All Saints' Margaret Street, an Anglo-Catholic shrine.

If you’re lucky enough to take a stroll around London’s shopping district in the West End, especially in the amazing weather that has characterized southern England for the past few days, you may find some respite from the heat in the quieter Margaret Street, just off Oxford Street, which is the address to one of liturgy geeks most renowned parish churches: All Saints. I was lucky enough to be given a tour from the vicar, Fr Peter Anthony, who had the unfortunate role of being my incumbent when I was a pastoral assistant in his previous church in northern London.

It only takes a short glance to lose oneself in awe and wonder at the sight of this masterpiece of the Victoria Gothic Revival style, and the more that short visual and sensorial immersion lasts, the more mystery and detail unfolds before the viewer. This is exactly what the architect through the spirituality of the Catholic movement was trying to do.

The church’s history begins in 1752 as the Margaret Street Chapel, a non-conformist chapel founded by the Rev. William Cudworth, through the years it went through a whole range of uses and traditions within the Church, until it joined the Church of England. It was in 1829, with the arrival of William Dodsworth as a minister that the Oxford Movement laid its foundations in Margaret Street. Other figures such as Frederick Oakeley and William Upton Richards transformed the chapel into a true experimental site for the newly born Anglo-Catholic liturgy. In the sacristy (one of them at least), the vicar showed me an interesting drawing of one such experiment of a high mass in said chapel but with the minsters still dressed in very Anglican surplice and scarf. The drawing also shows how the new Anglo-Catholic movement brought beauty through the arts to draw attention towards the sacrifice of the Mass. The idea was that of integrating the architecture, and theology into one, new way of doing religion. 

It was in 1849 with the support of the Cambridge Camden Society, which was the architectural equivalent of the Oxford Movement, that the idea of building a new shrine to this new tradition arose. William Butterfield who was a parishioner to the early community was chosen for the role. The foundation stone was laid in 1850 by Dr Edward Bouverie Pusey, construction finished in 1859, this is not only the model for Neo-Gothic Anglo-Catholic churches, but perhaps also the first one of its kind. It is an essential part of the history of British architecture but also an important part of Anglican heritage.

The parish remains an Anglo-Catholic shrine to this day. Much like Saint Thomas’ Fifth Avenue is the home of American Anglicanism, in a way so is this church to British Anglo-Catholics. The new vicar has managed to attract a great number of young people to the church which was otherwise known for being an older constituency. The liturgical life of the parish is rooted around the High Mass, Evensong is sung weekly by the church’s superb choir. The church is indeed as much known for the music as it is for the liturgy, there was a men and boys choir until 1966, it even performed at the Coronations of Edward VII and George V. The first organist was Richard Redhead who translated “O Come All Ye Faithful” into English. 

The present choir continues in that English tradition. The organ is a fine 1910 Harrison&Harrison, it was last restored in 2002. The festivals of the church’s year attract people in their hundreds sometimes. This church is a testament to the importance and modern relevance of what beauty can do in terms of evangelization. Every sense is spoiled here, through the use of incense, Gregorian chanting and magnificent vestments, some of which I was shown, either Gothic or Baroque in style. Some of them with ancient embroideries, all very interesting – a true testament of the liturgical mission of this church. Something nice I can say about Fr Peter and what I appreciate about him, is that all he has ever cared about was the beauty of worship, the vestments and unlike in other "high-end" churches, he is not interested in the social position but what makes church beautiful. Sometimes people go into the church with a certain idea of going up the social ladder, pretending not to like beautiful things because they don't like that sort of thing when they interview you. I think there is nothing wrong with it and I believe the church should encourage it. Beauty is what defines our culture here in Europe, it's probably the number one reason behind conversions. I am glad of this appointment. 

Perhaps the most interesting detail is the church’s hanging pyx (whom the vicar lowered for the Roman Anglican). When the church was built the reservation of the Sacrament was illegal in the Church of England. Initially, this was kept by the nunnery just opposite the church, but when this closed, the sacrament was moved into the church. Because Canon Law said there were to be no tabernacles on the altar, this was deemed an appropriate choice. All Saints’ being rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of being among the poor, wasn’t built in a rich area. The hanging pyx, much like many other items, was given by a wealthy donor, designed by Comper and given in memory of choristers who perished in the Great War. Everything at All Saints’ plays a role in the conversion experience played every day through the all-encompassing sense of beauty.

William Butterfield, also known for the fine Keble College in Oxford, including the chapel there, was a true pioneer in that sense that he put into work the early ideas of the Oxford Movement and put them into effect in this building. In a sense, this is the first Anglo-Catholic parish church, and it certainly served as a model for the many to come, Butterfield’s ideas inspired Bodley, Street, Scott and many other architects to come. The architect’s idea, unlike that of continental revivalists, was not merely that of copying the old Medieval style, he did not want something that was merely beautiful – each architectural element had a function to play and to it, he added a more modern and personal interpretation. 

He loved the Middle Ages, but he was also an enthusiast supporter of Victorian eclecticism and inventions. For example, the church’s lighting was designed by him. He included a whole range of new materials, and his trademark addition was that of adding a variable polychromatic schemes using exuberant patterns made from brick with additions in all manner of stone and decorations sculpted from the building itself.

The church and annexed buildings were built in a plot of land that was in the shape of a square and they all face onto an inner courtyard. Although, that is not so obvious at first. The exterior is more austere, and it speaks of an oasis of beauty in a time of industrial gloom. Its tall Victorian steeple dominates the surrounding area, it's taller than the towers of Westminster Abbey. The façade is highly detailed in the afore-mentioned brickwork, it is a true triumph of polychromatic extravaganza. Entering the church is like going into another dimension, another era. I was there on a Monday and the smoke from Sunday Evensong still gave the church a certain aura of spiritual mystery. Every inch of the church is decorated in all manner of color, imagine what a change this must have been when almost every church until then was built in the restrained monochromatic order of the Georgian style. 

The nave is supported by pillars of red Aberdeen granite on black marble basses and capped with foliate alabaster. The north-wall which is what we see at first is richly decorated with mosaics of important biblical scenes from the Old Testament, all the way to Saint John the Baptist, but perhaps what catches the eye better is the magnificent Nativity. The stained-glass windows were designed by Butterfield and executed by Michael O’Connor and Alexander Gibbs, and they complement the brick in color. The great west-window is a depiction of the tree of life. Above it is a depiction of the Ascension. The pulpit is also in polychrome marbles.The baptismal font is richly decorated in marble with motifs such as the pelican, the mother taking from her to give to the son. The Lady Chapel was erected in 1911 by another Victorian architectural icon, Sir Ninian Comper who also restored the paintings in the main sanctuary by William Dyce, they represent the Crucifixion, flanked by the apostles, surrounded by saints, doctors and martyrs and the whole scene crowned by Christ in Majesty. Sanctuary furnishing have an interesting story, the lamps are a copy of those at the Holy Sepulcher, the paschal candlestick is a copy of that at the Certosa in Pavia. 

Looking at the sanctuary is like seeing the curtain of the temple opening before one’s eyes and seeing something we should not really be able to see, this is none other than God’s house and the very gate of heaven. Everything here draws one’s eyes towards the richly decorated altar, the site of Christ’s sacrifice. Everything in this overwhelming temple seems to drag one into the continual praise of God through the support of the angelic and saintly spheres. Our Lady of Margaret Street to the side, who is Belgian, seems to be there, much like in Medieval times, to welcome you and make you feel more at ease. “You are part of this”. If you are ever in London, make sure to pay a visit to this living testament of Anglo-Catholic spirituality.