in 1753]]
The chapel was founded as part of [[Peter II, Count of Savoy|Peter of Savoy]]'s palace which was destroyed during the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381. The present chapel building commenced in the 1490s (being completed in 1512) by [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] as a [[side chapel]] off the Savoy Hospital's {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on}} long [[nave]] (the nave was secular rather than sacred, held 100 beds and was demolished in the 19th century).

The Savoy Chapel has hosted various other congregations, most notably that of [[St Mary-le-Strand]] whilst it had no church building of its own (1549–1714). Also the [[Germans|German]] [[Lutheran]] congregation of [[Westminster]] (now at Sandwich Street and Thanet Street, near St Pancras<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lutheran.org.uk/augustana.php|title=Lutheran.org}}</ref>) was granted royal permission to worship in the chapel when it separated from Holy Trinity (the [[City of London]] Lutheran congregation now at [[St Mary-at-Hill]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stanneslutheranchurch.org.uk/|title=St Anne's Lutheran Church – Welcome, Worship, and Witness to Jesus Christ}}</ref> The new congregation's first pastor, Irenaeus Crusius (previously an associate at [[Holy Trinity the Less|Holy Trinity]]), dedicated the chapel on the 19th Sunday after Trinity 1694 as the ''Marienkirche'' or the German Church of [[St Mary le Strand (parish)|St Mary-le-Savoy]]. [[Archibald Cameron of Lochiel]], the last [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] leader to be executed for [[treason]], was buried there in 1753.
{{stack|[[File:Savoy Chapel 1890 Museum of London.jpg|thumb|right|The Savoy Chapel {{Circa|1890}}]]}}
An [[Anglican]] place of worship, the chapel was noted in the 18th and 19th centuries as a place where marriages without [[banns]] might occur outside of the usual parameters of [[ecclesiastical law]] of that time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng654.htm|title=JOHN GRIERSON|website=www.exclassics.com}}</ref> In 1755 [[Joseph Vernon]] married [[Jane Poitier]] here and the curate and vicar were transported for fourteen years for carrying out an unlicensed wedding.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Collection of the Most Remarkable and Interesting Trials: Particularly of Those Persons who Have Forfeited Their Lives to the Injured Laws of Their Country|url=https://archive.org/details/acollectionmost00snaggoog|year=1776|publisher=R. Snagg|pages=[https://archive.org/details/acollectionmost00snaggoog/page/n665 653]–655}}</ref> The Rev. [[Henry White (priest, born 1833)|Henry White]] was the chaplain of Savoy Chapel from 1860 to 1890 and might have set a record for officiating at the marriages of actors and actresses.<ref>{{cite news|title=Death of Rev. Henry White|newspaper=The Queenslander|date=22 November 1890|page=971|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20287799}}</ref> The Savoy Chapel was widely known during the incumbency of the Rev [[Hugh Chapman]] as a location where divorced persons were permitted to marry or to have their civil marriages blessed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article183567174 |title=NOTED CHAPLAIN |newspaper=[[Glen Innes Examiner]] |volume=8 |issue=1165 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 August 1933 |accessdate=31 March 2022 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Notable weddings included that of [[Consuelo Vanderbilt|Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough]], and Lt Col [[Jacques Balsan]] in 1921<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GIST19210905.2.33|title=''Gisborne Times'', Volume LV, Issue 6175, 5 September 1921, Page 5|access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref> and [[Edith Stuyvesant Gerry|Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt]] and Senator [[Peter Goelet Gerry]] in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19251223.2.103.15.17|title=''Waikato Times'', Volume 99, Issue 16681, 23 December 1925, Page 4 (Supplement)|access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref> Chapman's successor as Chaplain, the Rev Cyril Cresswell, immediately brought an end to the marriage of divorced persons in the chapel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19330926.2.91|title=''Timaru Herald'', Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19604, 26 September 1933, Page 9|access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref>

In 1912, it was the scene of a [[suffragette]] wedding between Victor Duval and [[Una Duval|Una Dugdale]]. The wedding was attended by leading suffragettes and the wedding caused much debate because the bride refused to say "and obey", despite the intervention of the Archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name="Atkinson2018">{{cite book|author=Diane Atkinson|title=Rise Up Women!: The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ng3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT129|date=8 February 2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4088-4406-9|page=129}}</ref>

In 1939, it was announced by the office of the Duchy of Lancaster that the Savoy Chapel would be known as The King's Chapel of the Savoy.

