A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF ST GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARE
Built 1721-24 to the design of John James as one of twelve ‘Queen Anne’ churches, commissioned to serve those areas of the expanding metropolis then being developed which would become Belgravia, Pimlico, Knightsbridge and Mayfair, and consecrated on 23rd March 1725; St George’s, Hanover Square has stood for 300 years in the heart of London’s West End in service to the greater glory of God and in prayerful witness to the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As the Parish Church of Mayfair, St George’s today serves the spiritual needs of the small resident community, a wider family of regular worshippers and the much larger population of those who work in and pass through the parish but live elsewhere. We have a reputation for dignified and traditionally formal worship based on the Book of Common Prayer, magnificent music provided by our fine professional choir, and thoughtful preaching.
In an age when many are looking for a disciplined spirituality and a more reflective, meditative style of worship St George’s has much to offer. The congregation is varied and friendly and comprises people who travel in from further afield as well as those who live in the surrounding area and it reflects the diversity of the city in which it is set and welcomes people of belief and those who doubt. Alongside this spiritual role, St George’s today also plays a key part in the cultural life of Mayfair as a concert venue of distinction and as a nationally celebrated example of Georgian architecture.
From its very first days music has played an integral part in the life of the parish of St George, Hanover Square. Certainly our most well-known parishioner must be the composer George Frideric Handel, resident of nearby Brook Street where he composed some of his best-known and most-loved works, including Messiah, and who regularly attended worship at St George’s for the last 35 years of his life.
The musical tradition of the parish continues today with a busy programme of concerts throughout the year, including our own Morning Calm series, Mayfair Organ Concerts (in partnership with our sister church, the Grosvenor Chapel) and Hanover Square Lunchtime Concerts. We are proud to be the London home of Orpheus Sinfonia and the London Firebird Orchestra as well as the principal venue of the annual London Handel Festival, established in 1978 by the then Director of Music, Denys Darlow.
Music also plays a vital role in the liturgical life of the parish with the 11.00am Eucharist sung every Sunday by our resident professional choir under the direction of the twelfth Director of Music, Richard Gowers, and accompanied by the Richards, Fowkes and Co. organ, installed in 2012, widely considered to be one of the finest instruments in the country, and which attracts performers from all over the world to Mayfair Organ Concerts and for recording a range of major works and new commissions for the organ.
Above all St George’s strives to be a house of prayer for all nations and a place of sanctuary, where all are welcome to come and experience something of the peace of God in a world which seems to become busier with every passing day. St George’s is open 8.30am-4.00pm Monday to Friday with prayers said daily at 12.10pm and Holy Communion celebrated at 5.45pm on Wednesdays and at 1.10pm on Thursdays and Feast Days. You are warmly invited to join us at any of our weekday services and for the primary act of worship, the parish Sung Eucharist at 11.00am on Sundays.
We will celebrate Holy Week and Easter with the following services:
Sunday 13th April 2025
Palm Sunday
8.30am Holy Communion (said)
11.00am Sung Eucharist with the blessing of palms
Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th,
Wednesday 16th April 2025
1.10pm Holy Communion (said)
Thursday 17th April 2025
Maundy Thursday
1.10pm Holy Communion with the stripping of the altars (said)
Friday 18th April 2025
Good Friday
10.00am The Liturgy of Good Friday
4.00pm Vespers- The Passion According to St Matthew (JS Bach)
Tickets: www.london-handel-festival.com
Sunday 20th April 2025
Easter Day
8.30am Holy Communion (said)
11.00am Sung Eucharist
Sunday 27th April 2025
On Sunday 27th April, we will mark the festival of our Patron Saint, George, with a festal Eucharist at 11.00am which will be followed by a bubbly reception in Church.
The Vestry, 2A Mill Street, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX
Telephone: 020 7629 0874
