Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Encyclopedia
The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, popularly known as Brompton Oratory
, is a Roman Catholic church in South Kensington
, London
. It is situated on Brompton Road
, next to the Victoria and Albert Museum
, at the junction with Cromwell Gardens
.
, 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 acres (14,164 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
(see London Oratory
). There are two other Oratories in the UK
, the Birmingham Oratory
and the Oxford Oratory
.
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.
, 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.
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
.
To serve the liturgy, the Oratory Fathers have fostered a unique musical establishment comprising three separate choirs plus a professional music staff.
(1995–1999) and Patrick Russill (1999-to date).
, 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.
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.
, 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.
Oratory (worship)
An oratory is a Christian room for prayer, from the Latin orare, to pray.-Catholic church:In the Roman Catholic Church, an oratory is a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass...
, is a Roman Catholic church in South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It is situated on Brompton Road
Brompton Road
Brompton Road is a street in Knightsbridge, London, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea .It starts from Knightsbridge tube station and runs south-west through an extremely wealthy residential area until it reaches Egerton Gardens and the area to the east of South Kensington tube station...
, next to the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, at the junction with Cromwell Gardens
Cromwell Gardens
Cromwell Gardens is a short but major road in South Kensington, within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It joins the Cromwell Road at the junction with Exhibition Road to the west with the Brompton Road to the east....
.
History
Foundation
John Henry Newman converted to Catholicism in 1845; and founded Birmingham OratoryBirmingham Oratory
The Birmingham Oratory is a Catholic oratory and church, on the Hagley Road, in the Birmingham suburb of Edgbaston in England.-History:The church was constructed between 1907 and 1910 in the Baroque style as a memorial to Cardinal Newman, founder of the English Oratory...
, dedicated to Saint Philip Neri. Other converts, including Frederick William Faber founded a London Oratory in premises near Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
. They purchased a 3.5 acres (14,164 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
Oratory of Saint Philip Neri
The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri is a congregation of Catholic priests and lay-brothers who live together in a community bound together by no formal vows but only with the bond of charity. They are commonly referred to as Oratorians...
(see London Oratory
London Oratory
The London Oratory is a Catholic oratory, a community of lay-brothers, and the name given to the London Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri...
). There are two other Oratories in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Birmingham Oratory
Birmingham Oratory
The Birmingham Oratory is a Catholic oratory and church, on the Hagley Road, in the Birmingham suburb of Edgbaston in England.-History:The church was constructed between 1907 and 1910 in the Baroque style as a memorial to Cardinal Newman, founder of the English Oratory...
and the Oxford Oratory
Oxford Oratory
The Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga is the Catholic parish church for the centre of Oxford, England. It is located at 25 Woodstock Road. The church is presently served by the Congregation of the 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 CathedralWestminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
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)
Giuseppe Mazzuoli (1644-1725)
Giuseppe Mazzuoli was an Italian sculptor working in the Bernini-derived Baroque style. He was born in Volterra and trained in Siena but spent his most of his adult working life in Rome, where he was accepted into the workshop of Ercole Ferrata and where he died...
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 SchoolLondon Oratory School
The London Oratory School is a Catholic secondary comprehensive school in Fulham, London. The Headmaster is David McFadden. It has around 1,365 pupils. It is not to be confused with The Oratory School, a Catholic boarding school...
, and serves as its 'official' church for all holy days of obligation
Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
.
In 1865 Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
married Marie Gerhard in Brompton Oratory. In 1889 Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
married Alice Roberts
Caroline Alice Elgar
Caroline Alice, Lady Elgar was an English author of verse and prose fiction, who married the composer Edward Elgar.- Family :...
there. In 1891, Ernest Dowson
Ernest Dowson
Ernest Christopher Dowson , born in Lee, London, was an English poet, novelist and writer of short stories, associated with the Decadent movement.- Biography :...
officially became a Catholic at the church. In 1918 Matyla Ghyka
Matyla Ghyka
Prince Matila Costiesco Ghyka , K.C.V.O., M.C. , was a novelist, mathematician, historian, philosopher and diplomat at the Romanian Plenipotentiary Minister in the United Kingdom during the late 1930s and until 1940...
married Eileen O'Conor there. In 1926, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
married Alma Reville
Alma Reville
Alma Reville, Lady Hitchcock was an English assistant director, screenwriter and editor. She was the second daughter of Edward and Lucy 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
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, the area between the pillars and the wall at the front of the Brompton Oratory was frequently used as a dead drop
Dead drop
A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items between two individuals by using a secret location and thus does not require them to meet directly. Using a dead drop permits a Case Officer and his Agent to exchange objects and information while maintaining...
by soviet spies in Britain, from where they could communicate with Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
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 liturgyLiturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
is celebrated in a dignified and worthy manner. Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
is celebrated every day in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
in both the later
Mass of Paul VI
The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...
and the 1962
Tridentine
The adjective Tridentine refers to any thing or person pertaining to the city of Trent, Italy .It is applied in particular to:*The Council of Trent, one of the ecumenical councils recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held in that city in the 16th century, and to the teachings emphasized by it...
forms of the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
.
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 CarwoodAndrew Carwood
Andrew Carwood is the Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral in London and director of his own group, The Cardinall's Musick.-Biography:He was educated at The John Lyon School, Harrow and was a choral scholar in the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge under Dr George Guest, a lay clerk at...
(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 VeniceSt Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, northern Italy. It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture...
, 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 ScholaLondon Oratory School Schola
The London Oratory School Schola was established in 1996 and is a choir for Catholic boys. The current director of the Schola is Lee Ward. The choir's patrons are Princess Michael of Kent, the barrister Cherie Booth, the actor Simon Callow and the composer James MacMillan .-Directors of the...
choir was founded in 1996. Educated in the Junior House of the London Oratory School
London Oratory School
The London Oratory School is a Catholic secondary comprehensive school in Fulham, London. The Headmaster is David McFadden. It has around 1,365 pupils. It is not to be confused with The Oratory School, a Catholic boarding 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
Lee Ward
Lee Ward BMus ARCO is a British organist, conductor and teacher.He first studied the organ with Ian Tracey at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and was appointed Assistant Organist at Chester Cathedral at eighteen years of age....
. 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 LtdJ. W. Walker & Sons Ltd
J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd is a British firm of organ builders established in 1828 by Joseph William Walker in London. Walker organs were popular additions to churches during the Gothic Revival era of church building and restoration in Victorian Britain, and instruments built by Walker are found in...
, 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.