Churches of the British Isles

The church suffered firebomb damage in 1941. It was sold to a charitable trust as a ruin and rebuilt as a concert hall. The parish was united to that of St Stephen Rochester Row (see links), and the former church is now Grade I listed. On the southern side of nearby Horseferry Road lay the burial ground for the church which remained in use between 1731-1853, when all of London's churchyards were closed by Lord Palmerston. It was reopened as St John's Gardens in 1885.

Emmanuel Evangelical Church faces onto Marsham Street, while the rear entrance (shown here) is on Tufton Street. This apostolic, cell-based church was founded on 1 January 1989. It acquired its present home in 1997 after stays at St Peter's Vere Street (see links) and two other London addresses. The building's previous occupiers are unknown, as is the building's age. The area for worship is circular, set in the centre of the building which is mostly hidden from the street.

St Matthew's Westminster is on the north side of Great Peter Street, and with access onto St Anne's Street to its east. With Westminster's population growing rapidly in the eighteenth century St John Smith Square was built (see above), but it became apparent that this was not enough. The area around Great Peter Street had deteriorated by the 1840s and people lived in poor conditions. In response, as one of four new regional churches, St Matthew's was built in 1849.

Sir George Gilbert Scott supplied the design. Consecrated in 1851, it was later enriched with fittings and glass by G F Bodley, C E Kempe & Co, and others. The money was never found to add the proposed spire to the tower, but the Lady Chapel is one of Sir Ninian Compers' finest early works. Gutted by fire in 1977 the church was reconstructed to a reduced plan and was rededicated in 1984. The new parish centre now obscures the church on the corner with St Ann's Street.

Westminster Community Church was a modern founding which met at 2 Greycoat Place in Westminster (behind the red door). This Evangelical Alliance meeting was branded as 'refreshingly informal and friendly', using private space above what was the 'Mange' eaterie, and then Pizetta (and by 2025 the 'Anosh' business premises). The meeting appears to have folded at some point between 2010-2025 as no trace of it could be found by the later date.

Five photos on this page by P L Kessler.