Collection ACC/1801 - WHITEFIELDS CHAPEL, TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD

Identity area

Reference code

ACC/1801

Title

WHITEFIELDS CHAPEL, TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD

Date(s)

  • 1790-1939 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

0.46 linear metres

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

George Whitefield (1714-1770), the famous evangelical preacher, obtained a lease of the site for his Chapel in Tottenham Court Road in 1756. Whitefield had been driven to seek a place where he would be free from the opposition encountered from the vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields at the Long Acre Chapel where he had been a minister. The Chapel, built and probably designed by Matthew Pearce, was opened for public worship in 1756 and was enlarged in the winter of 1759 to 1760. Whitefield died in Boston, America in 1770 and his memorial sermon was preached in the Chapel by John Wesley.

When the original lease expired in 1827, the freehold was purchased by Trustees, who reconditioned the Chapel which was reopened for services in October 1831. In 1853 the burial ground which had been in use since 1756 with an interval of eight years, 1823-1831, was closed. There was a dispute when in 1856 the Reverend J.W. Richardson endeavoured to use part of it for building purposes, and owners of the graves applied for an injunction against the disturbance of the ground. However, in 1895 it was laid out and opened as a public garden.

In 1856 the Chapel was repaired, only to be almost wholly destroyed by fire in February 1857. The property was then bought up by the London Congregational Building Society who erected a new building designed by John Tarring. However, in 1889 the foundations began to give way, probably because of the numerous burials within the building which disturbed the filling to the pond underneath.

The Chapel was closed and services were carried out in a temporary iron structure until the new building was opened in November 1899. On 25 March 1945 the Chapel was totally destroyed by bombing and was subsequently replaced by a new building which still remains on the site.

Archival history

ACC/1801 1790-1939 Collection 0.46 linear metres Whitefields Chapel , Tottenham Court Road

George Whitefield (1714-1770), the famous evangelical preacher, obtained a lease of the site for his Chapel in Tottenham Court Road in 1756. Whitefield had been driven to seek a place where he would be free from the opposition encountered from the vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields at the Long Acre Chapel where he had been a minister. The Chapel, built and probably designed by Matthew Pearce, was opened for public worship in 1756 and was enlarged in the winter of 1759 to 1760. Whitefield died in Boston, America in 1770 and his memorial sermon was preached in the Chapel by John Wesley.

When the original lease expired in 1827, the freehold was purchased by Trustees, who reconditioned the Chapel which was reopened for services in October 1831. In 1853 the burial ground which had been in use since 1756 with an interval of eight years, 1823-1831, was closed. There was a dispute when in 1856 the Reverend J.W. Richardson endeavoured to use part of it for building purposes, and owners of the graves applied for an injunction against the disturbance of the ground. However, in 1895 it was laid out and opened as a public garden.

In 1856 the Chapel was repaired, only to be almost wholly destroyed by fire in February 1857. The property was then bought up by the London Congregational Building Society who erected a new building designed by John Tarring. However, in 1889 the foundations began to give way, probably because of the numerous burials within the building which disturbed the filling to the pond underneath.

The Chapel was closed and services were carried out in a temporary iron structure until the new building was opened in November 1899. On 25 March 1945 the Chapel was totally destroyed by bombing and was subsequently replaced by a new building which still remains on the site.

Received in 1982 (Acc/1801).

Records of the Whitefields Chapel, Tottenham Court Road, 1790-1939, including registers of burials, service sheets, index of speakers, financial accounts, Council and Finance Committee agenda and minutes, magazines, notices and calendars of activities, correspondence relating to financial, management and organisational arrangements and inventories.

In three sections: Registers; Administration and Finance; Correspondence and General Papers

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.

Copyright: Depositor
English

Fit

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

See also LMA/4472 and LMA/4143.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. January to March 2009 Whitefield , George , 1714-1770 , Calvinistic Methodist evangelical preacher Religions Ancient religions Christianity Protestantism Evangelicalism Evangelicals Primary documents Church records and registers Religious activities Religious practice Preaching Information sources Clergy Documents Parish records Burial registers Architecture Buildings Religious buildings Chapels Nonconformist chapels Religious groups Christians UK England London Camden Tottenham Court Road Protestants Nonconformists Organisation and management Administration Church administration Whitefields Chapel , Tottenham Court Road Western Europe Europe Burial records

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Received in 1982 (Acc/1801).

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Records of the Whitefields Chapel, Tottenham Court Road, 1790-1939, including registers of burials, service sheets, index of speakers, financial accounts, Council and Finance Committee agenda and minutes, magazines, notices and calendars of activities, correspondence relating to financial, management and organisational arrangements and inventories.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

In three sections: Registers; Administration and Finance; Correspondence and General Papers

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright: Depositor

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

See also LMA/4472 and LMA/4143.

Finding aids

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

London Metropolitan Archives

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area