Savoy Chapel

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Interior of the Savoy Chapel facing east

The Savoy Chapel (actually The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy ) is a chapel in London . The chapel, classified as a Grade II * cultural monument, is located on the eastern edge of the City of Westminster on Savoy Hill on The Strand .

history

The chapel was built in the late Middle Ages as part of the Hospital of St John-the-Baptist , which King Henry VII founded as a poor house on the site of the former Savoy Palace . The chapel was completed in 1512 and was dedicated to John the Baptist . After the hospital was closed in 1702, the chapel fell into disrepair. In the 18th century there was a long dispute over possession of the dilapidated property, in which the chapel finally fell to the Duchy of Lancaster in 1772 . Around 1830 the south wall, the windows and the bell tower were restored by Robert Smirke . After the chapel was destroyed in a fire in 1864 with the exception of the outer walls, it was rebuilt. The chapel has served as the chapel of the Royal Victorian Order since the end of 1937 , and the chapel's chaplain is also the chaplain of the order. The chapel was damaged during the Blitz in 1940 and restored by Arthur Knapp-Fisher from 1957 to 1958 after the Second World War . The chapel belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster to this day and, as the private chapel of the British monarchs ( royal peculiar ), is not subject to any English diocese .

Building description

The quarry stone chapel is built in the perpendicular style . It consists of a rectangular hall building with a small bell tower in the west and has four three-lane tracery windows on the two long sides and a five-lane choir window in the east. It still has grave monuments from the 16th century and colored stained glass windows . The wooden wall paneling was installed from 1938 to 1939 after the chapel was elevated to the status of an order chapel. The richly painted wooden ceiling in neo- Tudor style was restored in 1999, and for the diamond crown jubilee of Elizabeth II , a window on the west side received new stained glass. In 2013 the floor was renewed.

Web links

Commons : Savoy Chapel (London)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Duchy of Lancaster: History. 20th Century to Present. Retrieved March 3, 2015 .


Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 37.9 ″  N , 0 ° 7 ′ 11.7 ″  W.