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Origin and history

The Protestant temple of Chamonix originated in the British settlement in the 19th century. In 1855, the Colonial and Continental Church Society of London acquired 4,000 francs of land to build an Anglican chapel there. Inaugurated in 1860, it met the spiritual needs of Protestant tourists, then excluded from Catholic cemeteries. A Protestant cemetery was built around the building in 1871, including British mountain climbers who died in the mountains, such as Captain Arkwright, who had suffered an avalanche in 1866.

The chapel became an emblematic place for the Anglican community, as evidenced by Edward Whymper's funeral in 1911, a famous climber whose grave was moved in 1913. The urbanization of the neighborhood accelerated with the construction of the station in 1901, changing the landscape around the temple. After World War I, British attendance decreased, and the Reformed Church of France gradually took over, formalized in 1981 by the symbolic takeover of the building for a franc.

The temple is distinguished by its typically Anglican architecture: a steep roof in the Houches slates, an overturned frame, and hexagonal windows. Its sober furniture includes a carved wooden chair and an exotic wooden harmonium. During World War II, Protestant missionaries such as Annie Janes Forrester and Daisy Winifred Wood organized clandestine passages to save Jews. Today, the temple belongs to the parish of Arve Mont-Blanc, comprising five places of worship in the valley.

The Protestant cemetery, although partially displaced, preserves historical tombs, recalling the close link between British mountaineering and local religious heritage. The building thus illustrates the cultural and spiritual heritage left by English tourists in Chamonix, while entering into the history of Protestantism in France.

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