Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street
Farm Street Church | |
---|---|
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street | |
Westminster | |
Deanery | Marylebone[2] |
Clergy | |
Archbishop | Vincent Nichols |
Priest(s) | Dominic Robinson SJ |
Laity | |
Director of music | David Graham |
Organist(s) | Duncan Aspden |
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, also known as Farm Street Church, is a
Its main entrance is in Farm Street, though it can also be accessed from the adjacent Mount Street Gardens. Sir Simon Jenkins, in his book England's Thousand Best Churches, describes the church as "Gothic Revival at its most sumptuous".[4]
History
Foundation
In the 1840s, when the Jesuits first began looking for a location for their London church, they found the site in the mews of a back street. The name 'Farm Street' derives from 'Hay Hill Farm' which, in the eighteenth century, extended from Hill Street eastward beyond Berkeley Square.[5] In 1843, Pope Gregory XVI received a petition from English Catholics for permission to erect a Jesuit Church in London and plans were accepted.[6]
Construction
The original intention of the Superior of the English Jesuits, Fr Randal Lythgoe, was for the church to have a capacity for 900 people. When this was found too expensive the church was built for a capacity of 475. The cost was £5,800 which came from multiple private benefactors.[6][5]
In 1844 the foundation stone was laid by Fr Lythgoe. Because of the limited size of the plot, the church was orientated north-south. The architect was
The style is
In 1912, the original stained glass window of the choir, which was the tarnished by pollution, was replaced a new one from the John Hardman Trading Company of Birmingham. Tho old window was cleaned, repaired and then sold to St Agnes Church in Lac-Mégantic, in Quebec, Canada.[9]
The church was remodelled in 1951 by Adrian Gilbert Scott, following damage sustained by the building during the Second World War.[6] In 1966, it became the parish church of Mayfair. [10]
In his 1999 book England's Thousand Best Churches, Sir Simon Jenkins awards the church two stars but says "Not an inch of wall surface is without decoration, and this in the austere 1840s, not the colourful late-Victorian era. The right aisle carries large panels portraying the Stations of the Cross. The left aisle has side chapels and confessionals, ingeniously carved within the piers. In the west window above the gallery is excellent modern glass by Evie Hone of 1953, with the richness of colour of a Burne-Jones."[4]
Developments
In March 2013 the church opened its doors to
Choir
In the nineteenth century, the choir consisted only of men and boys drawn from the local Roman Catholic schools.
Between 1881 and 1916, the organist was
After the
Following Nicholas Danby's death in 1997, two of his students, Martyn Parry and David Graham, were appointed Joint Directors of Music. Martyn Parry was formerly Director of Music at the
During the 1990s a number of recordings were made of the music at the Farm Street church. In 2000 a CD of organ music, recorded by David Graham and including the music of Guy Weitz, was recorded on the church organ in Farm Street.[18]
In the twenty-first century, the repertoire consists of sixteenth century polyphony, the Viennese classical composers, nineteenth century romantics, twentieth century and contemporary music as well as
London Jesuit Centre
In September 2004, the Mount Street Jesuit Centre was launched. Its intention was to provide adult Christian formation through prayer, worship, theological education and social justice. To do this it gave non-residential retreats and courses in spirituality as well as providing a full-time General Practitioner for homeless people at the Doctor Hickey Surgery in central London, and working with the London Jesuit Volunteers programme.[19][20]
In 2019,
Thinking Faith
Thinking Faith is an online journal that publishes theological articles as well as perspectives on politics, philosophy, spirituality, poetry and culture.
In 2001, It is free to access and subscribe.
Interior
-
St. Francis XavierChapel
-
High Altar at the north end
-
Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes
-
The English Martyrs Chapel
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Our Lady of Dolours
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Pugin's high altar
See also
- Ignatian spirituality
- List of Jesuit sites in the United Kingdom
- List of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom
References
- ^ British Listed Buildings Retrieved 22 January 2013
- ^ Parishes, Archdiocese of Westminster Retrieved 22 January 2013 Archived 19 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Farm Street, Jesuits in Britain Archived 7 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 January 2013
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-103930-5.
- ^ a b History, Farm Street site Retrieved 22 January 2013
- ^ a b c d e 160 Years of Farm Street, Thinking Faith Retrieved 23 January 2013
- ^ "Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street". The Salviati Architectural Mosaic Database. 14 March 2013.
- ISBN 9781850758198.
- ^ Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. "Verrière de l'église de Sainte-Agnès (L'arbre de Jessé et scènes de la vie de la Vierge Marie)". www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ About Us, Farm Street church diocesan site Archived 8 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 January 2013
- ^ Shea, Matt (8 January 2013). "Getting Emotional with London's Gay Catholics". Vice. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ Cameron-Mowat, Andrew. "LGBT Catholics Westminster". farmstreet.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
In December 2012 Archbishop Vincent Nichols asked the Provincial of the Jesuits in Britain and myself to offer meeting spaces on Farm Street Parish premises for the LGBT Catholic Community which had previously met at Our Lady of The Assumption and St Gregory, Warwick Street. In March 2013, LGBT Catholics joined the regular congregation at the evening Mass, followed by a reception and meeting with the Archbishop and members of the parish. Over the following weeks, on every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month, the group has gathered to celebrate Mass together with regular parishioners at the new time of 5.30pm, and to meet for tea and coffee afterwards in the parish hall.
- ^ Fiona Keating (3 March 2013). "London Church that Rejected Oscar Wilde Opens its Doors to Gay Catholics". Ibtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ Smith, Benjamin (2 May 2019). "Reflecting and recalling our history: LGBT Catholics from Oscar Wilde to Farm Street Jesuit Church". The Tablet. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "John Francis Brewer". Biographical Dictionary of the Organ. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- OCLC 43935642.
- ISBN 978-1914934131.
- ^ a b c d Music, Farm Street Site Retrieved 22 January 2013
- ^ London: Jesuits launch major lay spirituality course from Independent Catholic News, September 2004, retrieved 14 March 2021
- ^ Mount Street Centre's 10 Years from Jesuit.org.uk, retrieved 14 March 2021
- ^ Heythrop Collection now available at Senate House Library from University of London, retrieved 14 March 2021
- ^ Integral Ecology MA launched from Independent Catholic News, 28 March 2019, retrieved 18 February 2021
- ^ A decade Thinking Faith from Jesuits.eu, 30 January 2018, retrieved 18 February 2021
- ^ Arts and Culture from America, 29 January 2021, retrieved 18 February 2021
- ^ Why are you grateful for Pope Benedict? from CatholicOutlook.org, 12 February 2020, retrieved 18 February 2021
- ^ The world after COVID-19: a Christian contribution from CatholicOutlook.org, 18 July 2020, retrieved 18 February 2021