Our Church

St Ignatius

Ignatius was ordained

shortly after the appointment of Herbert Vaughan as Archbishop of Westminster in 1892, a request was made to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) to open a parish, primary and secondary school for boys. For the Jesuits, it was a missionary undertaking – the development of pastoral and social activities for new communities. The first Mass was celebrated at Morecambe Lodge, a large house on the site of what is now a wasteland. The adjoining villa, Burleigh House, was also purchased the following year. It served as the seat of the Jesuit community until the opening of the present presbytery in 1928.

A chapel was constructed out of stables, the coach house and stable yard of Morecambe Lodge Largely for financial reasons, St Ignatius church was built in two stages. The first part, which included the sanctuary, was opened in 1903 and the building was completed in 1911.

The architect was Benedict Williamson, who was responsible for several other churches in the south-east of England. The church was designed in the spirit of the early Middle Ages, but with a view to the needs of the 20th century, the exterior of the church is faced in Belgium bricks similar to those used in the old churches of Bruges. The interior embellishments of the church were not completed until 1925.

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There is some fine mosaic work to be seen in the Stations of the Cross, the Sanctuary, the Sacred Heart chapel and the Lady chapel. The chapel of St Joseph at the back of the church is dedicated to the men of the parish who died in the First World War and their names are inscribed on the front of the altar. The High Altar and the communion rails are also outstanding features of the church.

St Ignatius College opened in Morecambe Lodge in September 1894. Four classrooms were built at the end of the playground, but it was not until 1909 that the college was adequately housed in the new building facing the High Road.

By the 1960’s it needed more room and it moved to Enfield in 1968, leaving behind the present St Ignatius Primary School, now entrusted to the diocese.
The primary school began life in the building, now dedicated to St Ann Line, in 1901, but when the college moved, one of its buildings (dedicated to St Alexander Briant) was taken over and a third building (dedicated to St Alexander) added.

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