Sussex Gardens , Paddington, London

In 1845, the church of St James had become the parish church of Paddington, but by the 1880s the area had so greatly expanded from its village origins that there were now six large churches in the area.

To retain the standing required by the main parish church, it was decided to completely rebuild it. The rebuild was complex and entailed the reconstruction on the existing site whilst still retaining its function for worship. Despite this, incredibly it was rebuilt in under a year in 1882.

Amongst the most famous being married here was that of Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde and Constance Mary Lloyd on 29/5/1884.

Unfortunately there was considerable damage to the structure during the Second World War, including a loss of about 60 feet from the top of the spire. The church was restored, but by the 1970s the area had seen considerable exodus of its church population and subsequently the churches of Christ Church Lancaster gate and Holy Trinity Bishops bridge Road were closed and the parish of St James was expanded to into these areas.

Those known to have been married here:

John William Reffell and Mary Ann Jones, marriage date: 12/10/1890

Church website