Holy Trinity, Sloane Square

John Betjeman called it a “cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement”; Nikolaus Pevsner called it “a museum of 1890s design”.

But you will remember it because it is the widest church in London. St Paul’s Cathedral is eighty-five feet wide (Westminster Abbey isn’t at all wide) but Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, is nine inches wider.

“It is one of the most artistically significant churches in the UK. Designed by the architect John Dando Sedding, it was consecrated on 13 May 1890 and is a Grade I listed building. It is a classic example of a late 19th century gothic style church, drawing on an eclectic range of styles including early medieval, Byzantine, pre-renaissance Italian and English Decorated Gothic.

Sedding was a founding member of the Arts & Crafts Movement and one of the most distinguished designers and architects of his time. He was an accomplished designer of wallpaper, embroidery, metalwork and sculpture. As a founder and second master of the Art Workers’ Guild, Sedding’s aim was to revive the medieval system of cooperation between architect and craftsman.

Holy Trinity is home to a wealth of treasures from the Arts & Crafts period including works by Henry Wilson, a student of Sedding who completed the building of Holy Trinity following Sedding’s death. The angel lectern and spandrels of the nave and chancel arches were designed by Henry Hugh Armstead, the angels on the pillars of the Baroque chancel screen and panels in the choir stalls were designed by Frederick Pomeroy, the altar frontal of the entombment was carved by Harry Bates of the New Sculpture movement and the reredos is the work of John Tweed.

Holy Trinity’s stained glass is often considered the finest of its treasures. The most notable example is the Great East Window, designed by the pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. It is a classic example of a 12 light window and depicts 48 figures including prophets, apostles and saints beneath scenes from the Nativity, the Garden of Eden, the Crucifixion and the Annunciation. The window is the largest ever manufactured by Morris & Co.“ (Building Conservation)

“This wooden cross was fashioned on the island of Lampedusa, Sicily, especially for Holy Trinity. It is made from a painted wooden plank taken from a shipwrecked refugee boat which sailed from North Africa to Italy.  As with a similar Lampedusa Cross in the British Museum and another in the private collection of Pope Francis, this important addition to the beauty of Holy Trinity is a gift from the island’s carpenter, Francesco Tuccio, who created it.”

I visited on Sunday morning before walking on to the Royal Hospital for Choral Matins in the Wren Chapel. Unfortunately I am unable to go next Sunday, so I will not hear the Air Force Band Műnster (Luftwaffenmusikkorps Műnster) playing.