The Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church on Knatchbull Road and Camberwell New Road in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

, south-east London, SE5. The first church on this site was destroyed by enemy action during

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

between 8–9 October 1941. The church was built between 1952 and 1958 in the Moderne style and has been listed Grade II on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

since 2015. The

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

of the present church had been laid by

Cyril Cowderoy Cyril Conrad Cowderoy (5 May 1905 – 10 October 1976) was a priest for over 45 years and a bishop for over 26 years in the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Cowderoy was born in Sidcup, Kent, on 5 May 1905 and ordained a priest in ...

on 19 April 1952. The devotional

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

sculptures of Sacred Heart were supplied by

Burns & Oates Burns & Oates was a British Roman Catholic publishing house which most recently existed as an imprint of Continuum. Company history It was founded by James Burns in 1835, originally as a bookseller. Burns was of Presbyterian background and he ...

, and are placed above the side aisles of the church. The individual Stations of the Cross are made using the

opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of '' pietra dura'' popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and gla ...

technique, inlaid on a gold mosaic background.

References

1872 establishments in England 1872 in London 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom

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

Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in London Grade II listed churches in the London Borough of Southwark Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Modernist architecture in London Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic churches completed in 1958 Roman Catholic churches in the London Borough of Southwark {{London-RC-church-stub