The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, also known as Farm Street 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, ...

run by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, central London. Its main entrance is in Farm Street, though it can also be accessed from the adjacent

Mount Street Gardens Mount Street Gardens is a public garden off Mount Street in the west of the Mayfair area of London, England. The gardens were created in 1889 out of a former burial ground of St George's, Hanover Square, and named after the Mount Field, an ...

. Sir

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

, in his book ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', describes the church as "

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

at its most sumptuous".

History

Foundation

In the 1840s, when the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

first began looking for a location for their London church, they found the site in the

mews A mews is a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. Mews are usually located in desirable residential ...

of a back street. The name 'Farm Street' derives from 'Hay Hill Farm' which, in the eighteenth century, extended from Hill Street eastward beyond

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent ...

.''History''
Farm Street site
Retrieved 22 January 2013 In 1843,

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

received a petition from English Catholics for permission to erect a Jesuit Church in London and plans were accepted.''160 Years of Farm Street''
Thinking Faith
Retrieved 23 January 2013

Construction

The original intention of the Superior of the English Jesuits, Fr Randal Lythgoe, was for the church to have a capacity for 900 people. When this was found too expensive the church was built for a capacity of 475. The cost was £5,800 which came from multiple private benefactors. In 1844 the foundation stone was laid by Fr Lythgoe. Because of the limited size of the plot, the church was orientated north-south. The architect was

Joseph John Scoles Joseph John Scoles (1798–1863) was an English Gothic Revival architect, who designed many Roman Catholic churches. Early life and education Scoles was born in London on 27 June 1798, the son of Roman Catholic parents Matthew Scoles, a joiner, ...

, who also designed the Church of St Francis Xavier in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, St Ignatius Church in Preston, and was father of

Ignatius Scoles Ignatius Scoles SJ (1 December 1834 – 15 July 1896) was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, architect and writer. He designed churches and civic buildings and was the son of Joseph John Scoles.Guyana Times International' accessed 26 March 2013 Earl ...

SJ, another architect, who designed St Wilfrid's Church also in Preston. Five years later on 31 July 1849, the feast of the Jesuit founder St Ignatius, the church was officially opened. The style is

decorated gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

and the front of the church, towards Farm Street, is inspired by that of

Beauvais Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais) is a Roman Catholic church in the northern town of Beauvais, Oise, France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis. The cathedral is in t ...

. The high altar was designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

. Above Pugin's high altar are two mosaic panels depicting the Annunciation and the Coronation of the Virgin by Salviati. In 1912, the original

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window of the choir, which was the tarnished by pollution, was replaced a new one from the John Hardman Trading Company of Birmingham. Tho old window was cleaned, repaired and then sold to St Agnes Church in Lac-Mégantic, in Quebec, Canada. The church was remodelled in 1951 by

Adrian Gilbert Scott Adrian Gilbert Scott (6 August 1882 – 23 April 1963) was an English ecclesiastical architect. Early life Scott was the grandson of Sir Gilbert Scott ( George Gilbert Scott), son of George Gilbert Scott, Jr. (founder of Watts & Company in ...

, following damage sustained by the building during the Second World War. In 1966, it became the parish church of Mayfair. In his 1999 book ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', Sir

awards the church two stars but says "Not an inch of wall surface is without decoration, and this in the austere 1840s, not the colourful late-Victorian era. The right aisle carries large panels portraying the Stations of the Cross. The left aisle has side chapels and confessionals, ingeniously carved within the piers. In the west window above the gallery is excellent modern glass by

Evie Hone Eva Sydney Hone RHA (22 April 1894 – 13 March 1955), usually known as Evie, was an Irish painter and stained glass artist.Nicola Gordon Bowe (May 2009)Hone, Eva Sydney (1894–1955) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online editio ...

of 1953, with the richness of colour of a

Burne-Jones The Burne-Jones Baronetcy, of Rottingdean in the County of Sussex, and of The Grange in the Parish of Fulham in the County of London, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 May 1894 for the artist and designer ...

Developments

In March 2013 the church opened its doors to LGBT Catholics as such, upon the so-called "Soho Masses" at the nearby

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory is a Catholic church on Warwick Street, Westminster. It was formerly known as the Royal Bavarian Chapel, because like several Catholic churches in London it originated as a chapel within ...

coming to an end after six years. Archbishop

Vincent Nichols Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945) is an English cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He previously served as Archbishop of Birm ...

attended their first mass there in 2013. The church had refused a request for a six-month retreat from writer

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

almost 116 years previously. The building next to the church hosts parish events, the local Christian Life Community association, and is a home to the offices of the British Province of Jesuits, the online prayer application '' Pray As You Go'', ''Thinking Faith'', the Heythrop Library, and the London Jesuit Centre.

Choir

In the nineteenth century, the choir consisted only of men and boys drawn from the local Roman Catholic schools. Between 1881 and 1916, the organist was

John Francis Brewer John Francis Brewer (1865-1921) was a late Victorian and Edwardian English novelist, journalist and organist. Family and early life Brewer was born in Kensington, London, on 25 November 1864. He was the eldest son of the architectural illustr ...

, son of the architectural illustrator Henry William Brewer, who was just 18 when appointed. Brewer was also a novelist and journalist, best known today for his 1888 thriller, 'The Curse Upon Mitre Square', inspired by the

Whitechapel Murders The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the largely impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unsolved murders of women have ...