Many of the chapel's [[stained glass window]]s were destroyed in the [[London Blitz]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. However, a [[triptych]] stained glass memorial window survives which depicts a procession of angelic musicians. It is dedicated to the memory of [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]] (who was married at the chapel in 1888 and built the nearby [[Savoy Theatre]] and [[Savoy Hotel]]) and was unveiled by [[Sir Henry Irving]] in 1902; after their deaths, the names of [[Rupert D'Oyly Carte]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.doylycarte.org.uk/about|title=D'Oyly Carte » About|first=Matthew|last=Pringle}}</ref> and [[Dame (title)|Dame]] [[Bridget D'Oyly Carte]] were added.<ref>Goodman, Andrew. ''Gilbert and Sullivan's London'' (1988; 2000) Faber and Faber {{ISBN|0-571-20016-8}}</ref>
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==Present==
[[File:Savoy Chapel, Diamond Jubilee 2012 window.jpg|thumb|left|185px|Diamond Jubilee window]]
[[File:Savoy Chapel, interior.jpg|thumb|right|Savoy Chapel [[nave]] in 2020. The banners are those of the ''Sovereign'' (right) and of the ''Grand Master'' (left) of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] as they were then in office.]]
The chapel has been [[The Crown|Crown]] property for centuries as part of the Savoy Hospital estate, and remains under the aegis of the monarch as part of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]] and thereby is a [[Royal Peculiar]]. It was inaugurated as a [[Chapel Royal]] in November 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/about-the-duchy/duties-of-the-duchy/the-queens-chapel-of-the-savoy/|title=The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy &#124;|website=www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk}}</ref> The [[chaplain]] is appointed by the Duchy (and since 1937 as [[ex-officio]] chaplain of the [[Royal Victorian Order]]) and effectively it is the "parish church" of the Savoy Estate, the Duchy of Lancaster's principal London landholding. [[Armorial]] [[Commemorative plaque|plates]] commemorating [[GCVO]]s past and present are displayed throughout the chapel; the [[Royal Victorian Order]]'s present [[genealogist|Honorary Genealogist]] is [[David White (officer of arms)|David White, Somerset Herald]].

Most of the chapel's costs and maintenance are met by the Duchy of Lancaster, with recent works including landscaping of its garden in honour of the [[Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II]] in 2002 and restoration of the chapel ceiling in 1999. The chapel was further refurbished and a new [[stained-glass window]] commemorating the [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II]] was unveiled by The Queen in November 2012.

The Savoy Chapel uses the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']] (which was in part developed at Savoy) and the ''[[King James Bible|Authorised King James Version]]'' of the Bible for worship. Services are held each Sunday, to which members of the public are welcomed, excepting occasional special events.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://royalchapelsavoy.org/events/second-sunday-trinity-magna-carta-sunday/|title=www.royalchapelsavoy.org}}</ref> The chapel is open for visitors from Monday to Thursday.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://royalchapelsavoy.org/|title=Home|date=26 September 2013|website=The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy}}</ref>
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==Music==
===Organ===
The Chapel possesses a three-manual pipe organ, presented by Queen [[Elizabeth II]], constructed to the specifications of the previous [[Organist|Master of the Music]], [[William Cole (musician)|William Cole]] and manufactured by [[J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd]]. The organ casework was designed by Arthur Bedford Knapp-Fisher (1888–1965). It was dedicated on 27 October 1965 at a service attended by the Queen to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy |title=Organ |url=http://royalchapelsavoy.org/music/organ/ |website=royalchapelsavoy.org |publisher=[[Duchy of Lancaster]] |access-date=16 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616185140/http://royalchapelsavoy.org/music/organ/ |archive-date=16 June 2020 |location=[[City of Westminster]] |date=15 January 2014 |quote=A three-manual pipe organ, constructed to the specifications of Dr William Cole LVO (Master of the Music 1954–94) and manufactured by J W Walker & Sons Ltd. The organ casework was designed by Arthur Bedford Knapp-Fisher (1888–1965), Professor of Architecture, the Royal College of Art (1933–43).  The organ, presented by The Queen, was dedicated on 27 October 1965 during a service, in the presence of The Queen, to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the Duchy of Lancaster. |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Organists===
The current [[Organist|Master of the Music]] is Philip Berg (since 1995); the sub-organist is Justin Luke (since 2002). Previous Masters of the Music include [[Henry Bromley Derry]] (from {{Circa|1913}} to 1954) and William Cole (from 1954 to 1994).

