The Ascension of The Lord, Lavender Hill, is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

tradition, situated on Lavender Hill, in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

, South West London. It is thought to be the first church in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

dedicated to The Ascension of The Lord. Built to the designs of the architect James Brooks, its foundation stone was laid in 1874, and it was consecrated in 1883. The church is one of three in the parish of Lavender Hill, The Ascension and Battersea, St. Philip with St. Bartholomew. The other two are no longer used by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. St Philip the Apostle, Queenstown Road is now home to the Ethiopian Orthodox Parish of Saint Mary of Debre Tsion, and St Bartholomew the Less, Wycliffe Road is now home to the Greek Orthodox Parish of St Nectarious. The church should not be confused with another church dedicated to the Ascension of Our Lord in the same borough, at

Balham Balham () is an List of areas of London, area in south-west London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, with small parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It has been settled since Saxon times and appears in t ...

History

Foundation

The Ascension, Lavender Hill, was principally conceived by Fr John Bourdieu Wilkinson SSC. As a young man Wilkinson had often sat on

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...

and gazed down upon the blue fields of

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

which made up the historic Lavender Hill. He often dreamt that if he ever was called to become a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, it would be upon the Lavender Hill where he would build a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

for the faith to be proclaimed. Eventually his priestly calling began to materialize and he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

. Now a priest, Wilkinson was sent to St Barnabas,

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

where the effects of the "ritual riots" – a series of protests against high church practices in use there – were being felt. It was these riots that influenced Wilkinson, supported by a number of wealthy ladies from the

congregation, to conceive the idea of an

sanctuary away from the troubles of

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

. Amongst those who financially contributed to the building of the new church were Lady Anne Antrobus, wife of Sir Edmund Antrobus, her sister-in-law through marriage, The Hon Jane Duff-Gordon, and a young

dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the n ...

, Amelia, Lady Boston (widow of George Irby, 4th Baron Boston and daughter of John Saumarez, 3rd Baron de Saumarez). A sizeable benefaction made by the ladies was used to purchase the grounds of Pountney House which ran from what is now Acanthus Road to the end of Crown Terrace (where the Crown pub is situated today), and north of the church to Elsley Road. Only about a third of this land now remains in church hands. It was not until 1872, that Father Wilkinson, Lady Antrobus and the Hon. Mrs. Jane Duff-Gordon moved to Lavender Hill and the plot of land on which the church stands was purchased, thanks to the generosity of Lady Boston.

Construction

The people of the Shaftesbury Estate, many of them railway workers who had moved from the East End to work at nearby Clapham Junction made it clear that they wanted the Ascension to resemble the churches that many of them had left behind in east London. With that in mind, a significant

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, James Brooks, was commissioned to design what was to be one of his finest churches. 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 ...

was laid on 1 June 1874, by John Patrick Boyle, Earl of Glasgow; according to Henry Simmonds in ''All About Battersea'' (1882) it was situated "under the altar" of the temporary church. It was not long before Brooks soon discovered that he was using too much of the available funds for the foundations of the new church. His clients quickly became alarmed by this unforeseen expense, and he was subsequently dismissed as architect. His replacements, J. T. Micklewaite and Somers Clark, completed the church almost entirely to Brooks’ original specification. The overspend, however, meant that some of Brooks more elaborate design features, such as the carving of the stone capitals in the nave, the projected tower with steeple, above what is now the south porch, a belfry and an elaborately carved stone reredos could not be completed. Like Brooks' East End churches, the Ascension is a bold, simple design, built of brick. A continuous roofline runs the full length of the building. The nave is lit by lancet windows in the clerestory; there are no aisle windows. There is a narrow ambulatory around the chancel. The arcades are supported by short cylindrical columns, with square capitals, plain in the nave and carved with foliage in the chancel. The brickwork above the arcades is left bare. Francis Bumpus noted the French Cistercian influence on the Ascension, and on his Holy Innocents in Hammersmith, saying that both buildings were "conceived in a bold and vigorous Early Pointed style, recalling such Burgundian examples as Auxerre and Pontigny" and admirably adapted to contemporary requirements. The new church was consecrated for worship by the Bishop of

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

, Anthony Thorold, within whose diocese the parish then was, on 30 June 1883.

Fire

Just before 7pm on Friday 13 April 1979, which happened to be

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

, a fierce fire broke out, quickly spreading along the church roof, and threatened to destroy the building in its entirety. The London Fire Brigade sent fire fighters from some six stations, some of whom worked throughout the night to ensure that this historic landmark was saved. The then Parish Priest Fr John Cuthbert CMP, praised the work of the fire service, recognizing that without their assistance the damage sustained to the building would have been far worse.

Worship

The Ascension, Lavender Hill is an

church which is affiliated to Forward in Faith, and served by priests of the Society of the Holy Cross. As such its style of churchmanship and worship is

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 ...

. There is an emphasis on the Seven Sacraments including Confessions. Practices and services include those of The Reserved Sacrament, The Veneration of

Relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, also called Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament or the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction, is a devotional ceremony, celebrated especially in the Roman Catholic Church, but also in some other C ...

, The Rosary, Devotion to Our Lady, and

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 ...

. Sunday Mass incorporates the "bells and smells" nature of an

church with the use of incense, throughout, and bells at the Eucharist. There are lay deacons and sub-deacons, and servers, who wear the traditional black

cassock The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...

and white cotta.

Gallery

Image:Statue of The Sacred Heart, Ascension Lavender Hill.jpg, Statue of The Sacred Heart Image:The Lectern, Ascension Lavender Hill.jpg, The Lectern in Ordinary Time

Parish priests

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascension, Lavender Hill Lavender Hill Lavender Hill Buildings and structures in Battersea Lavender Hill Gothic Revival church buildings in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth Grade II* listed churches in London Lavender Hill