Fitzrovia Chapel: The Gold Mosaic Chapel of the Middlesex Hospital

Plain red brick outside. Then gold everywhere inside. The ceiling above me was a web of ribbed vaults covered in gold mosaic, dotted with stars. Tall stained-glass windows ran down both sides, and the walls below them were lined with coloured marble.

It was a Saturday in early March. I was inside for only a few minutes. A row of photographs on easels stood along the walls, and a handful of people moved slowly from one to the next. Above them, the gold vaults took up most of the view.

This is the Fitzrovia Chapel, on Pearson Square, a few streets north of Oxford Street. It is the only part of the old Middlesex Hospital still standing. Here is what I saw, and what I found out about it afterwards.

What Is the Fitzrovia Chapel?

The Fitzrovia Chapel was built as the chapel of the Middlesex Hospital. The hospital was founded in August 1745 to care for the sick and injured of Soho. In 1755 it moved to a site on what were then fields near Marylebone, and it stayed in the area for 250 years.

The chapel sat in the hospital's central courtyard, surrounded by wards. It was a place for patients, nurses and doctors to pray or sit quietly. Services ran for more than a century. The hospital closed in 2005, when its services moved to University College Hospital on Euston Road.

Today the chapel is no longer used for worship. It is run by a charity, the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation. It opens to the public on set days, hosts exhibitions and talks, and is hired out for weddings, memorials and recordings. Historic England lists it at Grade II*, a grade given to particularly important buildings.

Rudolf Steiner House in Marylebone is another interior that is easy to walk past without guessing what is inside.

Who Designed the Chapel and Why Did It Take So Long to Finish?

The architect was John Loughborough Pearson, one of the leading Gothic Revival architects of the Victorian era. He also designed Truro Cathedral. The hospital's governors commissioned him in the late 1880s, and building began in 1891.

The first service was held on Christmas Day 1891. The Bishop of London performed an opening ceremony in June 1892. But at that point only the shell was really complete. The rich interior came much later.

Pearson died in 1897. His son, Frank Loughborough Pearson, took over the project and saw it through. According to Historic England, the work ran from 1891 to 1929. The chapel's own history puts the finishing touches in the 1930s, after more than 40 years.

The slow pace had a simple cause. No money meant for patient care went into the chapel. It was paid for entirely by donations, so each stage of marble and mosaic waited until the funds arrived. Part of the money came from a memorial to Major Alexander Henry Ross, a former chairman of the hospital's board.

The chapel was finally dedicated in February 1939 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was dedicated rather than formally consecrated. One more oddity: it does not face east like most churches. Its main axis runs roughly north to south, because it had to fit the hospital courtyard.

What Is Inside the Fitzrovia Chapel?

Historic England describes the style as Italian Gothic. Inside, the effect is closer to a small Byzantine church. The vaults are covered in mosaic stars on a gold ground. Below a continuous ledge, the walls are lined with green onyx and marble set in zigzag patterns.

The chapel's history page counts more than 40 types of marble in the building. The gallery front uses Irish bog marble. The altar is white marble with mosaic panels. Much of the mosaic was made by Maurice Richard Josey and his son John Leonard Josey.

At the back, the organ sits in a gallery above the entrance. The arch in front of it carries a long Latin inscription in mosaic letters. It begins "Gloria in excelsis Deo", the angels' song from the Christmas story, and continues with the line about peace on earth.

Around the arches are roundels with the Twelve Apostles and the greater Prophets. In the chancel there is a pillar piscina with Cosmati-style inlay. A marble aumbry, a small wall cupboard for sacred vessels, was given in memory of Prince Francis of Teck, who died in 1910. It is carved with a pelican feeding its young.

The apse at the far end was the richest colour I saw. Deep blue mosaic fills the half-dome, with a gold cross in a roundel and eagles around it. Stained glass sits below and gold vaulting above. The windows date from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.

In the south-west transept there is a small baptistery with a font carved from deep green marble. It shows the symbols of the Four Evangelists. It also carries a Greek palindrome copied from the font of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The phrase reads the same backwards and roughly means wash your sins, not only your face.

For another Victorian Gothic interior in central London, the Maughan Library on Chancery Lane is worth a look. It is much bigger, and far plainer than all this gold.

