Central London is soon to have an Ordinariate Church – Our Lady of the Assumption and Saint Gregory, Warwick Street

The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most. Rev. Vincent Nichols, has announced that as of Lent 2013 the Archdiocese will designate the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gregory in London’s West End for the use of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

(Excerpt from a statement by the Archbishop:

“… the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption is being dedicated to the life of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham for their groups in central London. I hope that the use of this beautiful Church, in which the young John Henry Newman first attended Mass, will enable Catholics in the Ordinariate to prosper and to offer to others the particular gifts of the Ordinariate. These new arrangements are to come into effect during Lent 2013.”)

And we Ordinariate Expats hope that with that the Ordinariate will then at last have its principal church or Pro-Cathedral.

Speaking of the news, Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate, said, “We are very grateful to Archbishop Vincent Nichols for this gesture of goodwill and support for the Ordinariate. The church is a beautiful example of ecclesiastical architecture in a very central part of London. We will be challenged to provide a strong Christian witness to those who frequent the surrounding area of Soho. It will also provide a fitting place for the liturgical and spiritual traditions of the Anglican tradition to flourish, in complete union with the Catholic Church. These demonstrate our fervent hope for the realisation of the ultimate goal of all ecumenical work, the restoration of full ecclesial communion”.

“The missionary work of the slum clergy of our Anglican forebears to the marginalised of our society must be at the heart of our mission. We relish the opportunity to engage in this important pastoral ministry, faithfully presenting the teaching of the Catholic Church as the means by which the light of Jesus Christ can shine on the dark places of our world. Together with the recent formation of a religious community of former Anglican religious within the Ordinariate this is really good news as we begin 2013”.

Our Lady of the Assumption and Saint Gregory is located on Warwick Street, parallel to Regent Street, in the Soho district of Central London. The nearest tube station is Piccadilly Circus. It will be the only Cathedral right in the heart of the West End.

The church, located in Warwick Street, is outwardly very modest and could easily be passed by. Only the noticeboards, a cross on the roof and a  couple of statues on the first floor give an indication that this brick built building is something else. Only on entering does one see the real beauty of the church, the sanctuary of which was remodelled by J.F. Bentley, the architect of Westminster Cathedral.

The Soho Masses website (visit link) gives a brief history of the church:

“The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption & St. Gregory, Warwick Street, Soho, is one of the most historic churches in the Diocese of Westminster, reaching back to 1724. British History Online suggests  that due to the ministrations of clergy serving the then Royal Bavarian Embassy chapel in 1780, the area may have been a focus for English Catholics to gather around, with 1000 people, including Catholics, living in St. James’ Parish and many more in St. Anne’s Parish, Soho. Other references suggest that in the latter part of the 18th & 19th centuries, parts of this area offered refuge to poorer people who served the better-off merchants living in nearby Mayfair. The “Portuguese Chapel” and St. Anne’s Parish Church were noted for their ministry to the poor. There are, therefore, historical precedents in reaching out to marginalised groups in the area. Many of those who use the Church of the Assumption do so due to historical ties, having worked in the  area, being received into the Church, or married there. Workers from local hotels, restaurants, shops and offices, also use the church on weekdays. … In March 2007, following a period of consultation with Diocesan representatives, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered Catholics, parents and friends were invited to 1st & 3rd Sunday 5.00 pm Masses. A statement encouraging “full and active participation” by LGBT Catholics in the life of the Church was issued by the Diocese of Westminster on 2 February 2007.” (My note: However, on 2 January 2013 the Diocese announced that these specifically LGBT masses would be discontinued and that faithful gays should attend parish masses with their fellow Catholics. Pastoral care of LGBT Catholics would in future be offered by Farm Street Jesuits on Sunday evenings.)”

Despite its external looks the church is Grade II* listed. The British History On-Line website (visit link) gives the following description of the building:

“The church has a modest brick front that is almost domestic in character. It is designed in two stages each of five bays, the three centre bays forming a slight projection. The brickwork appears to have been dyed red, but it was probably yellow originally. The lower stage consists of a large round-arched doorway flanked by two tall flat-headed windows, the end bays being occupied by slightly smaller versions of the centre doorway. The doors themselves have raised-and-fielded ovolo-moulded panels, the centre one in four leaves, the outer ones in two, while above them are fanlights with radial glazing-bars. To all three doorways have been added new, and decidedly unsympathetic, stone surrounds. In the upper stage the windows are round-arched with continued sills of stone. The two end bays are glazed, but those in the centre are blind with recessed brick surrounds. Above this stage is a simplified entablature, the projecting centre being finished with a triangular pediment. The cornice and architrave mouldings are of stone, and above the end bays is a stone-coped parapet. The apex of the pediment is surmounted by a gilded cross,  and in each of the three middle bays of the upper stage is a gilded  eight-pointed star, the outer two having beneath them the figure of an angel.  These ornaments, however, are very modern additions; the stars were added in  1952 and the angels in 1957.

The interior of the church is a simple rectangle to which has been added Bentley’s semi-circular eastern apse. At the west end is a deep sloping gallery which is continued along both sides of the church, although it has now been cut back a little way short of the east end. The gallery is supported by iron columns cased in wood, the capitals consisting of acanthus leaves tightly moulded around the top of the column. The gallery-fronts are  designed in the form of dentilled coved cornices, surmounted by patterned iron railings which are broken at intervals by panelled pedestals. The south gallery has four round-arched windows and the north gallery six, two of the latter being  placed at the east end beyond the gallery while the western two are blocked by the adjoining building. At the back of the west gallery is the organ, originally erected in the 1790’s and rebuilt several times, most recently in 1960.

The ceiling is coved, the flat centre part being divided into rectangular compartments of varying sizes by enriched ribs.

At the east end a series of broad steps leads up to the altar, which is contained in the apse. This is designed in three sections. The lower section, finished with a moulded marble cornice, is decorated with a pattern of inlaid coloured marbles, while the second stage is divided into compartments by pavonazzo marble pilasters supporting an enriched marble entablature. Within the compartments are mosaics depicting the Virgin and Child flanked by St. Gilbert, St. Gregory, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, St. Edward the Confessor and St. Cecilia. The topmost  section comprises the domed head of the apse, an enriched marble archivolt framing a mosaic depicting the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin in Heaven.  Carew’s plaque is now set high up in the wall face north of the apse. It depicts the draped figure of the Virgin being carried to Heaven by winged cherubs, the lower part of the plaque being filled by a radiant five-pointed star. The oblong frame breaks into a slight curve at the top over the head of the Virgin and is supported at the bottom by two carved brackets.

The font is said to be ‘probably  of c. 1788’, and was originally placed against the south wall beside the  confessional; it now occupies the south entrance lobby. It is of stone, and simply designed with an oval bowl resting on a bulbous baluster-shaft having a moulded base.

Beneath the north gallery is an altar, now dedicated to St. Gregory, which was brought from Foxcote House, Warwickshire, in 1958. It is of multi-coloured marble with large panels of green marble set into the sides. In the centre panel is fixed a round plaque of white marble, carved in high relief with the figure of a pelican in her piety.

Alterations to the interior of the church were being made early in 1963, when this volume was in the press. In the eastern apse the mosaic depicting the Virgin and Child was being replaced by a large crucifix attached to a panel of red marble, and the Lady Chapel on the south side of the church was being refitted, all to the designs of Douglas Purnell.”

A photostream of the small booklet “Steadfast in Loyalty – A Short History and Guide of the Warwick Street Church” by R.C. Fuller, first published in 1958, can be read online here.