Holy Cross Church is a church on

Cromer Street Cromer Street is a road in St Pancras, London in central London, England. It starts in the west at Judd Street, then goes east, ending at Gray's Inn Road. It gave access from Gray's Inn Road to Greenland Place and a bowling green. History ...

in the St Pancras area of the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

. It was built 1887–88 by Joseph Peacock.

History

The church began as a district chapelry in 1876 before becoming a parish in 1888. Its parish was merged with that of StJude Gray's Inn Road (demolished 1936) in 1935 and that of St Peter's Regent Square in 1954 (damaged in the Blitz and demolished in 1954). In 1988 its Crypt Centre was set up to work for the homeless, and the church is still in use under its parish priest Christopher Cawrse. The church was designated a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

on 14 May 1974. The painting ''

Santa Maria Magdalena Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

'' by Reginald Gray hangs in the small chapel. As a result of

industrial decline Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...

in the second half of the 20th century, by the 1980s the area around

King's Cross Station King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...

, including Cromer Street, had become notorious for

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

. In November 1982, the English Collective of Prostitutes staged a 12-day sit-in at Holy Cross as a protest against police harassment, attracting national media coverage. The then rector,

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Trevor Richardson, said at the time that the sit-in could continue so long as it didn't interfere with services. He also commented that too much attention was being paid to the women occupying the church and not enough to the evils of society that had given rise to their sit-in.

Notable clergy

Hope Patten Alfred Hope Patten (17 November 1885 in the Town Brewery, Sidmouth – 11 August 1958 in the College, Little Walsingham), known as "Pat" to his friends, was an Anglo-Catholic priest in the Church of England, best known for his restoration o ...

, served his curacy here in the 1910s

References

External links

Official page
{{coord, 51.5275, -0.1234, type:landmark_region:GB-CMD, display=title Churches in the London Borough of Camden Grade II listed churches in the London Borough of Camden Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the London Borough of Camden