St Paul's, Onslow Square Explained

St Paul's, Onslow Square
Coordinates:51.4916°N -0.1746°W
Denomination:Church of England
Churchmanship:Evangelical
Diocese:London
Episcopalarea:Kensington
Archdeaconry:Middlesex
Deanery:Chelsea
Parish:Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's, Onslow Square and St Augustine's, South Kensington
Architect:James Edmeston
Years Built:1860
Vicar:Archie Coates
Location:Onslow Square, London
Country:United Kingdom
Website:https://www.htb.org/onslow-square-services

St Paul's, Onslow Square (known as HTB Onslow Square), is a Grade II listed Anglican church in Onslow Square, South Kensington, London, England. The church was built in 1860, and the architect was James Edmeston.[1] Composer William Carter was appointed organist at the church in 1868.[2] Hanmer William Webb-Peploe (1837–1923), the evangelical clergyman, and member of the Holiness Movement, was the vicar for 43 years from 1876 to 1919.[3]

In the late 1970s, the parish of Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) merged with the neighbouring parish of St Paul's, Onslow Square. St Paul's was declared redundant. An attempt by the Diocese of London to sell the building for private redevelopment was thwarted in the early 1980s when local residents joined with churchgoers to save the church. In the late 1980s, the Parochial Church Council requested that the redundancy be overturned which allowed curate Nicky Lee and his wife Sila to plant a congregation there as well as undertake some building structural maintenance work.[4]

In 1997, the congregation at St Paul's divided into three, with some going with curate Stuart Lees to plant a church in Fulham; others returning to HTB with Nicky and Sila Lee; and others forming the St Paul's Anglican Fellowship and remaining based at St Paul's with John Peters. This last group left in 2002 to plant into St Mary's, Bryanston Square.

During 2007, after plans by HTB to rebuild the 1960s offices were withdrawn following difficulty in getting support from local residents, HTB decided to undertake some renovations and to resume services in the church. St Paul's launched 9am and 6pm services in September 2007[5] and followed with an 11am service on 20 January 2008[6] and a 4pm service on 28 September 2009.[7] In December 2009 the upstairs balcony was recommissioned for worship, having previously been used for administrative offices (the office occupants having moved to HTB's nearby office building purchased in 2008[8] [9]).

The church holds services at 10.30am, 4.30pm and 6.30pm every Sunday.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Holy Trinity Brompton History . Holy Trinity Brompton . 2009-12-24.
  2. Book: Biographical Dictionary of the Organ . William Carter . W. B. Henshaw . Bardon Music . 2003 . November 7, 2023 .
  3. I. T. Foster, ‘Peploe, Hanmer William Webb- (1837–1923)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 3 Oct 2016
  4. Web site: Development & RDS Director's Seminar . Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . 26 March 2019.
  5. Web site: Sunday worship resumes at St. Paul's. Holy Trinity Brompton. 2007-07-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080820160311/http://www.htb.org.uk/news/sunday-worship-resumes-st-pauls. 2008-08-20.
  6. Web site: St Paul's gets ready for 11am service . Holy Trinity Brompton . 2008-01-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080820160530/http://www.htb.org.uk/news/st-pauls-gets-ready-11am-service . 2008-08-20 .
  7. Web site: 4pm service launched at St Pauls . Holy Trinity Brompton . 2009-12-24.
  8. Web site: Alpha Charity Buys London Office Building. Holy Trinity Brompton. 2012-02-29. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131109214632/http://www.htb.org.uk/news/article/alpha-charity-buys-london-office-building. 2013-11-09.
  9. Web site: Builders move in to new offices on Cromwell Road. Alphafriends. 2012-02-29.
  10. Web site: HTB Onslow Square . www.htb.org.uk . 16 March 2019.