Editing St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

{{For|the abolished ancient and civil parishes|St Sepulchre (parish)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox church
| name                   = Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate
| fullname               = Holy Sepulchre, London
| other name             = Church of the Holy Sepulchre, London<br />Church of saint Edmund the (King and) Martyr and of the Holy Sepulchre (obsolete)<br />Church of saint/Saint Sepulchre, Holborn/Middlesex (dated)
| image                  = File:Church of Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate (Southwest View - 02).jpg
| imagesize              = 220
| caption                = tower section of the church
| pushpin map            =
| pushpin label position =
| location               = [[London]], {{postcode|EC|1}}
| country                = United Kingdom
| denomination           = [[Church of England]]
| churchmanship          = [[Low church|Low Church]] [[Evangelical Anglicanism|Evangelical]]
| founder                = unknown
| founded date           = before 1066
| dedication             = [[Edmund the Martyr|Edmund the (King and) Martyr]] and to the Holy Sepulchre
| consecrated date       = before 1066
| status                 = [[Parish church]]
| functional status      = Active
| heritage designation   = Grade I [[listed building]]
| designated date        = 4 January 1950
| architect              = various
| architectural type     =
| style                  = [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] (tower)<ref name="Piper&Jervis"/>
| years built            = 15th century (rebuilt)
| completed date         = 1670 (reopened)<ref name="Newgate1999"/>
| length                 = <!-- {{convert| }} -->
| width                  = <!-- {{convert| }} -->
| width nave             = <!-- {{convert| }} -->
| height                 = <!-- {{convert| }} -->
| other dimensions       = 3-storey porch
| tower quantity         = 1
| tower height           =
| materials              =
| bells                  = 12
| bells hung             =
| parish                 = St. Sepulchre with Christchurch, Greyfriars and St. Leonard, Foster Lane (as sole church of)
| deanery                = City of London (sole deanery in archdeanery)
| archdeaconry           = [[Archdeaconry of London|London]]
| diocese                = [[Diocese of London|London]]
| province               = [[Province of Canterbury|Canterbury]]
| priestincharge         = {{Abbreviation|Rev.|Reverend}} Nick Mottershead
}}

'''Holy Sepulchre London''', formerly and in some official uses '''Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate''', is the largest [[Anglican]] parish church in the [[City of London]]. It stands on the north side of [[Holborn Viaduct]] across a crossroads from the [[Old Bailey]], and its [[ecclesiastical parish|parish]] takes in [[Smithfield Market]]. During medieval times, the site lay outside ("without") the [[London Wall|city wall]], west of the [[Newgate]].

It has been known as the National Musicians' Church since 1955.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Concerts & Recitals |url=https://hsl.church/concerts |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Holy Sepulchre London |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-12-11 |title=Explorers, Musicians And Executions: A Look Inside St Sepulchre-without-Newgate |url=https://livinglondonhistory.com/explorers-musicians-and-executions-a-look-inside-st-sepulchre-without-newgate/ |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Living London History |language=en-US}}</ref> It has London's musicians' chapel in which a book of remembrance sits and an October/November requiem takes place – unusual for a church associated with [[Low church|Low Church]] [[Evangelical Anglicanism|Evangelicalism]]. The church has two local army regiment memorials.

The vicar is appointed by [[St John's College, Oxford]], which has held the church's patronage since 1622.

The church is within the Newgate Street [[Conservation Area (United Kingdom)|Conservation Area]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Newgate Street Conservation Area [No. 6]|url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environment-and-planning/planning/heritage-and-design/conservation-areas/Pages/Newgate-Street-Conservation-Area.aspx|publisher=[[City of London Corporation]]}}</ref>

==History==

=== Early history ===
The original ([[Anglo-Saxons|probably pre-Norman]]) church on the site was dedicated to [[Edmund of East Anglia|St Edmund the King and Martyr]].<ref name="Newgate1999" /> In 1137 it was given to the [[St Bartholomew-the-Great|Priory of St Bartholomew]]. During the [[Crusades]] of that century the church was re-dedicated to Saint Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, venerating the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] in [[Jerusalem]]. Knights passed by on the way to the Holy Lands.<ref name="Newgate1999">{{cite web|title=Newgate: Conservation Area Character Summary|url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environment-and-planning/planning/heritage-and-design/conservation-areas/Documents/Newgate%20Street%20Character%20Summary.pdf|publisher=[[City of London Corporation|Corporation of London]]|date=1999}}</ref> This name became [[contraction (linguistics)|contracted]], and in the 21st century reference to the saint-king has been overwhelmingly dropped. The very early lessening of the first dedication helped to reserve that name for the small church to the east of [[St Paul's Cathedral]] dedicated to [[St Edmund, King and Martyr]].<ref>"The City of London Churches: monuments of another age" Quantrill, E; Quantrill, M p. 24: London; Quartet; 1975</ref>

