St Joseph's Church, Highgate is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

Hill, in the

Diocese of Westminster Diocese of Westminster may refer to: * Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, since 1850, with seat at Westminster Cathedral * Diocese of Westminster (Church of England) The Diocese of Westminster was a short-lived diocese of the Church of Engl ...

, London. It was founded by the

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

Congregation in 1858. It is a

grade II listed building 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 ...

History

It was in 1858 that St Joseph's was first established by Father Ignatius Spencer, who had converted to the

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 ...

Church and entered the Passionist Order. He had found the location in Highgate in the Old Black Dog Inn, with a chapel in the ground floor and accommodation for the community on the floor above. The first church was built in 1861/63 by John Bird of Hammersmith but this proved to be too small, and the current church was started in 1888. The new church opened in 1889 by the Bishop of Liverpool, to commemorate the Jubilee of

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

; it was not consecrated until 1932 when the debt had been cleared. St. Joseph’s Church was designed by the architect Albert Vicars as blend of the Romanesque and Byzantine styles. The green, copper dome is the dominant feature and is a landmark that can be seen from various points across London. The dome is estimated to weigh 2000 tons. St Joseph’s Retreat, the house for the Passionist community, is attached to the east end.

Interior

The

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

are large painted oblong reliefs by F. Devriendt, installed in 1886.

The Sanctuary

The high altar has a canopy (or baldachino), made from Sicilian marble. The surrounds and dome of the tabernacle are a copy of the original wooden surrounds from 1861. The mosaic pavement in the sanctuary is made from rock from the bed of the River Severn. The forward altar of marble and sandstone was erected in 1964 by Gerald Murphy of Burles Newton & Partners. The sanctuary wall paintings are by C. Langlin.

The Chapels

The northeast chapel is dedicated to the Passionist saints and has a painting of the St Paul of the Cross by M.A. Laby. The Lady chapel is from 1958, the altar is of plain marble with a marble reredos with mosaics showing the Annunciation and Coronation of Mary. The

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

statue of the Virgin (1897) is by Porter of Fulham and is from the earlier chapel. Next to the chapel is a wooden sculpture of St Dominic Barberi by John O’Rourke (1999). The

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

chapel is at the southeast. In St Michael’s Chapel the marble rails and elaborate altar were reputedly exhibited at the

Paris Exhibition of 1889 The Exposition Universelle of 1889 () was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fourth of eight expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The ...

. The chapel was erected in memory of Rev. Michael Watts Russell, who died 1875, and there is a marble portrait plaque to him. The reliquary is said to have been designed by Cardinal Wiseman. The Martyrs Chapel has a marble altar and rails, and an oil painting of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

The Painted Ceiling

The segmental, vaulted ceiling was painted by

Nathaniel Westlake Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake FSA (1833–1921) was a 19th-century British artist specialising in stained glass. Career Nathaniel Westlake was born in Romsey in 1833. He began to design for the firm of Lavers & Barraud, Ecclesiastical Design ...

(1891) and is some of his finest work. There are 250 panels, each segment contains an angel carrying a scroll with a verse from the

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...

The Organ

The four-manual organ was built by

William Hill & Sons William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century. The founder William Hill was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot, on 30 October 1818 i ...

in 1898 and installed after the Second World War as a memorial to the local victims of the Second World War.

Stained Glass

There are three stained glass

clerestory windows In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

on each side wall. Those on the south show the Crucifixion and those on the north the Holy Family. Between the windows are paintings by Westlake depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary.

Gallery

File:Church of St Joseph, Highgate (4).jpg, High altar File:Highgate, St.Joseph’s Catholic Church, Lady Chapel.jpg, The Lady chapel File:Highgate, St.Joseph’s Catholic Church, St Michael’s Chapel.jpg, St Michael’s Chapel File:Highgate, St.Joseph’s Catholic Church, The Martyrs Chapel.jpg, The Martyrs Chapel File:Highgate, St.Joseph’s Catholic Church, organ.jpg, The Organ File:Highgate, St.Joseph’s Catholic Church, painted ceiling 2.jpg, Part of the painted ceiling File:Highgate, St.Joseph’s Catholic Church, painted ceiling detail.jpg, Painted ceiling detail

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Highgate, Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

Roman Catholic churches in London Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster Church buildings with domes Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Islington Grade II* listed churches in London 1888 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1888 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom