Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

The St Bride's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a wonderful opportunity to hear the full range of readings in the now famous service devised for King’s College, Cambridge in 1918 by Eric Milner-White.

The congregation sings Christmas hymns ranging from Once In Royal David's City to O Come, All Ye Faithful and we also have the opportunity to hear a number of contrasting pieces from the wide repertoire of Advent and Christmas music which St Bride's Choir sings.

Admission

The service is open to all, ticketless and free to attend. Doors open at 5pm and the service lasts approximately 1 hour.

A voluntary collection will be taken after the service – without your generous support these services could not happen. Suggested donation £15 per person.

There will be a collection after the service – without your support these services could not happen.

As many of our Advent events are very busy you can reserve a spot for early admission. Registration for this will open in late October.

Music

Music at the service features a new piece by the composer Sarah MacDonald – Christmas hath a beauty – which sets words by Christina Rossetti. This is a new commission by the John Armitage Memorial Trust (JAM), who have a very close connection with St Bride's.

Another recent composition, Ring out, ye bells by Sebastian Johnson will also be heard alongside more familiar repertoire, including George Guest's lovely arrangement of the Welsh lullaby Suo Gân.

Support St Bride's

St Bride's receives no state funding and is wholly reliant on – and deeply grateful for – the generous support of our visitors without which these Advent and Christmas services could not happen.

There will be a voluntary retiring collection at the end of the service to support our work, musical tradition and help maintain our magnificent Wren church with a suggested donation of £15 per person.

Donations can be made by cash or contactless at church or via JustGiving.

You can also donate in advance via EventBrite if you choose to register for early admission to the service.

Do please Gift Aid your donation if you are eligible which generates an extra 25p in every £1 donated.

Additional Information

Directions to St Bride's Church and information about accessibility are available on our Visit Us page.

If you register for early admission please arrive 30 minutes before the service. Your place may need to be released to others queuing if you arrive later than this.