St Mary's, Cadogan Street, is a Grade II* listed

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 ...

church in Cadogan Street, Chelsea, London. It was built between 1877 and 1879 by

John Francis Bentley John Francis Bentley (30 January 1839 – 2 March 1902) was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London, England, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture. Life Bentley ...

, most notable as architect of

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

, and is one of the oldest Roman Catholic parishes in central London.

History and architecture

There has existed a Catholic place of worship on the site of St Mary's since 1812, when the first Catholic chapel in Chelsea, and one of the first in the country since the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, was erected. It was established by Abbé Jean Voyaux de Franous, who arrived in London in 1793 having previously been Royal Almoner to

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

. De Franous was responsible for the spiritual welfare of the veteran soldiers at Chelsea College (now the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

), as well as all those at the Chelsea and Knightsbridge Barracks. In 1811, de Franous leased land in Cadogan Street from Lady Charlotte Denys, to build a chapel. The chapel was intended to be used primarily by the soldiers and veterans of the Royal Hospital, though funding for its construction was gathered from across France and the United Kingdom. After the death of de Franous, parishioners proposed a comprehensive scheme to build a church, a convent, schools, almshouses and a cemetery that would in some ways resemble the medieval conception of parish life. These were mostly built between 1845 and 1855, though the foundation stone of the present church was not laid until 1877. Designed by

(1839–1902), the church was opened and blessed by

Cardinal Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but con ...

in May 1879.

References

External links

* Grade II* listed churches in London John Francis Bentley buildings Roman Catholic churches completed in 1879 Roman Catholic churches in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England {{London-RC-church-stub