St Thomas of Canterbury Church, also known as St Thomas's, Rylston Road, is a

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Catholic 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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, central London. Designed in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

in 1847, the building is

Grade II* listed 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 ...

with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. It stands at 60 Rylston Road, Fulham, next to Pugin's

Grade II listed 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 ...

presbytery, the churchyard, and St Thomas's primary school, also largely by Pugin, close to the junction with Lillie Road in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

History

The church, founded in memory of J. W. Bowden (1798–1844) by his widow Elizabeth Bowden (1805–1896), was begun in 1847 and is the only complete Pugin church in London. The first purpose-built Roman Catholic place of worship in Fulham since the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, its foundation stone was laid by Bishop Thomas Griffiths,

Vicar Apostolic of the London District The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1688 and was dissolved ...

in 1847. After the latter's death that same year, the church was opened in 1848 by

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

. It was intended for the many Catholic families employed in the local market gardens. Pugin's design was in the Decorated English Gothic of the late 13th to early 14th centuries. Féret, the chronicler of Fulham, describes in detail the interior of the building, emphasising the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

es of the two side chapels carved in

Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...

and the striking stained glass windows. The north-west tower and pinnacled steeple rises to 142 feet and faces the small cemetery opened in 1849. St Thomas of Canterbury, Rylston Road, Fulham - geograph.org.uk - 2417457.jpg, Interior

The cemetery

Among the notable burials in the churchyard are the following: Sir Thomas Henry, Chief Magistrate of London; the politician Lord Alexander Gordon-Lennox and his wife Emily; Mrs Elizabeth Bowden, benefactress of St Thomas's church and attached school, and her daughter; the architect Joseph Aloysius Hansom, designer of numerous church buildings including Our Lady of Dolours, Chelsea, as well as of the

Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...

and founder of the influential journal '' The Builder''; Herbert Gribble, architect of

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory, also known as the London Oratory, is a neo-classical late-Victorian Catholic parish church in the Brompton area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, neighbouring Knightsbridge, London. Its name stems from Oratorian ...

; and Joseph Scoles, designer of Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street. In addition to several mayors and aldermen of the

Metropolitan Borough of Fulham The Metropolitan Borough of Fulham was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith to form the London Boroug ...

, in 1911, 1912 and 1918, three infant great-grandchildren of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

were buried there. There are three

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

officer casualties laid to rest at the cemetery. There is also a war memorial with the names of 59 parishioners who died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The war memorial, the tombstone of Warrington Taylor and the Harwath Mausoleum in this small walled cemetery are

with

.Warrington Taylor tomb HE listing
/ref> St Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham, February 2015 09.jpg, St Thomas of Canterbury churchyard

References

External links

* *
Diocese of Westminster site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulham, Saint Thomas 1848 in London 1848 establishments in England Religious organizations established in 1848 Augustus Pugin buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in London Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England Grade II* listed churches in London Saint Thomas Roman Catholic churches completed in 1848 Saint Thomas 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Saint Thomas Saint Thomas