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We offer daily services and a creative programme of talks, events and concerts. We seek to be a welcoming space for people to reflect, create and debate.
Book tickets for Black History Month, Tue 8 Oct, 7.30pm, conversation with Revd Dr Ayla Lepine about history, racial justice today and the complexity and challenge of St James’s parish history.
St James’s hosts inclusive services and a cultural programme. We seek to be a welcoming space for people to reflect, create and debate.
St James’s is a place to explore, reflect, pray, and support all who are in need. We are a Church of England parish in the Anglican Communion. This is a place for everyone who’s wondering about life’s big questions and striving for a better world.
We host a year-round cultural programme encompassing music, visual art and spoken word, drawing on St James’s rich cultural history including artists, writers and musicians Mary Beale, Mary Delany, William Blake, Ottobah Cugoano and Leopold Stokowski.
We try to put our faith into action by educating ourselves and speaking out on issues of injustice, especially concerning refugees, asylum, earth and racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues.
We aspire to be a home where everyone can belong. We’re known locally and globally for our unique history and beauty, as well as faith in action, creativity and the arts, and a commitment to social and environmental justice.
We strive to be a Eucharist-centred, diverse and inclusive Christian community promoting life in abundance, wellbeing and dignity for all.
St James’s Piccadilly has been at the heart of its community since 1684. We invite you to play your part in securing this historic place for generations to come.
It costs us £3,500 per day to enable us to keep our doors open to all who need us
Your donation will help us restore our garden in Piccadilly as part of The Wren Project, making it possible for us to welcome over 300,000 people from all faiths and walks of life seeking tranquillity and inspiration each year.
St James's Church 197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
Directions on Google Maps
Commissioned by St James’s Church, Piccadilly, London to mark the Wren Project as part of the 300th Anniversary of Sir Christopher Wren, who designed the church in 1684.
St James’s: A new beginning was first performed by the Cory Band at Regent Hall, London on 1 April 2023, since then it has been performed across the world, including at the Brass Band Championship 2023 in Belgium in November 2023 (video below).
The piece is cast in four parts: I. The Great Fire II. Aftermath III. Vision IV. Renaissance
The musical narrative begins with the Great Fire of London raging furiously. The bells ring the alarm and, as the capital city is engulfed by flames, panic and desperation are everywhere. As the fire burns out, we are left to contemplate the aftermath of the inferno: lost lives and countless buildings destroyed. Enter Sir Christopher Wren, the greatest English architect of the time, whose vision and courage were some of the most influential forces in the rebuilding of London, which rose to reclaim its place as one of the great cities of the World.
At the heart of the piece is the hymn tune “St James” by Raphael Courteville (Thou Art the Way), the title of which refers to the St James’s Church, Piccadilly, one of the many buildings designed in 1684 and constructed by Wren in London’s renaissance. During the fire, the hymn tune is contorted in agony, then turned into a lament during the aftermath. Wren’s vision takes shape in the form of several obligato-style solos with the hymn tune becoming more and more important. In Renaissance, as the skyline is rebuilt, there are continual optimistic rising lines in every phrase until, finally, the hymn tune is heard in all its glory as the building of the magnificent church is completed and the bells ring again, this time in great celebration.
There are many other musical references to the fire in the piece, for example the children’s nursery rhyme, London’s Burning, and at its conclusion, nods to George Frederic Handel and William Blake, two of the many eminent people to be linked to St James’s Church, Piccadilly.
Sheet music available from www.musicshopeurope.co.uk
