St Mary's, Cadogan Street is a Grade II* listed

Roman 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 letter ...

Catholic 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 ...

church in Cadogan Street,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It was built between 1877 and 1879 by

John Francis Bentley John Francis Bentley (30 January 1839 – 2 March 1902) was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London, England, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture. Life Bentley ...

, most notable for his work as architect of

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

, and is one of the oldest Roman Catholic parishes in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

History and architecture

There has existed a Catholic place of worship on the site of St Mary's since 1812, when the first Catholic chapel in Chelsea, and one of the first in the country since the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, was erected. It was established by Abbé Jean Voyaux de Franous, who arrived in London in 1793 having previously been Royal Almoner to

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. De Franous was responsible for the spiritual welfare of the veteran soldiers at Chelsea College (now the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an in ...

), as well as all those at the Chelsea and Knightsbridge Barracks. The chapel was intended to be used primarily by the soldiers and veterans of the Royal Hospital, though funding for its construction was gathered from across France and the United Kingdom. After the death of de Franous, parishioners proposed a comprehensive scheme to build a church, a convent, schools, almshouses and a cemetery that would in some ways resemble the medieval conception of parish life. These were mostly built between 1845 and 1855, though the foundation stone of the present church was not laid until 1877. Designed by

(1839–1902), the church was opened and blessed by Cardinal Manning in May 1879.

References

External links

* Grade II* listed churches in London John Francis Bentley buildings Roman Catholic churches completed in 1879 Roman Catholic churches in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England {{London-church-stub