All Souls Church, Langham Place

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All Souls Church, Langham Place is a conservative evangelical Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It sits on Langham Place at the north end of Regent Street, opposite Broadcasting House, and is part of the Church of England.

The church was designed by John Nash in Regency/Neoclassical style and completed in 1823, with consecration in 1824. It was built as a Commissioners’ church with government support and is one of Nash’s few surviving churches. The building features a distinctive circular, spired vestibule.

All Souls attracts a large number of visitors as well as its core congregation, with about 2,500 people attending Sunday services. It has an international, mixed-age congregation. The church is Grade I listed, reflecting its historic importance.

The structure has endured wartime damage: on 8 December 1940 a Luftwaffe parachute mine damaged the ceiling during the Blitz. It remained closed for about ten years for repairs. The building was restored in the mid-20th century by the architect Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel, who also contributed in the 1920s. A major renovation in 1975–1976, overseen by then-rector Michael Baughen, added a large basement for a church hall and other spaces. The interior was reorganized to suit more evangelical worship, resulting in significant changes and the removal of many original fittings, except for the organ case and the reredos.

Music plays a central role at All Souls. The church houses the Hunter organ in a Nash-designed case, which was rebuilt and updated several times, most recently during the 1975–76 renovation. In 1972 the All Souls Orchestra was founded and has since performed with notable artists and at the Royal Albert Hall for Prom Praise concerts, including events for schools.

All Souls offers four Sunday services: 8:00 am, 9:30 am, 11:30 am and 5:30 pm, plus a Thursday service during term time at 1:05 pm. Sermons from Sunday services are uploaded for free streaming and download soon after, and the church’s archive contains thousands of sermons.

The church belongs to the Church of England but does not ordain women and is overseen by the Bishop of Ebbsfleet. The current rector is Revd Charlie Skrine, installed in April 2021. One of the church’s most influential figures was John Stott, who served at All Souls as a curate and then as rector, shaping 20th-century evangelicalism. Other notable former clergy include Richard Bewes, Hugh Palmer and Rico Tice.