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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.
Come and celebrate the hope and light that Christmas brings each winter
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 creative 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
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“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
