English Martyrs Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher grou ...

, London. It was built from 1873 to 1876, by

Pugin & Pugin Pugin & Pugin ( fl. 1851– c. 1958) was a London-based family firm of church architects, founded in the Westminster office of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812–1852). The firm was succeeded by his sons Cuthbert Welby Pugin (1840–1928) a ...

according to designs by their deceased brother,

E. W. Pugin Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was ...

. It is located on

Prescot Street Prescot Street is a street in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It runs between Goodman's Yard and Mansell Street in the west and Leman Street in the east. The area, including Ayliff Street, Leman Street and Mans ...

, close to the

Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...

. It was founded by the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

and is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building, having been listed in 1982.

History

Foundation

In 1864, the

were invited to Tower Hill and Kilburn by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman to start missions serving the local Catholic communities. In 1865, the Oblates arrived and founded those missions. Construction work soon started on a temporary church and school on the church's present site. On 12 December 1866, the temporary church and school were opened by the

Archbishop of Westminster The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

Cardinal Henry Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but conv ...

. From 1870 to 1872, a new building constructed with a school on the ground floor and a chapel on the first floor.

Construction

On 18 May 1873, the foundation stone for English Martyrs Church was laid by Cardinal Manning. It was designed by

, but work was delayed because of problems in buying the land and the death of Pugin on 5 June 1875. Pugin's brothers, Cuthbert Welby Pugin and

Peter Paul Pugin Peter Paul Pugin (1851 – March 1904) was an English architect. He was the son of Augustus Pugin by his third wife, Jane Knill, and the half-brother of architect and designer Edward Welby Pugin. Life and career Peter Paul Pugin was only a ...

carried on the work based on E. W. Pugin's designs. On 22 June 1876, Cardinal Manning opened the church. Construction work was done by Lascelles of Bunhill Row, and the cost was £10,000.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Tower Hill – The English Martyrs
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 15 May 2021

Developments

In 1881, the presbytery was rebuilt. The work was paid for by the

Carthusians The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

, in commemoration for the

Carthusian Martyrs of London The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

, executed at Tower Hill in 1535. In the 1890s, the school next door was enlarged, resulting in the demolition of the original

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

and the building of a new one in the presbytery. In 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the church was damaged by a 500 kg bomb which fell through the roof, damaged the side wall and destroyed the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

, but it did not explode. In 1970, the school was moved to St Mark Street and its old site became a community centre. In 1991, refurbishment work was done to the sanctuary and the church. In 2007, the roof was repaired and the interior repainted.

Parish

In English Martyrs Church, there are three Sunday Masses, at 6:30pm on Saturday and at 9:00am and 11:00am on Sunday.Tower Hill
from

Archdiocese of Westminster The Catholic Diocese of Westminster is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Spelthorne (in Surrey), and th ...

, retrieved 15 May 2021

Interior

English Martyrs Church, Tower Hill by John Salmon Geograph 4401892.jpg, Interior English Martyrs Church organ, Tower Hill by John Salmon Geograph 4401905.jpg, Organ

References

External links

* * {{Diocese of Westminster Roman Catholic churches in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Buildings and structures in Whitechapel Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster Grade II listed churches in London Gothic Revival church buildings in London 1865 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1876 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate churches in the United Kingdom