. After the First World War, the choir came under the direction of Fr John Driscoll SJ, who was later succeeded by Fernand Laloux, and the organist was Guy Weitz, a Belgian who had been a pupil of

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the ...

and

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

. One of Weitz's most notable students was

Nicholas Danby Nicholas Danby (19 July 1935 – 15 June 1997) was a British organist, recitalist and teacher. He was a great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens and nephew of Monica Dickens. Danby was Organ Professor at both the Royal College of Music and the R ...

(1935–1997) who succeeded him as the church organist in 1967. Danby was also a tutor and taught John Keys, Paul Hale, and Robert Costin. His main achievement at Farm Street was re-establishing the choir in the early 1970s, following a period of change in the late 1960s, as a fully professional ensemble. Following Nicholas Danby's death in 1997, two of his students, Martyn Parry and David Graham, were appointed Joint Directors of Music. Martyn Parry was formerly Director of Music at the Sacred Heart Church in Wimbledon. David Graham had studied music with Nicholas Danby at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. In December 2004 and following the death of Martyn Parry earlier that year, the music was reorganised and Duncan Aspden was appointed Associate Director of Music, to assist David Graham in directing the professional choir and playing the organ. During the 1990s a number of recordings were made of the music at the Farm Street church. In 2000 a CD of organ music, recorded by David Graham and including the music of Guy Weitz, was recorded on the church organ in Farm Street.''Music''
Farm Street Site
Retrieved 22 January 2013 In the twenty-first century, the repertoire consists of sixteenth century polyphony, the Viennese classical composers, nineteenth century romantics, twentieth century and contemporary music as well as

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

London Jesuit Centre

The Immaculate Conception, London W1 - geograph

In September 2004, the Mount Street Jesuit Centre was launched. Its intention was to provide adult Christian formation through prayer, worship, theological education and social justice. To do this it gave non-residential retreats and courses in spirituality as well as providing a full-time General Practitioner for homeless people at the Doctor Hickey Surgery in central London, and working with the London Jesuit Volunteers programme. In 2019,

Heythrop College Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with soc ...

formally closed. The London Jesuit Centre was launched the same year in the same location as the Mount Street Jesuit Centre. It includes a reading room of the Heythrop Library, which provides access to about 8,000 books, plus indirect access (via off-site requests) to most of the collection of the Heythrop College, making it available again after its closure. The London Jesuit Centre provides teaching courses, spirituality, retreats and research. In conjunction with the

University of Roehampton The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

, a master's degree in theology, ecology and ethics, is taught in the centre. The degree is also linked to the research done in the Laudato Si' Research Institute in

Campion Hall, Oxford Campion Hall is one of the five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford in England. It is run by the Society of Jesus and named after Edmund Campion, a martyr and fellow of St John's College, Oxford. The hall is located on Brewer St ...

. The centre continues the work of the Mount Street Jesuit Centre by offering spirituality courses as well as residential and non-residential retreats.

''Thinking Faith''

''Thinking Faith'' is an online journal that publishes theological articles as well as perspectives on politics, philosophy, spirituality, poetry and culture. In 2001, ''

The Month ''The Month'' was a monthly review, published from 1864 to 2001, which, for almost all of its history, was owned by the English Province of the Society of Jesus and was edited by its members. History ''The Month'', founded and edited by Frances ...

'', a monthly review publication, was closed. It had run from 1864 and was founded by

Frances Margaret Taylor Frances Margaret Taylor, whose religious name was Mother Magdalen of the Sacred Heart (20 January 1832 – 9 June 1900) was an English nurse, editor and writer, nun, and Superior General and founder of the Roman Catholic religious congregation th ...

. It was owned by the Jesuits and edited by its members. After its closure a new effort was made to publish articles on matters of faith. On 18 January 2008, ''Thinking Faith'' was launched. It was founded with the aim to publish its articles online, and more frequently than the monthly schedule of its predecessor. It regularly posts articles on matters of faith that go through an editorial board. It covers topics such as biblical analysis, spirituality, political and social issues as well as the current trends and recents works in the arts, poetry and culture, including regular book and film reviews. Its online format allows its articles to be distributed by other sites such as ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

'', and ''Catholic Outlook'', the journal of the Diocese of Parramatta.The world after COVID-19: a Christian contribution
from CatholicOutlook.org, 18 July 2020, retrieved 18 February 2021 It is free to access and subscribe.

Interior

File:Church of the Immaculate Conception, St Francis Xavier Chapel.jpg, St. Francis Xavier Chapel File:Immaculate Conception Church Altar, Farm Street, London, UK - Diliff.jpg, High Altar at the north end File:Church of the Immaculate Conception, Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes.jpg, Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes File:Church of the Immaculate Conception, The English Martyrs Chapel.jpg, The English Martyrs Chapel File:Church of the Immaculate Conception, statue of Our Lady of Dolours.jpg, Our Lady of Dolours File:Church of the Immaculate Conception, Caen stone high altar.jpg, Pugin's high altar

References

External links

Farm Street Church

London Jesuit CentreThinking Faith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayfair, Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic churches in the City of Westminster Jesuit churches in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic churches completed in 1849 Gothic Revival church buildings in London Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster 1849 establishments in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom