St George’s Church, as we know it today, was consecrated in March 1925, but as long ago as 1864 there was an Anglican Chaplain in Madrid, when the Reverend William Campbell was appointed to the British Embassy here, and held services in a small room in a private house.
A few years later, larger premises were provided by the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1900 the coach house of the old British Embassy was converted into a church. Later on, largely due to the generous bequest of Mr Edgar Allen, and further contributions from the English-speaking community and friends, the present church was built. It was designed by the Spanish architect Teodoro de Anasagasti, who blended elements of the Spanish Romanesque style (cruciform plan, semicircular apse, bell tower, tiled roof) and the characteristic brick-and-stone construction of the uniquely Spanish “Mudéjar” tradition with specifically Anglican forms such as the porch or the chancel with its dossal, in addition to his own modern ideas such as the light skillfully introduced into the nave through the Children’s Chapel under the tower. Particularly remarkable are the stained-glass windows which represent St George, patron of England, and St James the Great, patron of Spain, along with St John, St Peter and St Paul, in the chancel.
In the nave there are windows which portray St David of Wales, St Andrew, patron of Scotland, St Patrick, patron of Ireland and St Francis of Assisi. In the north choir there are windows depicting St Cecilia and St Antony Abbot, and in the porch, the Nativity of Christ. The most recent addition is a contemporary relief-sculpture of St George, also in the porch. Not surprisingly, the church is among Madrid’s listed buildings of historical interest.
Behind the church, there is a Church House, which used to be for a caretaker and now accommodates the Chaplain’s office, meeting rooms and church flat. Between the two buildings is the Church Hall, for which the foundation stone was laid by the British and American Ambassadors in 1954.
Below is a list of Chaplains of St George’s since the Church was founded:
| 1921-1927 | Revd. F. Symes- Thompson | ||
| 1927-1931 | Revd. Frederick Farewell Sanigear Williams | ||
| Revd. A. H. Nugent | |||
| 1931-1933 | Revd. H. B. Firth | ||
| 1933-1936 | Revd. Herbert Pentin | ||
| 1936 | Ven. Ormonde W. Birch | ||
| 1936-1940 | Revd. F. J. Bailey M.V.O. | ||
| 1940 | Revd. H. Collinson | ||
| 1940-1941 | Revd. Herbert Brown | ||
| 1950-1954 | Revd. Jack Bradshaw Roberts | ||
| 1954-1956 | Revd. Geoffrey Phillips Beaumont | ||
| 1956-1987 | Ven. Reginald Basil Ney O.B.E. | ||
| 1974- | Revd. H. P. F. Greenwood (assistant) | ||
| 1975- | Revd. B. V. Taylor (assistant) | ||
| 1976- | Revd. D. J. Houghton (assistant) | ||
| 1978- | Revd. D. Whitworth (assistant) | ||
| 1982- | Revd. J. A. B. Paddock (assistant) | ||
| 1987-1990 | Revd. John Bernardi | ||
| 1990-1995 | Revd. Henry W. Scriven | ||
| 1995-2004 | Revd. Raymond Leslie Hodson | ||
| 2000 | Revd. Anthony J. Ball (NSM) | ||
| 2004-2012 | Revd. Canon Ian Hutchinson Cervantes | ||
| 2011-2016 | Revd. Nigel Thomas (curate) | ||
| 2013-2018 | Revd. Canon Paul William Ormrod | 2015-2016 | Revd. Mathew Phipps (curate) |
| 2020-2022
2024-present |
Revd. Canon Medhat Sabry
Revd. Canon Sal McDougall |
2020-present | Revd. Solomon Uche Ike (curate) |