The Chapel of St Peter and St Paul: Old Royal College Greenwich
As part of my wanderings around the Old Royal Naval College last week I popped into The Chapel of St Peter and St Paul, which sits directly opposite The Painted Hall. I may not be a religious bible bashing church goer, but I do experience a feeling of calmness and peace when I spend some time in a church.
What always amazes me when visiting churches is how few people actually bother to sit down and enjoy the surroundings. I personally always plonk my bottom down on a pew and take some time out to appreciate the building, and to chill out…unless there is a noisy rabble of tourists kicking about that have forgotten that they are in the house of God. They however never stay for more than a fleeting visit!
The Chapel at Greenwich sure is a beautiful building. It certainly isn’t the biggest, most ornate or the grandest church I have ever visited, but never the less I was impressed by what I saw. The ceiling was especially stunning, as was the beautiful marble floor, and the various decorative features and motifs that cover much of the buildings surfaces.
For some reason I’m always in awe of those huge organs they have in churches and the one you will see here sure is an impressive sight indeed. The organ was built by the legendary Samuel Green and was completed in 1789…I guess that makes it old, at a cost of £1000, that is a one hell of a lot of dough in today’s money
The Original Chapel was completed in 1752 by Thomas Ripley and it was the last major element in what was originally a hospital complex before it became the College. As is par for the course, the original chapel was destroyed by fire in 1779, are there any old churches out there that haven’t?
The Chapel that exists today was redesigned and rebuilt by James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and re-opened on the 20 September 1789. The unique thing about this Chapel is that unlike many churches and cathedrals that are a different mixture of styles from through the centuries, what you will see in Greenwich is a complete and unaltered neoclassical period piece in Greek Revival style.
I could ramble on all day about the history of the place, but I wont because you can read all about it at THE CHAPEL OF ST PETER AND ST PAUL – A GUIDE FOR VISITORS.
For you film buffs out there, The Chapel was wedding number 2 in the movie ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’, between Bernard and Lydia who were married by the bumbling vicar played by Rowan Atkinson, which supposedly took place at St Mary of the Fields, but we know better!
When I was sitting in the Chapel you could hear the amazing voices of the singers rehearsing in the nearby Trinity College of Music, it was like a free concert in the Church. At various times throughout the year the Trinity College students put on performances in the Chapel and from what have I heard so far, that is something worth going too.
And for all your rushing around like headless chickens tourists, sit down and relax for a few minutes and enjoy your surroundings, it wont hurt you…honestly it wont! The Chapel of St Peter and St Paul Old Royal College Greenwich is the perfect place to refrain from rushing around…
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