The HTB network is the 'family of churches' planted or grafted from Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) since 1985. There are now around 185 churches in the group. They are all Anglican churches and are mostly within the Church of England although there are some churches in Wales, Northern Ireland and other parts of the world.
HTB and some of the plants are in the Diocese of London, but most are elsewhere in England. The churches lie in 20 of the 42 dioceses in the Church of England. Although they retain a 'family' link with HTB, churches in the Network primarily relate to their own bishops and dioceses. Plants are always the result of partnerships with bishops and their dioceses and these partnerships are key to the whole strategy. In recent years the Church Commissioners have released tens of millions of pounds of funding to dioceses which have partnered with HTB and its planting charity the Revitalise Trust to revitalise strategic churches.
High profile churches Churches in the HTB Network include some of the largest congregations in the national church. Examples are HTB, London; St Peter's Brighton; Gas Street Church, Birmingham; Saint Church, Hackney; Fabric Church, Manchester; St John's, Blackpool; Preston Minster; Penny Lane Church, Liverpool; St Matt's, Plymouth; St Swithun's Lincoln; St Mary's Southampton; Harbour Church, Portsmouth; Holy Trinity Margate and St Nic's Church Bristol.
Controversies St Sepulchre-without-Newgate was known as the National Musicians' Church for 70 years until August 2017 when hiring of the facilities for non-religious events was banned, against assurances which had been given when HTB took over in 2013. Fifty figures from the musical world signed an open letter urging reversal of the ban and preservation of the church's "unique national cultural remit". Acting Bishop of London Pete Broadbent tried to convince the church to reverse its ban. Andrew Earis, director of music at St Martin-in-the-Fields and former director of music at St Sepulchre, said the decision was "doing irreparable harm to the church as a whole". By 2024, the church was no longer a member of the HTB network, and priest-in-charge Nick Mottershead spoke of work to "rebuild a reputation around being the Musicians’ Church and to redefine and communicate that this is a place that is welcoming to all." He sought to make the church's support for same-sex blessings "very clear", due in part to the perception that it remained connected to HTB.
The 2020 relaunch (as 'Citizen Church') of Church of St Andrew & St Teilo in Cardiff was controversial with members of the existing congregation. A petition titled "Save St Teilo's" asking the diocese to "reverse its decision to place a new resource church in the place of ours" received almost 2,000 signatures. At an open parish meeting, "expressed opinion was unanimously opposed". Several people interviewed by the Church Times emphasised the importance of the church being welcoming to LGBT members. Parish treasurer Phil Hawkins described the decision to push ahead with plans without parish consultation as "appalling".
A lay leader who came out as lesbian at St Luke's Church, Kentish Town reported that she had been "forced out" of the church and her position as bible study leader by vicar Jon March, when new rules for living "beyond reproach" were introduced after telling him of her sexuality, rules which among other things prohibited being in a same-sex relationship. An internal investigation commissioned by the Bishop of Edmonton found that there were pastoral failings but not an abuse of power. The woman, who received three years of therapy for symptoms of PTSD, said: "When a vicar or church rejects someone because of who they are or what they do or what they believe, it feels like God has rejected me." Andrew Foreshew-Cain, the first Church of England vicar to marry a same-sex partner, said: "In a church like St Luke’s and Holy Trinity Brompton there is a deliberate attempt to hide what their actual attitudes are to LGBT people, but also to women in leadership."
List of church plants
This list is mostly drawn from the HTB website. Numbers refer to the maps below.
