Holy Sepulchre London

There has been a worshipping community at Holy Sepulchre since at least 1137 when a charter records that Rahere (the founder of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital) appointed ‘Hagno the Clerk’ as priest of Holy Sepulchre.

Over the years God has moved powerfully through the church, most famously in the ministry of the great Bible-translator, preacher, martyr and former vicar, John Rogers (d.1555). This rich spiritual heritage is an inspiration and underpinning to us today, reflected in an on-going passion for scripture, preaching and zeal to seek God.

Through the 20th Century there were significant changes and developments in the life of Holy Sepulchre. New links were formed with the Royal Fusiliers’ whose regimental chapel in Holy Sepulchre was dedicated in 1950. A growing reputation for music was cemented and enhanced when Sir Henry Wood (founder of ‘the Proms’) was buried in the newly dedicated Musicians’ Chapel in 1955 and a Musicians’ Book of Remembrance instituted. At the same time, the declining population of the City of London led to Sunday worship stopping in the early 1980’s, and a greater focus on mid-week and occasional services.

A regular Sunday congregation was re-started in late 2013 by a planting team from Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) and St. George’s Holborn. The new congregation also enabled the starting of a new Tuesday lunchtime service aimed at local workers, and the moving of the existing mid-week Choral Evensong from monthly to weekly. 

Today both the Sunday and mid-week congregations continue to be the backbone of the church. We run a range of other ministries from Discipleship Groups to Alpha courses, and continue to build and cherish strong links with a range of other groups from Bell-ringers to musicians and Royal Fusiliers.