Essex Street Chapel

Essex Street Chapel stands in the Strand, a short walk from the City and Westminster. It occupies the site of Essex House, once the London home of the Earl of Essex. The first meeting house rose in 1778, supported by Francis Dashwood and Thomas Brand Hollis. Their building reused part of a Tudor chapel that had once stood on the same ground. The chapel became the birthplace of British Unitarianism under its first minister, Theophilus Lindsey. In 1860 an organ was installed, completing the modest interior. The chapel’s significance lies in its role during the legal struggles of Dissenters. Lindsey had left the Church of England to form a congregation based on Unitarian belief. He was joined by reformers such as Richard Price and Joseph Priestley. Legal obstacles were overcome with help from barrister John Lee, later Attorney-General. Benjamin Franklin attended the inaugural service in 1774, marking the first public Unitarian worship in England. The chapel’s early history shows how religious freedom was slowly won in the 18th century. Today the chapel no longer stands on Essex Street. In the 1880s the congregation moved west to Kensington, where a new church opened in 1887. The original site became Essex Hall, built in 1886 to house the British and Foreign Unitarian Association. The hall hosted public meetings, including those of the Fabian Society. During the Second World War the building was bombed, but it was rebuilt in 1958. The modern church in Kensington continues the tradition under Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall.