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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/146
Title	Ogle Street, St Charles Borromeo
Level	Series
Description	In 1861 Cardinal Wiseman requested Fr J C Keens to set up a mission in Little Albany Street as a part of the parish of St Patrick’s, Soho. It was then decided that a separate parish should be created and an anonymous benefactor later leased a site in Little Howland Street (now Ogle Street) from the Duke of Portland to build a new church. Fr Keens employed T J Wilson and S J Nicholl as architects, and they chose to build the church in a Gothic Early English traditional style, with Kentish rag stone cladding the eastern and southern sides of the building. The foundation stone for the new church was laid on August 22nd 1862 by Provost (later Cardinal) Manning and it was finally opened on 20th May 1863 by Cardinal Wiseman. The High Altar, in marble and alabaster, completed in 1873, was designed by J F Bentley (later was the architect of Westminster Cathedral), as were the reredos, communion rail and chancel stalls. The reredos comprises ten panels depicting the Crucifixion, with St Mary Magdalen, the Virgin and Child Jesus, SS Joseph, Peter, Agustine, Edward, John, Francis and Charles Borromeo. They were painted in 1872 by N H J Westlake on violet brown coloured slates, probably from the Delabole quarry in Cornwall. Sir George Mivart paid for the Sacred Heart Chapel, whose altar was probably designed by Henry Clutton or J F Bentley. The reredos, comprising five canopied niches, was completed by A B Wall of Cheltenham in 1902 from designs by S J Nicoll. In the centre is a figure of Christ carved by Theodore Phyffers. The chapel was restored and altar rails added in 1922 by the Meschini family in memory of Carlo Meschini who had died in 1907. Madame Meschini and her son Arturo in fact bought the freehold of the church site in June 1921, the leasehold having lapsed in 1905, and presented the land to the Diocese of Westminster. The church was then onsecrated on 4th October 1921 by Bishop Joseph Butt There have been various renovations and reordering of the church over the years, particularly between 1957-1963, when war damage was repaired and the church improved in preparation for its centenary. Further work followed the Second Vatican Council, when a new sunken baptistery was installed, while the exterior stonework was cleaned around 1967 and again, in 1979. The paintings that hang in the church have have been retouched and varnished over the years and were restored by Pauline Plummer recently between 1979-1980, when the church was repaired and redecorated both inside and out.

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