House of St Barnabas

The House of St Barnabas, at 1 Greek Street, Soho, is a Grade I Listed Georgian building in London[1] notable for its rococo plasterwork interiors and for other architectural features.

Aristocrats who lived in the Restoration house included the second Baron Crew, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish and the dowager Countess of Fingall[6] but the longest residence was of William Archer MP from 1719 until 1738.

Upon his death in 1756, the house was sold to Sir James Colebrooke with a conveyance stating that the previous owner had made some 'useful and ornamental furnishings'.

[13] The House of Charity described itself as one of the few institutions in London where men, women and children of all walks of life, were able to 'apply for aid without a loss of self-respect'.

Temporary guests of the house included 'all who found themselves in a condition of friendlessness and destitution that is not the manifest result of idleness or vice.'

[12] Between 1862 and the outbreak of World War II, the Charity broadened its functions and over the years helped the homeless of London in many different ways: it helped people who were emigrating to Australia and were awaiting the long sea journey, people who had to come to London for surgery in hospitals, servants who had lost their jobs, teachers between positions and émigrés from Russia and the Balkans – an association which still continues to this day with the monthly services of the Macedonian community in the chapel.

[12] The Air Training Corps used the premises as a headquarters during the war, having first applied to repair the bomb damage sufficiently to allow use of the building.

The House of St Barnabas has the vision "to create a future where sustained employment is a reality for those affected by homelessness."

The founding members of the club were Andrew Weatherall R.I.P., Gilles Peterson, Sav Remzi, Miranda Sawyer, Ekow Eshun, Brian Cox, Margot Bowon, Richard Strange, Rob Da Bank, Rankin, Hew Locke and Jarvis Cocker.

In July 2019 it was reported that the house was running a 12-week scheme in which participants work in the club, in hospitality and administrative roles, alongside attending workshops, before graduating with a City and Guilds qualification.

Similarly, the designers of the elaborate plasterwork are thought to be George Fawkes and Humphrey Willmott, the plasterers employed at Mansion House at around the same date, though there is no solid evidence to support this.

[17] The front door is original and the Charity still has the large key for the lock; 18th century London was a dangerous place, hence the enormous safety chain.

There is a galleried landing from which the plasterwork can be viewed more closely: there is a deep relief of female busts, a lion's head and scrollwork.

The central oval medallion shows four putti, holding in their hands the symbols of the four classical elements: earth, water, fire and air.

The room takes its name from being the offices of the civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who designed London's sewage system.

[18] A tavern clock about four feet high and made entirely of black lacquered wood with gold painted numbers hangs in the chapel corridor.

The chapel was built on the site of the Georgian stable yard between 1862 and 1864 by Edward Conder of Baltic Wharf, Kingsland Road.

The cost of building the chapel proved a financial strain to the Charity, and 'in 1864 three chimney pieces were sold from the House.

'[19] The chapel is a reminder of the Anglo-Catholic revival in the Church of England spearheaded by men like Newman, Pusey and Keble who published the Tracts for the Times between 1833 and 1841, earning them the name Tractarians.

The original plan included a throne for the Bishop behind the altar but, in 1865, Joseph Clarke proposed the mosaics by Harland and Fisher.

The advice and support of the Visitor provide a living link between the House of St Barnabas and the Church of England in the Diocese of London.