Huegenots commemorated at Christ Church Spitalfields

The Bishop of London was joined last week by over 350 worshippers at Christ Church Spitalfields for a thanksgiving service marking the 415th anniversary of the Edict of Nantes granting French Protestants freedom of worship. When the Edict was revoked in 1685 over 20,000 Huguenots settled in Spitalfields, where their skills in weaving and working with silk left an indelible mark on the area.

At the 23 April 2013 service the Dean of Rochester contributed a reading while Giles De La Mare read the poem 'All that's past' by his grandfather, poet and novelist, Walter De La Mare. The service is part of the wider festival being held to celebrate the contribution of the Huguenots to Spitalfields and to raise funds for a permanent memorial commemorating their life and work.

The Rev. Andy Rider Rector at Christ Church Spitalfields commented: “It was a privilege to host this special service of thanksgiving to commemorate the Huguenots of Spitalfields. We celebrate not just their impact on this area but to London and the many places that the Huguenot community settled following their times of trial and persecution. We celebrate not just their business endeavours, their art and culture but principally we remember them as a people of deep biblical Christian faith."