The church is today the largest parish church in the city.<ref name=cc/> It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century<ref name=cc>"The City Churches" Tabor, M. p. 127: London; The Swarthmore Press Ltd; 1917</ref> but was gutted by the [[Great Fire of London]] in 1666,<ref>{{cite book|title=Samuel Pepys – The Shorter Pepys|editor-last=Latham|editor-first=Robert|page=484|location=[[Harmondsworth]]|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|date=1985|isbn=0140094180}}</ref> which left the outer walls,<ref>"The Survey of Building Sites in London after the Great Fire of 1666" Mills, P/ Oliver, J Vol I p. 124: [[Guildhall Library]] MS. 84 reproduced in facsimile, London, [[London Topographical Society]], 1946</ref> the tower and the porch standing.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Old Churches of London|last=Cobb|first=G|location=London|publisher=[[Pavilion Books|Batsford]]|date=1942}}</ref> It was rebuilt 1667–1679 by [[Joshua Marshall (sculptor)|Joshua Marshall]], the King's Master Mason, and appears to be remodelled to Marshall's own design.<ref>Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 by Rupert Gunnis</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cathmarshall.com/biographies/1628-joshua-marshall|title=1628 – Joshua Marshall|access-date=10 October 2022}}</ref> Lightly modified in the 18th century,<ref name=listing/> the interior of the church is a wide, roomy space with a [[coffered ceiling]]<ref>"London:the City Churches" Pevsner, N / Bradley, S. New Haven, Yale, 1998 {{ISBN|0300096550}}</ref> installed in 1834 with plasterwork of three years later.<ref name=listing/> The church underwent considerable re-facing and alterations in 1878.<ref name=listing/> During the [[Second World War]] the 18th-century watch-house, built in the churchyard to deter grave-robbers, [[The Blitz|was bomb-struck]] but later  rebuilt. The vicarage was fully renovated in the early 2000s.

[[File:St Sepulchre-without-Newgate Interior, London, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The interior of St Sepulchre]]
During [[Mary I of England|Mary I]]'s [[Marian persecutions|persecutions]], in 1555, the incumbent vicar [[John Rogers (Bible editor and martyr)|John Rogers]] was burned at the stake as a [[heresy|heretic]].

===Bells===
The bells are referred to in the nursery rhyme ''[[Oranges and Lemons]]'' as the "bells of [[Old Bailey]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Community — Bells|url=http://stsepulchres.org/our-community/bells/ |publisher=stsepulchres.org}}</ref>

In 1605, London merchant tailor  John Dowe paid the parish [[Pound sterling|£]]50 ({{Inflation|GBP|50|1605|r=-3|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) to buy a [[handbell]] and to mark the execution of prisoners at the nearby gallows at [[Newgate Prison|Newgate]].<ref name="BHO">{{cite book|title=St. Sepulchre's and its neighbourhood|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2/pp477-491|series=Old and New London, Volume 2|publisher=[[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell, Petter & Galpin]] (courtesy of [[British History Online]])|date=1878|pages=447–491}}</ref> This execution bell is displayed in a glass case in the [[nave]]. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the clerk was responsible for ringing it outside the condemned man's cell in [[Newgate Prison]] the night before his execution, and announcing the following "wholesome advice":<ref name="BHO"/><ref name="Piper&Jervis"/>
{{quotation|
All you that in the condemned hold do lie,<br />
Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die;<br />
Watch all, and pray, the hour is drawing near<br />
That you before the Almighty must appear;<br />
Examine well yourselves, in time repent,<br />
That you may not to eternal flames be sent.<br />
And when St Sepulchre's bell to-morrow tolls,<br />
The Lord above have mercy on your souls.<br />
Past twelve o'clock!
}}

Given proximity to Newgate Prison and the [[Old Bailey]], built on the site of the prison, certain of the bells in its tower, aside from marking time, celebrating weddings and communion, were rung to announce executions. In the first years of the court this was as the condemned felon was led to [[Tyburn]].<ref name="Piper&Jervis">{{cite book|title=The Companion Guide to London|first1=David|last1=Piper|first2=Fionnuala|last2=Jervis|page=350}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=London's secret sights: 14 odd attractions you never knew were there|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/11230633/Londons-secret-sights-14-odd-attractions-you-never-knew-were-there.html?frame=3106622|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="190">
File:1064640-Church of St Sepulchre.JPG|The bell tower
File:NewgateExecutionBell.jpg|The Execution Bell
File:St Sepulchre-without-Newgate 2020.jpg|Exterior
</gallery>

