Early history The original (
pre-Norman)
church site was dedicated to
St Edmund the King & Martyr,
Knights crusading to the Holy Land would attend
parochial Mass led by a
Canon of St Bartholomew's Priory in
Smithfield. The ancient
Guild &
Fraternity of St Katharine celebrated the
Feast of the Immaculate Conception and other
Saints days at the
church of St Edmund, King & Martyr, and the Holy Sepulchre, until the
mid 15th century when they were granted
royal charters. The name became
contracted as
St Sepulchre, derived from
Sanctum Sepulchrum (
Latin for
Holy Sepulchre) although there is no
saint called "Sepulchre", with the
royal saint and martyr reference falling into disuse by the 20th century; its 12th-century
re-dedication helped its differentiation from another smaller
church, also dedicated to
St Edmund, King and Martyr, to the east of
St Paul's Cathedral. In 1555 the incumbent vicar,
Revd John Rogers,
Reader of
St Paul's, was
burned at the stake in
Smithfield as a
heretic during the
religious persecutions under
Mary I. The
President and Fellows of St John's College, Oxford, as
patrons of the advowson since 1622, retain the right to
present,
when vacant, a
priest for appointment by the
Bishop of London.
Bells Holy Sepulchre's bells are referred to in the nursery rhyme
Oranges and Lemons as the "
bells of
Old Bailey". In 1605,
Master Merchant Taylor Robert Dowe gave the parish
£50 () for commissioning a
handbell to mark the execution of prisoners at the nearby
gallows at
Newgate. This
execution bell is displayed in a glass case in the
nave. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the
sexton was responsible for ringing it outside the condemned man's cell in
Newgate Prison the night before his execution, and announcing the following "wholesome advice": File:1064640-Church of St Sepulchre.JPG|St Sepulchre Church Tower File:NewgateExecutionBell.jpg|The Execution Bell File:St Sepulchre-without-Newgate 2020.jpg|South aspect of St Sepulchre Church, with its porch on Holborn
Army Memorials of
George II The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Chapel, selected in 1946 for the
south aisle of Holy Sepulchre Church, was dedicated in 1950 by the
Very Revd Dr W. R. Matthews,
Dean of St Paul's. Re-dedicated as the
Royal Fusiliers Memorial Chapel after amalgamation in 1968, in the presence of
Lord Mayor Sir Gilbert Inglefield, the
Regimental Garden of Remembrance is dedicated to all
Royal Fusiliers from
time immemorial. At the
north aisle's west end are
memorials to the
City of London Rifles (6th Battalion
London Regiment).
Musicians' Chapel Beside the north aisle is the
Musicians' Chapel, originally known as St Stephen's Chapel, dedicated to the 12th-century monastic
St Stephen Harding, where
votive Masses were held before the
English Reformation and then during the reign of
Mary I. The
chapel's décor and the ''Musicians' Book of Remembrance'' are maintained by the Friends of the Musicians' Chapel. A
Service of Thanksgiving for all those in the book is held each year as well as a requiem on or about
All Souls' Day. Many concerts and memorial events for
musicians continue to be held at Holy Sepulchre, London.
Modern history St Sepulchre united with the
benefices of
Christ Church, Newgate Street and
St Leonard, Foster Lane in 1954, its
incumbent being
titled Rector. The
church was known as the '''National Musicians' Church''' for 70 years until August 2017, when hiring of the facilities for non-religious events was banned, against assurances given when
HTB took over in 2013. 7,800 people signed a petition for the decision to be reversed.The
Rt Revd Pete Broadbent,
Acting Bishop of London, also tried to convince the church to reverse its ban. Dr Andrew Earis, director of music at
St Martin-in-the-Fields and former director of music at Holy Sepulchre, regretted that the church had not changed its decision, which he said was "doing irreparable harm to the church as a whole". In 2017, the Revd David Ingall, Rector of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, discontinued parish funds financing the
requiem and allowing free rehearsal time. A protest was held and many prominent musicians including Sir John Rutter sought continued benevolence from the wider congregation and
church patron; attempts to mediate failed. Appointed
Priest-in-Charge in 2021,
the Revd Nick Mottershead was instituted as Rector of St Sepulchre in 2024. Scion of a Cheshire family who became
Mercers, Mottershead serves since 2020 as
Honorary Chaplain to the
Worshipful Company of Fuellers. Clarifying that Holy Sepulchre Church is no longer a member of the
HTB network, its newly-installed
Rector in 2024 described his work "to rebuild a reputation around being the
Musicians’ Church and to redefine and communicate that this is a place welcoming to all.
Faith or no faith, meeting people where they are — all that language is super-important to me." The Revd Fr Nick Mottershead also encouraged the introduction of same-sex blessings and expressed support for same-sex marriage in the future. ==Organ==