It is the meeting-place of the General Synod of the Church of England, which meets at least twice a year.

The Royal Charter charity is managed by a board of nine trustees, known as the Council.

Since 1990 Church House has also housed the very successful Church House Conference Centre Ltd, the trading subsidiary of the Corporation.

Chris Palmer CBE is the current Secretary to the Corporation of The Church House.

History of Church House

The Corporation of The Church House was founded as the Church of England's permanent tribute to Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

The man who developed the idea, Dr Harvey Goodwin (Bishop of Carlisle), saw it as the national administrative headquarters and likened it to a "chapter-house for the Church of England".

Land was quickly acquired in Dean's Yard, close to the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey, but the existing tenancies meant that only a fraction of the original design could be built in the early 1890's.

The original gothic-style buildings were demolished in the 1930s and replaced with the current Church House in 1937.

During World War II Church House survived a bombing and was requisitioned by Parliament to serve as an alternate location for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. In the years immediately following the war Church House was used

• By the War Crimes Commission for the preparation of evidence for the subsequent trials at Nuremburg
• For the preparation of the United Nations Charter
• The first sitting of the United Nations Security Council
• The inaugural meeting of the United Nations Maritime Organisation, now located on the South Bank.

Contact

The Corporation of the Church House, Church House, 
27 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ. Telephone: 020 7898 1311