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The Great Britain Guide

Historic churches · London

Queen's Chapel

Tudor & StuartFree admission

Queen's Chapel — church building in Westminster, London, England, UK.

Queen's Chapel, historic churches in London

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
30 min–1 h
Nearest railway station
Green Park · 0.5 km
  • Free entry

About

Queen's Chapel is a historic church in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1623. Designed by Inigo Jones. Heritage designation: Grade I listed building. Wikidata describes it as: "church building in Westminster, London, England, UK". Coordinates: 51.5050°, -0.1369°.

Photo gallery

Heritage listing

The Queen's Chapel (officially, The Queen's Chapel St. James's Palace and previously the German Chapel) is a chapel in central London, England. Designed by Inigo Jones, it was built between 1623 and 1625 as an adjunct to St. James's Palace, initially as a Catholic chapel for the Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, who in the end never used it because she didn't marry King Charles I of England. Afterwards, it was used by the woman he did marry, Queen Henrietta Maria of France, a Catholic, and her retinue. In later years, it served various continental Protestants who were resident at Court.

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

The Queen's Chapel (officially, The Queen's Chapel St. James's Palace and previously the German Chapel) is a chapel in central London, England. Designed by Inigo Jones, it was built between 1623 and 1625 as an adjunct to St. James's Palace, initially as a Catholic chapel for the Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, who in the end never used it because she didn't marry King Charles I of England. Afterwards, it was used by the woman he did marry, Queen Henrietta Maria of France, a Catholic, and her retinue. In later years, it served various continental Protestants who were resident at Court. It is one of the facilities of the British monarch's household religious establishment, the Chapel Royal, but should not be confused with the 1540 liturgical building also known as the Chapel Royal, which is within the palace, just across Marlborough Road. Queen's Chapel is a Grade I listed building.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The Queen's Chapel was built as a Catholic chapel at a time when the construction of churches for that denomination was otherwise prohibited in England, and was used by Charles I's wife French Queen Henrietta Maria, who imported chapel furnishings from France. During the English Civil War it was used as a stable. It was refurbished in 1662, and again in the 1680s by Christopher Wren. From the 1690s the chapel was used by the Continental Protestant courtiers of William and Mary. In 1718, the chapel was given over to German courtiers of George I who had moved to England with him. The chapel was then called the German Chapel. On 17 September 1782 the German organist Augustus Frederic…

Architecture

The brick building is rendered to appear as if it were stone built. It has gable ends with pediments. The interior vault is gilded and painted.

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.5050, -0.1369
District
Westminster
Parish
Westminster, unparished area
Postcode
SW1A 1BG
Parliamentary constituency
Cities of London and Westminster
Established
1623
Nearest railway station
Green Park0.5 km

Sources

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Nearby

Other works by Inigo Jones

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Queen's Chapel?
Queen's Chapel is in London, United Kingdom (postcode SW1A 1BG), in the parish of Westminster, unparished area.
When was Queen's Chapel built?
Built or established in 1623. Designed by Inigo Jones.
Is Queen's Chapel a listed building?
Queen's Chapel is officially recognised as Grade I listed building listed.
Is Queen's Chapel free to visit?
Yes, Queen's Chapel is free to enter.
How do I get to Queen's Chapel?
The nearest railway station is Green Park, about 0.5 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode SW1A 1BG.