Farm Street 175 

2. Opening of the church and development of the building

 

The foundation stone was laid on the Feast of St Ignatius, 31 July 1844 by the Provincial, Fr Randall Lythgoe SJ. The church was designed by Joseph John Scoles (1798-1863), an English Gothic Revival architect and equipped with an altar by Augustus Pugin (1812-1852). The building was intended to take 18 months but was not opened until five years later on 31 July 1849. Dr Nicholas Wiseman (1802-1865), who was soon to be installed as the first Archbishop of Westminster, had a more positive attitude to the Society than his predecessor and preached at the opening. The building continued to evolve over the next 50 years in response to the growing congregation and support for its clergy, and was completed in 1903 with the construction of the west aisle.

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