The church was built in 1884 (date taken
from English Heritage web site) in the Italian Baroque style and is an exact
imitation of the Church of Gesu in Rome. This was also the first catholic church
to be built in London after the reformation. Each Sunday congregations can
exceed 3000. The church is also known as The Church of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary.
The building is Grade II* listed and its entry, at English Heritage, reads:
"Church. 1884. H Gribble. Stone. Elaborate Italian Baroque style building.
Nave of 3 main bays. Side chapels. Transepts and apsed chancel. Symmetrical
facade, 5 bays to ground floor, 3 above. Pediment; recessed porch. Partly
rusticated with applied pilasters and blind niches. Return elevations with
similar treatment, and balustraded parapets to nave and aisle parapets. Lead
covered dome over crossing with cupola and ball finial. Elaborate marble-lined
interior, with domes to nave, top lit side chapels and much Baroque-style marble
sculpture, including spandrel figures."
Source
English Heritage.
"History
Foundation:
John Henry Newman converted to Catholicism in 1845; and founded Birmingham
Oratory, dedicated to Saint Philip Neri. Other converts, including Frederick
William Faber founded a London Oratory in premises near Charing Cross. They
purchased a 3.5-acre (14,000 m2) property in November 1852 for £16,000; in the
(then) semi-rural western suburbs. An Oratory House was built first, followed
shortly by a temporary church; both designed by J. J. Scoles. An appeal was
launched in 1874 for funds to build a church. Within the Oratory House is a
chapel, known as the Little Oratory.
The Church still belongs to and is served by the Congregation of the London
Oratory. There are two other Oratories in the UK, the Birmingham Oratory and the
Oxford Oratory.
Architecture:
A design from Herbert Gribble, then 29, won a competition in March 1876. The
foundation stone was laid in June 1880; and the new church was consecrated on 16
April 1884. The church is faced in Portland stone, with the vaults and dome in
concrete; the latter was heightened in profile and the cupola added in 1895,
standing 200 feet (61 m) tall. It was the largest Catholic church in London
before the opening of Westminster Cathedral in 1903.
The competition specified the 'Italian Renaissance' style, but the Roman Baroque
and Wren are also drawn on. Devon marble is used in the major order of pilasters
and the minor order of columns, with more exotic marbles in the apse and the
altars, with carvings in metalwork, plasterwork, wood and stone. It houses
notable Italian Baroque sculpture: the Twelve Apostles by Giuseppe Mazzuoli
(1644-1725) acquired from Siena Cathedral in 1895 and the Lady Altar, with
sculptures by Tommaso Rues (1650-1690 ca.), from Brescia. Gribble's decorative
scheme for the apse was not proceeded with, but the decoration of the St Wilfrid
and the St Mary Magdalen chapels do reflect his intentions. The St Philip Neri
altar is to his design. The second great decorative campaign (1927–32) was by
the Italian architect C. T. G. Formilli, in mosaic, plaster and woodwork;the
cost exceeding his estimate of £31,000. Further decoration marked the 1984
centenary. The reredos of Doric columns in yellow scagliola (2006) of the St
Joseph chapel and a new altar and reredos of the Blessed Cardinal Newman (2010)
are by Russell Taylor, from Russell Taylor Architects. The statue of Newman in
cardinal's robes (1896) is by L. J. Chavalliaud in architectural setting by
Thomas Garner. The church boasts magnificent vestments and altar plate, and the
house an important library.
Events:
It has strong ties with the nearby London Oratory School, and serves as its
'official' church for all holy days of obligation.
In 1865 Stéphane Mallarmé married Marie Gerhard in Brompton Oratory. In 1889
Edward Elgar married Alice Roberts there. In 1891, Ernest Dowson officially
became a Catholic at the church. In 1918 Matyla Ghyka married Eileen O'Conor
there. In 1926, Alfred Hitchcock married Alma Reville there.
Here in front of the statue of St Peter, under the choir loft (a reproduction of
that in St Peter's) that the medieval dedication of England to St Peter and Our
Lady was repeated by Cardinal Vaughan, as a defiant riposte to the Erastianism
of English official religion The congregation is one of the largest Catholic
congregations in London.
During the cold war era, the area between the pillars and the wall at the front
of the Brompton Oratory was frequently used as a dead drop by soviet spies in
Britain, from where they could communicate with Moscow.
In September 2010 decorative banners were erected at the Brompton Oratory to
celebrate the beatification of Cardinal Newman during the Pope's visit to
London.
Liturgy:
It is part of the tradition of the Oratory in England to ensure that the liturgy
is celebrated in a dignified and worthy manner. Mass is celebrated every day in
Latin in both the later and the 1962 forms of the Roman Rite.
Choirs:
The London Oratory is internationally recognised as one of the outstanding
custodians of classic Catholic liturgical traditions. Solemn Latin Mass and
Vespers are celebrated on all Sundays and obligatory Holydays in the year. In
particular, the great liturgies of Christmas, Holy Week and Easter attract
packed congregations.
To serve the liturgy, the Oratory Fathers have fostered a unique musical
establishment comprising three separate choirs plus a professional music staff.
Senior choir:
The London Oratory Choir is an adult, professional chamber choir serving the
major liturgical celebrations in the Oratory Church, including solemn Latin Mass
and Vespers on all the Sundays of the year and for major feasts. Dating from the
establishment of the London Oratory on its present Brompton Road site in 1854,
the London Oratory Choir is England’s senior professional Catholic choir, and
has an international reputation as one of the world’s leading exponents of
choral music within the traditional Roman Rite, noted especially for its
performances of Renaissance polyphony and the Masses of the Classical Viennese
school. Recent Directors of Music have included Henry Washington (1935–1971),
John Hoban (1971–1995), Andrew Carwood (1995–1999) and Patrick Russill (1999-to
date).
Junior choir:
The London Oratory Junior Choir was founded in 1973 by John Hoban to give boys
and girls together an opportunity to serve the liturgy in a great church. In
addition to singing regularly one evening service and one Sunday (English) Mass
every week, the Oratory Junior Choir is also active outside the Oratory. Noted
for its free tone and forthright delivery, it has appeared in all London’s major
concert halls and at the Proms, with conductors including Andrew Parrott,
Nicholas Kraemer and Sir John Eliot Gardiner (including prize-winning recordings
of Monteverdi’s Vespers in St Mark's Basilica in Venice, and Bach’s St Matthew
Passion). Since 1979 it has provided the children’s chorus for Royal Ballet
productions at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. From 1984 its Director was
Patrick Russill, and since 2005 its Director has been Charles Cole.
Schola:
The London Oratory School Schola choir was founded in 1996. Educated in the
Junior House of the London Oratory School in Fulham (London), boys from the age
of 7 are given choral and instrumental training within a musical environment
underpinned by Catholic traditions. The Schola is regarded as one of London's
leading boys' choirs and sings at the Saturday 6.00pm Mass in term time, as well
as at daily prayer services and at Benediction in the chapel of The London
Oratory School. The current director of the Schola is Lee Ward. In addition to
liturgical and concert performances, the choir has recorded film soundtracks and
audio albums.
Organ:
The London Oratory has a rich organ tradition, its Organists including Ralph
Downes (1936–1977), Patrick Russill (1977–99) and John McGreal (1999-to date).
The organ of 45 stops, 3 manuals and pedals, built by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd,
1952–54, to the designs of Ralph Downes, was the first church organ in London to
be built on neo-classical lines, and is considered one of the finest British
organs built since World War II."
Source
Wikipedia.