# Church Year of plant Diocese Planted from Plant leaders URL Reference(s)1Holy Trinity, Brompton (HTB)N/ALondonN/AN/A2 (STBK) 1985 London HTB John Irvine3 (City Rise) 1987 Southwark HTB Paul Perkin 4 (HTB Onslow Square) 1991 London HTB Nicky Lee 5Oak Tree Anglican Fellowship1993LondonSTBKTim Sudworth6 1994 Southwark SMBR Andrew White 7 1994 London HTB Tom Gillum 8 (CCF) 1997 London HTB Onslow Square Stuart Lees 9 (SPH) 2000 London HTB Simon Downham 10 2002 London HTB John Valentine 11 2005 London HTB Sandy Millar12St Saviour's, Hanley Roadpost-2005LondonSt Mark's Tollington Park13Emmanuel, Hollowaypost-2005LondonSt Mark's Tollington Park14 (SPS) 2005 London HTB Ric Thorpe and Jez Barnes 15 (The Lighthouse) 2006 London HTB Andy Keighley and Graham Singh 16 Formerly St Mary Magdalene and St David's, Islington 2006 London St George Holborn Paul Zaphiriou 17 (SPB) 2007 Southwark SMBR Patrick Malone 18 2009 Chichester HTB Dan Millest 19 2010 London HTB and SPH Matt Hogg 20 2010 London Hope Church Islington Graham Hunter 21 2010 London SPS Cris Rogers22 2010 Southwark Ascension Balham Ben Goodyear 23 2010 London SPS Adam Atkinson 24 2010 London HTB Azariah France-Williams 25 2010 London HTB Graham Singh and Jerry Field 26 (HTB Queen's Gate) 2010 London HTB Paul Cowley 27 (SLKT) 2011 London HTB Jon March 28 2012 London HTB Libby Etherington 29 2012 Southwark HTB Jago Wynne 30 2013 No longer a member, as of 2024. London HTB and St George Holborn David Ingall 31 2013 London SPS Ed Dix 32 (STN) 2013 Norwich HTB Ian Dyble 33St Cuthman's Church, Whitehawk2013ChichesterSt Peter's BrightonSteve Tennant34 2014 London HTB Pat Allerton 35 2014 Winchester HTB Tim Matthews 36 2014 Chichester St Peter's Brighton Simon and Sarah Larkin 37 2014 Lincoln HTB Jim and Vicky Prestwood 38Christ Church, Spitalfields2014LondonSPS39 2015 Birmingham HTB Tim Hughes40St Alban's Church, Norwich2015NorwichSTN41St Barnabas' Church, HeighamNorwichSTN42 2016 Durham HTB Rich Grant 43 2016 Portsmouth St Peter's Brighton Alex Wood 44 2016 Chelmsford All Hallows Bow Ben Atkins45 2016 Exeter HTB Olly and Ali Ryder 46 2016 Southwell and Nottingham HTB Jonny and Amy Hughes 61St John-at-Hackney2016LondonHTBAl and Olivia Gordon47 2017 Winchester St Swithun's Bournemouth Tim Matthews 48 2017 Coventry HTB Phil Atkinson 49 2017 Derby HTB Phil and Anna Mann 50St Matthias' Church, Fiveways2017ChichesterSt Peter's BrightonTom and Katy Holbird51St John the Baptist's Church, Crawley2017ChichesterSt Peter's BrightonSteve and Liz Burston52St Peter's Church, West Molesey2017GuildfordSt John's Hampton WickAlex Munro53St Nicholas' Church, Bristol2018BristolHTBToby and Gill Flint54St Mary's Church, Southampton2018WinchesterHTB and SLKTJon and Hannah Finch55Pattern Church, Swindon2018BristolHTBJoel Sales56St Chad's Church, Whitleigh2018ExeterSt Matthias PlymouthRob Fowler57Christ Church, Feltham2018LondonSt Stephen's TwickenhamAndy Watkins58St Margaret's, Aspley2018Southwell and NottinghamHTBRich Atkinson 59St George's, Portsea2018PortsmouthHarbour Church Portsmouth60St Alban's, Copnor2018PortsmouthHarbour Church Portsmouth 62St Luke at Hackney2018LondonSt John-at-Hackney63St Matthew's Church, Exeter2019ExeterHTBEd and Jess Hodges64St John's Minster, Preston2019BlackburnHTBSam and Hannah Haigh65St Mary's, Andover2019WinchesterHTBChris and Nai Bradish66St Peter's, Vauxhall2019SouthwarkHoly Trinity ClaphamEmma and Michael John67Hope Street Church, Wrexham2020St Asaph (Wales)HTBRachel and Andy Kitchen68St Barnabas Penny Lane, Liverpool2020LiverpoolHTBAlex and Laura Rayment69St Francis, Mackworth2020DerbySt Werburgh's DerbyAndy and Rachel Bond70St Leonard's, Shoreditch2020LondonHackney ChurchAl Gordon, Naomi Maxwell and Toby Thomas71St Wilfrid, Bognor Regis2020ChichesterSt Peter's BrightonJoel and Lella Mennie72Citizen Church, Cardiff2021Llandaff (Wales)Harbour Church PortsmouthRyan and Ellie Forey73Nelson Street Church, Rochdale2021ManchesterHTBJanie and James Cronin74St Wins, Totton2021WinchesterSaint Mary's SouthamptonAli and Steve Hill75River Church Ipswich2021St Edmundsbury and IpswichHTB and St Augustine's IpswichMatt and Amy Key76The Well, Swindon2021BristolPattern Church, SwindonPaul Freeland77Bay Church, Torbay2022Exeter and Harbour Church PortsmouthMatt and Fiona Bray78St Wilfrid's Wilford2022Nottingham and SouthwellTrinity Church NottinghamGeorge and Katie White 79Concord Church, Bristol2022BristolSt Nicholas' Church, BristolAndy Carter80Fabric Church2023ManchesterHTBMark & Jo Roper and Nakita Ainsworth 81St George'srefNewcastle-under-LymeHTBMartin Ball https://www.stgn.org/
Maps London
England & Wales
Notes
References
External links HTB - Related Churches & Church Plants Church Army research on early HTB plants