St Mary Magdalene, Paddington, is a Grade I listed

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church at Rowington Close, London, dedicated to Jesus' companion,

Mary Magdalene 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 his crucifixion and resurre ...

. The parish was established in 1865 and work on the church started in 1867. Although complete in 1872, a fire destroyed the brand new roof so the first Mass in the new building could not be celebrated until St Mary Magdalene's Day, 22 July 1873. The church was consecrated after completion of interior decoration on 21 October 1878. The architect was

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...

, and this church is considered to be his masterpiece. It includes notable stained glass by

Henry Holiday Henry Holiday (17 June 183915 April 1927) was a British historical genre and landscape painter, stained-glass designer, illustrator, and sculptor. He is part of the Pre-Raphaelite school of art. Life Early years and training Holiday was born ...

and a later crypt chapel by

Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...

. The painted ceiling of the nave, the work of Daniel Bell, was cleaned and restored during 2018–19, with the help of a grant from the

Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. With assistance from the Paddington Development Trust, an extension was also built, containing additional spaces and facilities intended for use by the wider local community.

Cultural associations

St Mary Magdalene is thought to be the church that inspired the composer

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

to become an Anglo-Catholic. The novelist

Barbara Pym Barbara Mary Crampton Pym FRSL (2 June 1913 – 11 January 1980) was an English novelist. In the 1950s she published a series of social comedies, of which the best known are ''Excellent Women'' (1952) and '' A Glass of Blessings'' (1958). In 1977 ...

was a member of the congregation in 1971–72, while living in Queen's Park.

P. D. James Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, (3 August 1920 – 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring th ...

is thought to have used the church as a model for one of the locations in her novel '' A Taste for Death''. The church and surrounding neighbourhood were used as a location in the 1968 movie '' Secret Ceremony'' with

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

. Scenes from the 2012 film of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' were also filmed there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Magdalene Paddington Grade I listed churches in the City of Westminster 19th-century Church of England church buildings

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

Diocese of London