Record

Repository	Archives of the Archbishop of Westminster
Ref No	AAW/DOW/PAR/68
Title	Hackney, St John The Baptist
Level	Series
Description	There was a Catholic mission in Hackney from at least 1842, when a temporary chapel in London Lane was leased. In 1845, the current site of the church of St John the Baptist was purchased for £760. Construction of a permanent church, designed in the Early English style by W.W. Wardell, started in 1847. It was opened on 7 February 1848. In 1861-62, a south aisle was added by T.J. Willson and S.J. Nicholl. The church was consecrated in 1899. Following severe war damage in the Second World War, the church was demolished and replaced by the current building by Archard & Partners. The foundation stone was laid on 14 May 1955 by Cardinal Griffin. It was opened by Bishop Craven in 1956. The nineteenth-century school (now the church hall) survives behind the church. Archard & Partners also undertook the post-Vatican II reordering in 1972, which included a new high altar and the creation of a Blessed Sacrament chapel. The church and high altar were consecrated by Cardinal Heenan on 14 May 1972. Additional furnishings and coloured glass were installed in 1988. The east tower is now a feature of the Mare Street Conservation Area. Located a short walk away in Mare Street is St. Joseph’s Hospice, staffed and maintained by the Religious Sisters of Charity. Their Chaplain is a Camillian of the Order of St. Camillus.

Album amicorum of George Strachan

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