St Mary & St Michael Church, Commercial Road, London, UK
N 51° 30.838 W 000° 03.122
30U E 704543 N 5711103
The church is on the south side of Commercial Road between Lukin Street and Sutton Street. The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007.
Waymark Code: WMF535
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/24/2012
Views: 1
The church's website [visit link] gives a history of the
church:
"All roads led to the church of St Mary and St Michael
in Commercial Road, East London on 9th December 2007 when the parish, one of the
most famous Roman Catholic parishes in the country, marked the occasion of the
150th anniversary of the building of its church the magnificent ‘Cathedral of
the East End’ designed by William Wilkinson Wardell who went on to design St
Patrick’s Cathedral Melbourne and St Mary’s Cathedral Sydney. On the day a
book on the history of the parish was launched. The publication of the book
was financed by an Essex-based businessman, Con Donovan, who grew up in the
parish.
The parish has a rich, varied and often turbulent
history and its story could in many ways be said to represent in microcosm the
history of the Catholic Church in England re-establishing itself after the
Reformation. Significantly the last priest in England prosecuted under the Penal
Laws, Father James Webb, was the first Parish Priest of St Mary and St
Michael’s. Very often this is a story of struggles against overwhelming odds and
winning through. Many of the priests who have guided the parish were men of
remarkable vision, zeal and tenacity — as were the nuns of the Sisters of Mercy
who have worked in the parish since the mid-nineteenth century. Two former
parish priests went on to become archbishops – Archbishop of Southwark, Peter
Amigo and Archbishop of Liverpool, Derek Worlock. Many of the priests here were
outstanding in their missionary zeal towards the deprived and underprivileged of
East End London. One former parish priest, Canon Timothy Ring, who led the
parish from 1904 until 1941, became a legend in the East End. A true champion of
the underdog he fought both communism and fascism in the 1930s. His funeral in
August 1941 brought the East End to a standstill and was attended by Clement
Attlee.
In the saga of London’s East End, the Church and the
parish are ever present — through the poverty, the immigration, the cholera
outbreaks, the dock strikes, the wartime evacuation, the Blitz, the rebuilding
after World War II.
Perhaps the spirit of
the parish and the resilience of the East End are best exemplified by an
incident at the end of World War II. On Saturday, 17th March 1945 the wedding of
a couple from the parish, Elizabeth Donovan and Harold Bullman, was scheduled at
the church for one o’clock in the afternoon. Just as the wedding guests were
arriving one of the last V2 rockets to strike London fell. Several people
were killed, the church very badly damaged with the roof destroyed, the
presbytery ruined and the parish primary school demolished. However, the priest
due to officiate, the bride and groom and their guests dusted themselves off and
the wedding went ahead amid the rubble of the church with only the slightest of
delays.
The anniversary Mass was
held at 11.00am on December 9th 2007. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor
was the chief celebrant and many priests formerly associated with the
parish returned along with many of the Sisters of Mercy nuns. Pupils from
St Mary and St Michael’s Primary School and Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate
School contributed to the singing in the Mass. Also present were
representatives from all the East End churches and from the Jewish, Moslem,
Hindu, Buddhist and other faiths. The Mayor of Tower Hamlets plus local MP Jim
Fitzpatrick were in attendance plus of course many from the long-haemorrhaging
East End diaspora out to Essex and Kent."
The church is Grade II
listed and the entry at the English Heritage website [visit link] tells us:
"Roman Catholic church. 1852-1856 by
William Wardell (1823-1899). Kentish rag stone with Bath stone dressings; Welsh
slate roof. Eleven bay nave with chancel, side aisles, and side chapel; tower
with spire never built. Gothic Revival, Decorated style. Five-light traceried
window to (liturgical) west end over arched door, set between buttresses capped
with statues of St Mary and St Michael; statue-filled niche above. Cross finials
to gable apexes. Three-light Decorated tracery windows to ends of side aisles.
Large traceried window to Chancel. Interior not inspected but said to contain
numerous fittings of interest. These include: original altar and reredos of 1856
by Boulton & Swales in the side chapel; stained glass by Hardman & Co.
of 1856; high altar and reredos of 1911 by R.C. Curtis; alabaster communion
rails; statue of St Patrick by Theodore Phyffers, c1856. History: when first
built this was the largest Roman Catholic church in the capital. Wardell, its
architect, was a pupil of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin: this church embodies
the teachings of his master. The chancel was altered in 1898 by F.A. Walter and
the church was reordered in 1992 by Gerald Goalen."
The notice board,
outside the church advises that services are held as
follows:
"Sunday
Masses
Saturday evening
at 7pm
9am and
11am
No Evening
Mass
Weekdays
Monday, Wednesday
and Friday at 9.30am
Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday at 9.30am in the Convent
Holydays of
Obligation
9.30am - 12.30pm -
7pm
Bank holidays at
9.30am only
Confessions
Every Saturday
from 6pm to 6.30pm."