St James Church is unusual for having a special association with Portugal. In 1910 the Portuguese monarchy was overthrown in a coup d’etat. King Manuel left his country and eventually settled in England, and with his German born wife Queen Augusta Victoria, acquired a house in Fulwell Park, into which they moved in 1914. Their house occupied a tract of land bordered by Sixth Cross Road, the River Crane and Mill Road.
They regularly attended the 8am mass occupying the alcove on the right where the present organ is situated. They became involved in local affairs, both parish and otherwise. In 1917 Portugal joined the Great War on the side of the allies and sent an expeditionary force to France which took part in the Battle of the Lys (sometimes called the 4th Battle of Ypres.) King Manuel was particularly concerned with helping the war wounded and sponsored the orthopedic ward set up at the Hammersmith hospital. At the invitation of King George V, King Manuel and Queen Augusta Victoria took part in the Victory parade in London in July 1919.
The Portuguese involvement in the Great War is remembered at St James by two stained glass windows on the right as you enter the church. These windows are the only commemoration to the Portuguese war effort in this country. One window commemorates the Portuguese dead of the Great War, and the other the humanitarian work of King Manuel. These were designed by the late Caroline Benyon and were formally unveiled in April 2018 by the Portuguese Ambassador, and by Field Marshal Lord Guthrie. King Manuel donated two windows at the front of the church. One window is dedicated to St Anthony of Lisbon, and the other to St Edmund of Abingdon and was in memory of Canon Edmund English, parish priest of St James’s. On the sanctuary to the right there is a memorial plaque dedicated to King Manuel and Queen Augusta Victoria. This was unveiled in 2009. Just below this is a small plaque in memory of Lily May Carter who is believed to have been the last surviving goddaughter of Queen Augusta Victoria. Lily died in 2011.
On King Manuel’s untimely death in 1932 the parish acquired a number of sacred vessels bearing the King’s monogram. They also acquired the organ played by the King at his home in Fulwell. This was in use in the church until about 1990 when it was found to be too expensive to repair. Some of it was dismantled but the back piece bearing the royal escutcheon can still be seen in the old choir loft to the left overlooking the sanctuary. In the Emmanuel Centre behind the church there has a small collection of royal Portuguese memorabilia. This includes the legal document giving the King permission to fish in the River Crane. The agreement was with the Duke of Northumberland who owned Syon House down river. After the King’s death Queen Augusta returned to Germany and died there in 1966. King Manuel was buried in the Braganza mausoleum at Sao do Vicente in Lisbon.
In June 2023, a dinner was held at the Cavalry & Guards Club in Piccadilly on the occasion of the anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Windsor of 1386. The Portuguese President HE Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was the guest of honour. Fr Ulick Loring, the Parish Priest, was presented to the President.