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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.
Sunday 6 April 6.30pm St Pancras Church
Join the music scholars of St James’s, Piccadilly as they celebrate women composers throughout the ages.
Wednesday 16 April 6:30pm
In this special collaboration for Holy Week, St James’s Piccadilly brings together the music of composer Rachel Chaplin and spoken word presented by The Revd Lucy Winkett.
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.
We host a year-round creative programme encompassing music, visual art and spoken word.
We offer hospitality to people going through homelessness and speak out on issues of injustice, especially concerning refugees, asylum, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues.
St James’s strives to advocate for earth justice and to develop deeper connections with nature.
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.
The work of St James’s, it costs us £5,000 per day to enable us to keep our doors open to all who need us.
New walkways, a restored courtyard and re-landscaped gardens will provide fully accessible, beautiful spaces for everyone to enjoy as well as improving our environmental performance.
St James's Church 197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
Directions on Google Maps
“Architecture aims at eternity”: Wren and church building a talk by William Whyte
Friday 27 October, 7pm
William Whyte presents a talk about Wren’s ecclesiastical architecture at St James’s, one of Wren’s most celebrated church buildings.
William Whyte is an academic historian specialising in the architecture of British churches, schools and universities.
He is Professor of Social and Architectural History at the University of Oxford since 2014, and Vice-President of St John’s College, Oxford, since 2018. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) and of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) William’s research has focused on the built and natural environments, and how they play into narratives about modern British and European history. He has extensively studied the architecture of schools, universities, and churches. His publications include Oxford Jackson: Architecture, Education, Status, and Style 1835–1924 (Oxford University Press, 2006), Redbrick: A Social and Architectural History of Britain’s Civic Universities (Oxford University Press, 2015), and Unlocking the Church: The Lost Secrets of Victorian Sacred Space (Oxford University Press, 2017). William has also edited or co-edited eight other books.
The son of a prominent priest, and almost certainly intended for the Anglican ministry himself, Christopher Wren grew up within the Church. In his long and distinguished career, he built many places of worship – including St James’s Piccadilly, which he argued should serve as a model for other churches. Yet, Wren’s own relationship to religion is somewhat mysterious and subsequent generations condemned any of his churches as essentially unchristian. This talk will explore Wren – his life, work, and reputation – and seek to show how his church buildings reflected faith.
The talk will be introduced by Neil McGregor whose BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship in February explored the way in which Wren’s churches not only achieve beauty, but provide different sorts of spaces for diverse congregations.
This talk is part of the Wren300, London Series: Talks explore Wren’s grandest designs across the capital.
The talk is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Square Mile Churches and City of London Corporation