How Did the Chapel Survive When the Middlesex Hospital Was Demolished?

The Middlesex Hospital was rebuilt between 1929 and 1935. The old buildings came down around the chapel and the new hospital went up around it again. The chapel stayed exactly where it was, in the courtyard.

After the hospital closed in 2005, the site was sold for redevelopment. Almost everything was demolished in 2008. The chapel's listed status protected it. During the excavation for the new buildings it was supported on piers, standing alone on a building site.

Restoring the chapel was a condition of the planning permission for the new development, which became Fitzroy Place. The conservation work ran from 2013 to 2015 and cost about £2 million. The architects were Caroe & Partners.

Water had damaged the ceiling badly. Up to 70% of the mosaic tiles in the vaults had to be re-gilded. The roof was replaced, the windows were restored and a modern fire safety system was added. When the chapel reopened, it was under its new name and run by the new charity.

The chapel now sits in Pearson Square, surrounded by flats and offices. From the outside it looks small next to them.

Which Famous Names Are Linked to the Chapel?

Rudyard Kipling died at the Middlesex Hospital in January 1936. His body rested in the chapel before his funeral at Westminster Abbey, where his ashes were buried in Poets' Corner.

In December 2024, King Charles III recorded his Christmas broadcast in the Fitzrovia Chapel. It was a break from the usual royal settings. The choice of a former hospital chapel suited the message, which thanked doctors, nurses and carers.

Musicians have used the chapel as a recording space too, including Katie Melua. Its exhibitions have featured work by Yinka Shonibare, Grayson Perry and Leigh Bowery. There was also a show of Lee Miller's Second World War photographs of nurses.

What Was the David Bowie Exhibition at Fitzrovia Chapel?

On my visit the chapel was hosting David Bowie – A London Day, a free exhibition of portraits by the photographer Kevin Davies. It ran for three weeks in March, from the 1st to the 20th, and was curated by the writer Dylan Jones.

The photographs come from a single shoot on Sunday 13 December 1992, in a studio in Clerkenwell. Bowie was 45 and being photographed to promote his album Black Tie White Noise. Late in the day, Davies asked to take some pictures of Bowie just as he was, out of the styled looks.

Davies kept about 450 negatives from that day in archive boxes for almost 30 years. He only opened them again in 2020. Around 20 prints were shown, plus some grouped as diptychs and triptychs.

The prints stood on easels in a line along the marble walls, with two more placed up by the altar. Black and white faces against gold mosaic and green stone. People walked slowly down the row, stopping at each frame. I have kept my own photos to wide views of the chapel, so the pictures here are of the building rather than the portraits.

It was not my first Bowie stop in London. I have also written a photo tour of the Bowie 75 pop-up shop, which was a very different setting.

Visiting Fitzrovia Chapel: Practical Notes

📍 Where: Fitzrovia Chapel, Fitzroy Place, 2 Pearson Square, London W1T 3BF.

⏰ Opening: Outside exhibitions, most Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11am to 5pm, plus at least one Sunday a month, 12 noon to 5pm. During exhibitions it usually opens daily. Dates change, so check the What's On page on the chapel's website before you go.

📅 Open days: Set open days are listed on the official website, along with exhibitions, talks and occasional free guided tours with limited places.

🎫 Admission: Free on open days and during exhibitions, with no booking needed. There is a donation box. Some talks, workshops and concerts charge a small fee.

🚇 Getting there: Goodge Street (Northern line) is about 5 minutes on foot. Tottenham Court Road (Elizabeth line, Dean Street entrance) is about 7 minutes. Warren Street and Great Portland Street are about 10 minutes.

⏳ How long: Twenty minutes is enough to look at the mosaics properly. Allow longer if there is an exhibition on.

📷 Best time: A bright day, when light comes through the stained glass and catches the gold vaults.

🗺️ Nearby: Warren Mews and Fitzroy Square to the north, Rudolf Steiner House in Marylebone, and Senate House Library in Bloomsbury.

♿ Access: The two entrance steps have a built-in wheelchair lift. Inside is mostly on one level, with a ramp to the chancel and a fully accessible toilet.

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All photos were taken by Ina/WithinLondon, unless stated otherwise.