Historic London chemist and perfumer D. R. Harris & Co has developed an exclusive new fragrance, St James’s 1684, to help raise funds for The Wren Project, St James’s £20 million restoration of its courtyard, garden, and Grade I-listed church building. Inspired by Grinling Gibbons’ reredos in the Piccadilly church, the perfume launches at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where some samples will be available at St James’s ‘Imagine the World to be Different’ garden, designed by Robert Myers and sponsored by Project Giving Back.

As the oldest pharmacy in London, founded in 1790 and based in St James’s parish, D.R. Harris is ideally placed to reflect the illustrious heritage of the church while contributing towards safeguarding its future. Half of the retail price of the quintessentially English fragrance will be donated to St James’s Wren Project, in the first partnership of its kind that D.R. Harris has undertaken.

D.R. Harris worked with expert perfumiers, using natural essential oils, with a brief to reflect the botanicals in Grinling Gibbons’ carved reredos behind the altar, which includes roses, primroses and pears. The resulting unisex fragrance evokes orchards steeped in golden sunshine, warming the russet curves of luscious pears. The sensuous freshness of the just-ripe fruit is wrapped in elegant white freesias, enhanced with rose and rooted in patchouli. The top notes include William’s pear and pink pepper, with a base of patchouli, musk, vetivert, akigalawood and sandalwood, and middle notes of freesia, rose, jasmin petals and primroses. The fragrance is available as an eau de toilette, in three different sizes.

A bespoke label has been created for the bottles by London-based designer Sophie Dunster, who is passionate about creating a bridge between design and the fundamental environmental issues that lie at the heart of contemporary culture.

Julian Moore, Managing Director, D.R. Harris & Co, said:
“At D.R. Harris we’ve always had a connection with St James’s Piccadilly, so the opportunity to collaborate with them at this exciting moment as they are showcased at RHS Chelsea was irresistible. We’re delighted to help contribute towards the fundraising campaign for The Wren Project to ensure that the church is able to sustain its work in environmental and social justice. It’s been fantastic to work with the reredos as our inspiration and we’re excited to unveil the results.”

Rector, Rev’d Lucy Winkett, said:
“We’re so grateful to D. R. Harris for their support and for helping us to mark our appearance at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. We’re looking forward to introducing St James’s 1684 to visitors to our garden ‘Imagine the World to be Different’ at Chelsea. The fragrance is also a great way for anyone who can’t join us at the flower show to contribute towards The Wren Project and our campaign to restore our Piccadilly garden and improve access to the historic church and courtyard.”
St James’s 1684 will be available in the summer in 30ml (£21), 50 ml (£42), 100ml (£55) exclusively from D.R. Harris & Co at 29 St James’s Street, London, SW1A 1HD and 52 Piccadilly, or online at https://www.drharris.co.uk/product/st-jamess-1684