St James - History From World War II

The Second World War

In 1940, a land mine destroyed Barrie Street on the west side of the church, and badly damaged the Lecture Hall, which had been built in the 1860’s. Further enemy action caused damage to the stained glass windows in the church and destroyed the Baptistery window. The spire had sixty feet missing from the top and serious cracks had appeared in various parts of the building. The surrounding neighbourhood showed only too clearly the damage caused by bombing - every fifth house was uninhabitable and every twelfth was non-existent. An Air Raid Wardens post was set up in the church and every night 200 people used the crypt as an underground shelter. Despite all this, church services and other activities continued, often by candlelight. One of the clergy was always on duty at the casualty clearing station at St Mary’s Hospital.

Bomb damage to St James’s, 1943

Despite all the difficulties, the congregation in 1943 were able to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the church in some style. The week of events included a pageant entitled ‘Scenes from Old Paddington’ written by Sibella Bonham-Carter.

These celebrations raised £8,000, which started a fund for restoration work after the War.

The Vicarage, which had been damaged, was made waterproof and habitable and was put to use as a club for Ukrainians serving with the Canadian Armed Forces. A close and warm relationship was built up between the club members and the congregation.

The Church Army was active in the Parish and ran up to ten separate centres where canteens and rest homes were set up for the many servicemen and women who passed through Paddington Station. The Reverend George Chappell, the Vicar at the time, has written that there was a grand spirit of unity and purpose, a rich comradeship for everyone to enjoy.

Several churches in Paddington were destroyed during the war including Westbourne Park Baptist Church and St Michael’s, Star Street.

After the War

By the time peace came the composition of the parish population had greatly changed. Many of the large houses had been taken over by the military during the war and when they left, the houses, in the main, were turned into flats and the stables into mews houses. No longer would the majority of the congregation of St James’s be found in Debrett!

The church was repaired, a new vicarage, hall and staff flats were built. Much of the money for this came from the War Damage Commission. In July 1958, HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, opened the new complex.

In 1965, a committee of churches under the chairmanship of the Reverend George Chappell founded the Paddington Churches Housing Association. The Reverend Kenneth Bartlett, then Curate of St James, became the secretary. The Association still flourishes with property throughout the area.

In 1977, Christ Church, Lancaster Gate was declared structurally unsafe and the parish joined St James’s. Shortly after this, Holy Trinity, Bishops Bridge Road was closed and part of the parish was included in St James. After these changes the parish boundaries were redrawn and are now Queensway to the West, London Street and Sussex Place to the East, and Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to the South. To the North the boundary extends to Harrow Road.

In the late 1970’s, 9 Craven Terrace, which had originally been the house of the head teachers of the church school, was converted to provide accommodation for young, single people in the parish.

In order to enable the clergy to concentrate on the ever increasing load of pastoral work, the first Parish Administrator was appointed in 1992 and a Parish Office was established adjacent to the main church door.

In a Stewardship Programme for 1984, the parish was described as follows:

Millionaires and tramps; £1m penthouses and squats; neatly tended Royal parks and wasteground; headquarters of international companies and centres of prostitution. Not a great deal has changed in the last few years: the parish still has a transient population; there may be fewer prostitutes but there are more homeless living in hostel accommodation.

In 2002/3 a major refurbishment scheme was embarked upon, details to follow soon!