===Army memorials===
The south aisle of the church holds the regimental chapel of [[the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)]] (merged to form the [[Royal Regiment of Fusiliers]]), to whom its gardens are a memorial.<ref>"The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches" Tucker,T: London, Friends of the City Churches, 2006 {{ISBN|0955394503}}</ref> The west end of the north aisle has memorials for the [[City of London Rifles]] (the 6th Battalion [[London Regiment (1908–1938)|London Regiment]]).

===Musicians' Chapel===
By the north aisle is the Musicians' Chapel. As St Stephen's chapel it hosted votive masses to the 12th-century monastic saint [[Stephen Harding]] prior to the [[English Reformation]] and during the reign of [[Mary I of England]].<ref name=le/>

The ashes of conductor Sir [[Henry Wood]], founder of [[Promenade Concerts|{{abbr|The Proms|Promenade Concerts, generally and in all broadcasts abbreviated to the Proms.}}]], who learnt to play the organ at the church as a boy, were interred here in the 1940s.<ref name=le/>

It was rededicated to musicians by Dr. W.R. Matthews, [[Dean of St Paul's]], on 2 January 1955 in the presence of many distinguished musicians including an orchestra conducted by Sir [[Malcolm Sargent]] and the [[BBC Singers]].<ref name=le/>  Its four windows commemorate Sir Henry Wood, [[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]], Dame [[Nellie Melba]] and [[Walter Carroll]]<ref name=le>"The London Encyclopædia" Hibbert, C; Weinreb, D; Keay, J: London, Pan Macmillan, 1983 (revised 1993, 2008) {{ISBN|978-1405049245}}</ref>

The chapel's appearance and the Musicians' Book of Remembrance are maintained by the Friends of the Musicians' Chapel. A Service of Thanksgiving for all those in the book is held at the church each year as well as a requiem close to [[All Souls' Day]]. Many concerts and memorial events for musicians have been held in the church.

=== Recent history ===
The church was known as the National Musicians' Church for 70 years, until August 2017 when hiring of the facilities for non-religious events was banned, against assurances which had been given when HTB took over in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davies |first=Madeleine |date=2017-08-24 |title=Music luminaries protest at St Sepulchre's plans |url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/25-august/news/uk/music-luminaries-protest-at-st-sepulchre-s-plans-to-end-concerts |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250321173426/https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/25-august/news/uk/music-luminaries-protest-at-st-sepulchre-s-plans-to-end-concerts |archive-date=2025-03-21 |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=[[Church Times]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Fifty figures from the musical world, including [[Aled Jones]], [[Julian Lloyd Webber]], [[John Rutter]], [[James MacMillan]] and [[Judith Weir]], signed an open letter urging reversal of the ban and preservation of the church's "unique national cultural remit".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sherwood |first=Harriet |last2= |first2= |date=2017-08-23 |title=UK's leading musicians fight church's ban on secular bookings |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/23/uks-leading-musicians-fight-church-ban-on-secular-bookings-aled-jones-judith-weir |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 7,800 people signed a petition asking for the decision to be reversed. Acting Bishop of London [[Pete Broadbent]] tried to convince the church to reverse its ban. Andrew Earis, director of music at [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]] and former director of music at St Sepulchre, regretted that the church had not changed its decision, which he said was "doing irreparable harm to the church as a whole".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sherwood |first=Harriet |last2= |first2= |date=2017-09-28 |title=London church rebuffs bishop's efforts to get it to remain concert venue |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/28/london-church-st-sepulchre-without-newgate-rebuffs-remain-concert-venue |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 2017, the vicar ceased parish funds financing the requiem and allowing of most free rehearsing time. A protest was held and many prominent musicians including [[John Rutter]] sought continued benevolence from the wider congregation and church patron. Attempts to mediate failed.{{Clarify|date=March 2025}}

Nick Mottershead became Priest-in-Charge of Holy Sepulchre in 2021.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Davies |first=Madeleine |date=2024-01-12 |title=HTB's allies alarmed by bid to resist same-sex blessings |url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/12-january/news/uk/htb-s-allies-alarmed-by-bid-to-resist-same-sex-blessings |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240112185525/https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/12-january/news/uk/htb-s-allies-alarmed-by-bid-to-resist-same-sex-blessings |archive-date=2024-01-12 |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=[[Church Times]]}}</ref>

