Mary Sumner House Chapel, Westminster
Mary Sumner House Chapel, Westminster
The chapel sits inside Mary Sumner House, the Grade II headquarters of the Mothers’ Union at 24 Tufton Street, Westminster. The house is named for Mary Elizabeth Sumner, who founded the Mothers’ Union in 1876.
- Location
- Westminster, Greater London
- Country
- England
- County
- Greater London
- City / town
- Westminster
- Address
- Tufton Street, Westminster, Greater London, SW1P 3RB
- Postcode
- SW1P 3RB
- Built
- 1923–25
- Architect
- Claude W Ferrier (building); Paul Waterhouse (chapel)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Diocese
- London
- Parish
- Westminster
- Grade
- II
- Style
- Inter-war institutional Gothic
- Materials
- Rusticated stone, red-brown brick with red brick and stone dressings; slate mansard roofs
- Opening hours
- The chapel is not currently open to the public without appointment, please visit the website for more details.
- Access
- Non-accessible toilets in church. Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby. Accessible toilets in church
Overview
Historic England records the headquarters of the Mothers’ Union, dated and inscribed 1925, by Claude W. Ferrier FRIBA, with Perry & Co. (Bow) Ltd as builders. The foundation stone was laid on 18 July 1923 by Louisa Gore-Browne, Sumner’s daughter; Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles, opened the building on 21 July 1925. Fabric is rusticated stone and red-brown brick with red brick and stone dressings under slate mansard roofs, on the corner of Tufton Street and Great Peter Street.
The Mothers’ Union states that the chapel was designed by Messrs Paul Waterhouse & Co. The list description records a nine-bay oak screen with traceried panels, a sanctuary with vaulted ceiling, and circular windows of coloured glass depicting Hilda of Whitby and Mother Julian of Norwich. A window in memory of those who died in 1939–45 is dated 1951; the organ dates to 1935. Original windows were blown out in the Second World War. The chapel is a memorial space within the Union’s headquarters rather than a parish church, and is not generally open without appointment.