Chelsea Old Church dates from 1157.[3] It was formerly the parish church of Chelsea, before it was engulfed by London. The building consisted of a 13th-century chancel with chapels to the north and south (c. 1325) and a nave and tower built in 1670.
The chapels were private property. The one to the north was called the Lawrence Chapel and was owned by Chelsea's Lord of the Manor. The chapel to the south was rebuilt in 1528 as Sir Thomas More's private chapel. The date can be found on one of the capitals of the pillars leading to the chancel, which were reputedly designed by Hans Holbein the Younger. There is a statue of More by Leslie Cubitt Bevis outside the church, facing the river.
17th century
There is a 1669 memorial to Lady Jane Cheyne. It was designed by the son of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed by Gian Lorenzo's favourite sculptor Antonio Raggi.[4]
The church suffered severe bombing damage during the Blitz of the Second World War on 14 April 1941, in which the church and tower were mostly destroyed by a parachute mine.[2][5] The Thomas More Chapel was least affected. Services were held in the adjoining Cheyne Hospital for nine years.[5]
Restoration and rebuilding
In 1950 the More Chapel was reopened, followed by the chancel and Lawrence Chapel in May 1954, after restoration by the architect Walter Godfrey. It was then listed Grade I on 24 June 1954.[2] In May 1958, the entire church was reconsecrated by the Bishop of London in the presence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, as it had been restored in its entirety on its old foundations. It looks much as it did before World War II. Many of the tombs and monuments inside were salvaged and reconstructed, almost like jigsaw puzzles.[2] Some original 16th-century stained glass was also preserved.[2]
