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/48
Title	Ely Place, St Etheldreda
Level	Series
Description	Mr Charles Cole, architect and surveyor built the present Ely Place in 1775, but kept the original Chapel of 1290 to serve as a place of Anglican worship for the residents of the neat terraces of Georgian houses he had built. The Chapel was modernised, but the modernised Chapel attracted few worshippers and in 1820 it passed into the hands of the National Society for the Education of the Poor, who were trying to win over the Irish who were settling in the area. A gallery was built on each side of the church for the poor, to separate them from the well-to-do residents of Ely Place. It was hoped that these would continue to pay rents for their pews on the floor of the church, but the attempt to combine charity and profit was a failure and the church was closed. The condition of St Etheldreda's continued to deteriorate. The opportunity for the restoration for which so many had pleaded did not arise for a further 20 years. Then the whole of Ely Place had to be sold to settle a lawsuit between the descendants of Charles Cole. The then Cardinal, Henry Manning, wished the Rosminians to serve in the slum areas of Holborn. Father Lockhart was chosen for this task. And in December 1873, he learned that the ancient Chapel of St Etheldreda's was about to be sold by auction. With a bid of £5,400 St Etheldreda's was sold to the Rosminians. As is recorded Father Lockhart launched an immediate restoration appeal. Money poured in. Father Lockhart then began years of extensive and costly restoration. Five years after the auction, Father Lockhart completed the restoration of the Upper Church and on June 23rd 1878 Solemn High Mass was celebrated for the first time for over 200 years. During the Blitz, St Etheldreda's was hit by a bomb which tore a hole in the original roof about six feet in diameter, stripped a good part of the tiling off the roof and sent three beams hurtling to the floor of the Church.

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