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Location: Holy Trinity, Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, United Kingdom. (51.4978°N 0.1700°W).
Website: www.htb.org
Phone: +44 845 644 7533
Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's, Onslow Square, often referred to as "HTB", is an Anglican church in Brompton, London, United Kingdom. The church consists of three church buildings, HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square and HTB Queen's Gate, as well as being the home for Worship Central, the St Paul's Theological Centre and the Alpha course. It is where the Alpha course was first developed and is one of the most influential churches in the Church of England.
The church buildings accommodate Alpha, other courses, conferences and meetings during the week and ten services each Sunday. With total Sunday service attendance at around 4,000 people and the Alpha course attracting several hundred guests during the week, HTB oversees a diverse range of activities. HTB's vision statement is the "evangelisation of the nations and the transformation of society".
HTB's aim is for an Alpha course to be accessible to anyone who would like to attend the course, and in this way HTB seeks to spread the teachings of Christianity.
Nicky Gumbel, the pioneer of the Alpha course, took over as vicar from Sandy Millar in July 2005. Nicky Lee was appointed associate vicar in July 2007. He had been a curate at HTB for 22 years previously.
Pete Greig, co-founder of 24-7 Prayer, joined HTB in 2008 as Director of Prayer.
History of Holy Trinity:
Prior to the construction of Holy Trinity Brompton, the present site was a part of the large parish of Kensington which was served only by the nearby St Mary Abbots church. In the early 1820s the area was in the midst of a substantial population increase so a decision was taken to purchase land and construct a new church.
The church was a Commissioners' church, receiving a grant from the Church Building Commission towards its cost. The full cost of the church was £10,407 (£760,000 as of 2013), towards which the Commission paid £7,407. The architect was Thomas Leverton Donaldson. Holy Trinity is a Grade II listed building.
After three years of construction the Holy Trinity Brompton church was consecrated on 6 June 1829. The same building stands today, although having been considerably modified. At some point a portion of HTB's land was sold to the Roman Catholic Church in order for them to build the London Oratory. This created a long driveway from Brompton road at the end of which HTB manages to gain relative tranquillity.
The most recent major modification was during the 1980s when the crypt was rebuilt to provide meeting rooms and the space for the bookshop. Also during this time the pews were removed and replaced with chairs to allow greater flexibility in seating arrangements, which became imperative as Alpha grew.