===Choir===
The choir is rooted in the English cathedral tradition, and consists of up to 21 [[Boy soprano|boy choristers]] (aged ten upwards) and six [[Lay clerk|professional gentlemen]]. The trebles are drawn exclusively from [[St Olave's Grammar School]] in [[Orpington]]. Each year up to four prospective year-six pupils are selected to sing as trebles in the choir (after passing an academic and vocal test), with their place at St Olave's confirmed for the following year. Some choristers also join in year 7, during their first year at St Olave's. Choristers are expected to stay in the choir until their voices change and are required  attend rehearsals three times a week at school and once a week at the chapel itself. The boy trebles, who have entered through the test in year 6, are known as Wakeham choristers in recognition of the 49 years of association that Michael Wakeham had with the Choir.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://saintolaves.net/wakehamoverview|title=Wakeham Choristerships Scheme|publisher=[[St Olave's Grammar School]]|website=saintolaves.net|access-date=16 June 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616180138/http://saintolaves.net/wakehamoverview}}</ref> The choir sings weekly Sunday morning services of either [[Eucharist]] or [[Morning Prayer (Anglican)|Matins]], as well as those on Christmas and Easter Day. They also sing for various weddings, carol services and royal events throughout the year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://royalchapelsavoy.org/music/joining-the-choir/|title=Joining the Choir|date=1 October 2013|website=The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy}}</ref>

London Choir School provided all the choristers to Savoy Chapel<ref>{{Cite AV media|last1=Brownlee|first1=Colin|location=[[Newland, Worcestershire|Newland]], [[Worcestershire]]|date=11 March 2016|title=London Choir School & Queen's Chapel of the Savoy|medium=Video slideshow|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-7nQ7m30iM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/4-7nQ7m30iM |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=3 February 2019|time=1:11|publisher=Archive of Recorded Church Music|quote=Many churches, such as the Savoy Chapel and St Peter's Eaton Square, were supplied entirely by London Choir School.}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Brownlee|first1=Colin|title=Tractarian choir schools|url=https://www.recordedchurchmusic.org/tractarian-choir-schools|website=recordedchurchmusic.org|publisher=Archive of Recorded Church Music|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616183724/https://www.recordedchurchmusic.org/tractarian-choir-schools|archive-date=16 June 2020|location=[[Newland, Worcestershire|Newland]], [[Worcestershire]]|year=2016|quote=The Savoy Chapel and St Peter's Eaton Square were two of the many establishments where the LCS supplied the entire choir, St Peter's being the last before the school closed.|url-status=live}}</ref> between 1915 and 1952.

==In popular culture==
The Savoy Chapel is mentioned in [[Evelyn Waugh]]'s 1946 novel ''[[Brideshead Revisited]]'' where the venue for the marriage of Julia Flyte and Rex Mottram is discussed: "Oh, Charles, what a squalid wedding! The Savoy Chapel was the place where divorced couples got married in those days—a poky little place not at all what Rex had intended. I wanted just to slip into a registry office one morning and get the thing over with a couple of char-women as witnesses, but nothing else would do but Rex had to have bridesmaids and orange blossom and the Wedding March. It was gruesome."<ref>{{cite book | last=Waugh | first=Evelyn | title=Brideshead Revisited | location=Boston | publisher=Little, Brown and Company | orig-year=1946 | year=1973 | isbn=0-316-92634-5 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/bridesheadrevisi00waug_4 }}</ref>

In Episode 8 of Series 5 of [[Julian Fellowes]]' television period drama ''[[List of Downton Abbey episodes#Series 5 (2014)|Downton Abbey]]'', the Savoy Chapel is mentioned as the site of the blessing of the marriage of [[List of Downton Abbey characters#Lady Rose MacClare|Lady Rose MacClare]] and [[List of Downton Abbey characters#The Hon. Atticus Aldridge|The Hon. Atticus Aldridge]].

==Notes==
{{Portal|Christianity|London}}
{{commons category|Savoy Chapel (London)}}
{{Reflist|33em}}

{{Duchy of Lancaster}}
{{Churches in Westminster}}

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[[Category:Duchy of Lancaster]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in the City of Westminster]]
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[[Category:Churches completed in 1512]]
[[Category:1512 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Lutheran churches in London]]
[[Category:Royal chapels|London, Savoy Chapel]]
[[Category:Chapels in London]]
[[Category:Royal Peculiars|London]]
[[Category:Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:16th-century Church of England church buildings|Westminster]]