Record

AAW - Archives of the Archbishop of Westminster
- DOW - Diocese of Westminster
  - PAR - Parishes

Repository	Archives of the Archbishop of Westminster
Ref No	AAW/DOW/PAR/111
Title	Kentish Town, Our Lady Help of Christians
Level	Series
Description	The first place of Catholic worship in Kentish Town was established by the Rev Hardinge Ivers, who was able to gain funding to open a temporary church dedicated to St Alexis [qv] in July 1847. His next plan was for the construction of a larger permanent church at Fitzroy Place (now 57-59 Highgate Road). The foundation stone of this building was laid in October 1849 but it was never completed. A dispute broke out about the site between Fr Ivers and Cardinal Wiseman and the mission was closed. A new mission, dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians, was opened in Kentish Town in February 1856 in a temporary chapel in Junction Road while a permanent church was built in Fortess Road, on a piece of freehold land. The funds for the new church in Fortess Road were provided by Cardinal Wiseman. The new building included worship space and schoolrooms. Its foundation stone was laid on 16 August 1858 and the basement of the building was ready as a temporary church by January 1859, although it was not until 2 June 1925 that the church in Fortess Road was finally consecrated. By the 1960s, the growth in the congregation meant that a much larger building was needed. Meanwhile the local Methodist congregation, which had a much larger church, had dwindled over the years. Fr Bernard Ferry therefore arranged a deal whereby the local Methodists and Catholics exchanged their respective church buildings. After much negotiation and some physical alterations in 1970, the Methodists moved to the church in Fortess Road and the Catholics took over their church in Lady Margaret Road. The late Cardinal Basil Hume consecrated the building at a Mass on 20th September 1979.

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Album amicorum of George Strachan

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Album amicorum of George Strachan

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