St Cuthbert's, Earls Court

St Cuthbert’s stands in Philbeach Gardens, Earls Court, a Grade I listed Anglican church built between 1884 and 1887. Its architect was Hugh Roumieu Gough, whose design drew on the proportions of Tintern Abbey and the Cistercian tradition. The interior was enriched over thirty years by craftsmen including William Bainbridge Reynolds, who designed metal fittings and supervised classes in embroidery and carving. The church became the most flourishing High-Church foundation in Kensington under its first vicar, and in 1898 it faced a public protest when John Kensit seized a crucifix during a service. Kensit was fined but later caricatured on a misericord in the sanctuary with asses’ ears. The building’s exterior shows a lofty nave with a single roof and tall clerestory windows. A blank east arch, meant for future decoration, contrasts with the apsidal Lady Chapel added soon after consecration. Below ground a crypt served as vestries and meeting rooms, though the bishop refused to allow it to be used as a temporary church. The slender flèche and western bellcote completed the skyline, while inside Caen stone fittings and a seven-sacrament font by Felix de Sziemanowicz marked early embellishments. Later additions included a sounding board by J. Harold Gibbons and gas fittings by J. Starkie Gardner. Inside, the walls were gradually covered with diapering and carvings produced by parish guilds working in the Arts and Crafts spirit. The chancel stalls, vestments and embroidery were made by guilds named after saints, while the rood screen with its figure of Christ was installed in 1893. The church’s worship and decoration reflect the vigour of Anglo-Catholic taste at the turn of the century, leaving a lasting monument to its founders’ vision.