St James's Piccadilly — Local services in London

This is a great place , to come and relax , and have coffee or tea , and help out the staff , that are from the HMP . the staff are very nice and helpfull and there are some art pictures by people from HMP on sale too , don't forget to see the church , St James’s is a parish church in London’s West End, part of the Church of England and the world wide Anglican Communion. Christopher Wren was appointed the architect in 1672 and the church was consecrated on 13 July 1684 by Henry Compton, the Bishop of London. In 1685 the parish of St James was created for the church.As well as church services St James’s hosts a year-round cultural programme of music, visual art and spoken word, drawing on a rich history including Mary Beale, William Blake, Ottobah Cugoano, Angelica Kauffman, GF Handel and Haydn a.o.. It is well known for its programme of free lunchtime recitals supporting young musical talent. St James's undertakes a number of social justice projects in the community with those in need . You can find the current program and specific concert details on the St James's Church website or their Facebook page under their "What's On" or "Free...

This is a beautiful and tranquil space, on Piccadilly, very close to Piccadilly Circus.

The church is by Sir Christopher Wren, but it is the interior, which is magical.

The space is airy and bright, and there is a stillness in its beauty.

The wood carvings behind the alter, the organ, and the font are by Grinling Gibbons.

The other point of note is that the team who runs volunteers to keep the space open.

I met the Vicar on Sunnday as she prepared to say Mass, and I can not say how warm she and the team were.

You can go for 5 minutes, sit, and reflect for as long as you want or attend a service.

The church is open daily, and if you just need a breather, whilst in the West End, this may be your place.

Magical

PS, for Brigerton fans, the interior was...

I attended 2 consecutive weekly Weds lunchtime concerts. First was piano, seated about 8 rows from front and notes were muffled and blurred. Second week violin and piano. Again piano appeared muffled so moved forward to 5th row which was better but not perfect. Violin did not suffer from muffling. I would not attend St James Church Piccadilly for another music concert. But it's a beautiful historic building with large garden with seating, large forecourt with various streetfood stalls, lovely Redemption Cafe with loo and 3 loos in church including disabled. Between the church and Piccadilly Tube station is large Waterstone's bookshop over 4 floors with 2 cafes and plenty of loos. Thanks to the Church I now know the area better but I find the...