In 2024, Mottershead clarified that the church is not a member of the [[HTB network]]. He described work to "rebuild a reputation around being the Musicians’ Church and to redefine and communicate that this is a place that is welcoming to all. Faith or no faith, meeting people where they are — all that language is super-important to me." He welcomed the introduction of same-sex blessings and expressed support for same-sex marriage in the future.<ref name=":02" />

==Protection and recognition of architecture==
The church has been designated a Grade I [[listed building]] (the highest grade) since 1950.<ref name=listing>{{NHLE |num=1064640 |access-date=23 January 2009}}</ref>

==Notable people associated with the church==
* [[Thomas Culpeper]], Tudor courtier, buried here
* [[Thomas Gouge]], minister ejected in 1662
* [[Samuel Gurney (MP)|Samuel Gurney]], MP, erected the first drinking fountain for the [[Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association]] on the railings of the church. It was restored to the original location in 1913 and remains there.
* [[Peter Mullen|Rev Dr Peter Mullen]], commentator, author and former rector, sometime chaplain to the [[London Stock Exchange]]
* [[John Rogers (Bible editor and martyr)|John Rogers]], minister, Bible translator, and the first English Protestant martyr under [[Mary I of England]]; he was burnt at the stake
* [[Anthony St Leger (Master of the Rolls)|Sir Anthony St Leger]], Tudor judge, and his first wife Eleanor Markham, buried here
* [[John Smith (explorer)|Sir John Smith]], governor of [[Virginia]] and associate of [[Pocahontas]], buried 1631 in the south aisle. Smith is also commemorated by a window designed by [[Francis Skeat]] and installed in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |work=St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate |title=The John Smith Window |url=http://web.me.com/a.earis/stsepulchre.htm |access-date=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* [[Austin Osman Spare]], artist, attended the church school, now a physiotherapy centre, behind the church in [[Snow Hill, London|Snow Hill]] Court
* [[Roger Williams]] (1603–1683), founder of [[Rhode Island]], USA
* [[Henry Wood|Sir Henry Wood]], founding conductor at the [[BBC Proms|Proms]]
* [[Charles Wriothesley]], long-serving [[officer of arms]] at the [[College of Arms]], buried 1562 in the middle aisle

==Organ==
[[File:The organ at St Sepulchre, Holborn Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 1806393.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The organ]]
The north aisle is dominated by a splendid [[organ (music)|organ]] built by [[Renatus Harris]] in 1670;<ref>Pearce,C.W. "Notes on Old City Churches: their organs, organists and musical associations" London, Winthrop Rogers Ltd 1909</ref> the organ case is its sole mention in the architectural listing, adding a date, 1677.<ref name=listing/>

The swell was added by John Byfield in {{circa|1730}}. The organ was enlarged in 1817 by James Hancock and by John Gray in 1828 and 1835, and [[Gray and Davison]] in 1849, 1852 and 1855. It was rebuilt in 1932 by [[Harrison and Harrison]]. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N17580|title=The National Pipe Organ Register – NPOR}}</ref>  It is not currently playable, though efforts are being made to restore it to a playable condition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fundraising for Organ Restoration and Piano Replacement |url=https://hsl.church/fundraising |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=Holy Sepulchre London |language=en-GB}}</ref> A Makin digital organ is used when required for services.

The choir has now composed of eight professional singers.

===Organists===
{{Incomplete list|date=April 2022}}
* Francis Forcer 1676–1704
* Thomas Deane 1705–1712
* Benjamin Short 1712–1760
* William Selby and Samuel Jarvis 1760–1773
* Samuel Jarvis 1773–1784
* George Cooper 1784–1799
* George Cooper 1799–1843 (son of above)
* [[George Cooper (organist)|George Cooper]] 1843–1876 (son of above)
* James Loaring
* Edwin Matthew Lott
* Edgar Pettman
* Frank B. Fowle {{circa|1921}}
* Peter Asprey (Director of Music; present)
* Joshua Ryan (Organist elect; from May 2022)

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity|London}}
* [[List of churches and cathedrals of London]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|St Sepulchre-without-Newgate}}
* [https://hsl.church/ St Sepulchre-without-Newgate] church website

{{Churches in the City of London}}

{{Coord|51|31|0.07|N|0|6|8.47|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Sepulchre Without Newgate}}
[[Category:11th-century establishments in England]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in the City of London]]
[[Category:Diocese of London]]
[[Category:Grade I listed churches in the City of London]]
[[Category:Holy Trinity Brompton plants]]