St Joseph's Church, Highgate is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

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 the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, are a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720, with a special emphasis on a ...

Congregation in 1858. It is 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 ...

History

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

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 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 (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

; 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 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 ...

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, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') 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 ...

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 () 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 ...

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

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. 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 Forty Martyrs of England and Wales or Cuthbert Mayne and Thirty-Nine Companion Martyrs are a group of Catholic Church, Catholic, lay and religious, men and women, executed between 1535 and 1679 for treason and related offences under variou ...

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 Designe ...

(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 ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

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, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot (organ buil ...

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 A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

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 According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

Roman Catholic churches in the London Borough of Islington Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster Church buildings with domes Domes in the United Kingdom 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