Saint Charles Borromeo Church is a Roman Catholic church on Ogle Street in the Diocese of Westminster in London, England.[1] It is named after Charles Borromeo, a 16th-century Italian saint.
History
On the outside it is Gothic Revival style; the architect was Samuel Joseph Nicholl, in partnership with T. J. Willson.[2] The church was built in 1862–63 on anonymously donated land and cost £4,000 (equivalent to £434,526 in 2025). The builders were Messrs Patman and Fotheringham. It was opened by Cardinal Wiseman on 20 May 1863.[3][4]
John Francis Bentley added a reredos, a high altar and communion rails in 1870–73. The reredos, which is thirty feet high, has two tiers of saints painted on slate by Nathaniel Westlake. The frontal for the Lady Chapel altar was added in 1879.
The reredos in the Sacred Heart chapel, designed by Nicholl, was added in 1902, with four angels in niches holding the instruments of the Passion; in the central niche is a statue of the Sacred Heart by Theodore Phyffers (1821–1876), a Belgian-born sculptor working in London.
When the lease expired, the church survived because Madame Meschini and her son Arturo purchased the land and donated it to the Westminster diocese. The church was consecrated on 4 September 1921. It survived being damaged in the war, and the interior was restored in 1957–63 and again in 1978–80, when the reredos was restored and a large forward altar, by Michael Anderson, installed. The octagonal immersion font, designed by Michael Anderson in collaboration with Mattia del Prete and Antonio Incognito of Rome, was installed in the nave in 1984.
There are four stained glass windows in the south aisle of Saints Patrick, Margaret, Cecilia (1898) and Thomas of Canterbury.
Rectors
- 1861 C. J. Keens
- 1869 D. Canty
- 1876 R. Tuke
- 1879 R. F. Smith
- 1880 T. Regan
- 1895 R. E. F. Egan
- 1906 R. N. Sullivan
- 1912 E. Melly
- 1915 P. W. O’Connor
- 1917 E. D. Hanifin
- 1939 W. Horgan
- 1940 V. B. Nagel
- 1944 R. Crook
- 1955 G. T. Wright
- 1963 P. Lowry
- 1969 L. Marteau
- 1971 J. Galvin
- 1972 W. Kahle
- 1973 R. S. Cox
- 1981 A. Fudge
- 2012 M. Munnelly
- 2012 B. Jones
- 2018 D. Burrow
- 2022 O. Ardila
Music
At least 2 pipe organs were recorded in the church’s history.
Organists and Directors of Music
- Thomas Cooke 1863-1877
- Thomas Casserley 1877-1902, then retired
Choir disbanded by 1912, then re-established in 1915
- Ernest Oldmeadow 1910s
Choir formed of both men and women for the first time
- Harold Cooper by 1919
- Grace Miller 1920s
- Mr Pinnock from 1925
Choir disbanded during WWII, re-established afterwards
- no organist, until
- David Black 1960s
- Sr Angela Sumner c.1960s-1973, and Stephen de Winter from 1969
Choir disbanded for the 3rd time in 1973
- Stephen de Winter 1969-2020s
Choir re-established in 2025
- José Blasco Sánchez 2025-
See also
References
- ^ “Roman Catholic Church of St Charles Borromeo”. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ “Roman Catholic Church of St Catherine, Non Civil Parish – 1428695 | Historic England”. historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ “Ogle Street – St Charles Borromeo”. Taking Stock. Catholic Churches in England & Wales.
- ^ “About the Parish. Parish History”. Roman Catholic Church of St Charles Borromeo.
External links