Saint Mary’s Church, Chislehurst.
Picture Credit: SuzNut - Paul Keys.
The part of the building on the Right is the Clutton Chapel, built in 1874, to house the Imperial Tomb of Emperor
Napoleon III and, later, his son, the Prince Imperial.
Illustration: SAINT MARY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH
SAINT MARY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH,
CROWN LANE, CHISLEHURST,
KENT.
ANNIVERSARY OF CONSECRATION.
CROWN LANE, CHISLEHURST,
KENT.
ANNIVERSARY OF CONSECRATION.
SUNDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2012.
1100 HRS.
SOLEMN PONTIFICAL MASS
AND SOLEMN VESPERS AND BENEDICTION.
CELEBRANT:
THE MOST REVEREND
KEVIN McDONALD.
TRUMPET MINUET – HOLLINS.
ECCE SACERDOS MAGNUS – ELGAR.
CHRIST IS MADE THE SURE FOUNDATION – PURCELL/HAWKINS.
MASS IN C “CREDO MASS” – MOZART.
LAUDATE DOMINUM – MOZART.
PANIS ANGELICUS – FRANCK.
HOLY LIGHT ON EARTH’S HORIZON – CASWELL.
FINALE FROM ORGAN SONATA NO 1 – MENDELSSOHN.
1700 HRS.
SOLEMN VESPERS
AND
BENEDICTION.
PSALMS – PLAINCHANT - GUERRERO.
MAGNIFICAT – PALESTRINA.
O SALUTARIS – ELGAR.
AVE VERUM – BYRD.
TANTUM ERG0 – VIERNE.
SALVE REGINA – PLAINCHANT.
FANFARE - LEMMENS.
Copilot states:
23 April 1943 — that’s the Consecration Date of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Chislehurst, by Archbishop Peter Amigo.
The Church was originally opened in 1854, but, like many Victorian Catholic Churches, it wasn’t Consecrated until all debts were cleared, which finally happened during Archbishop Peter Amigo’s tenure in 1943.
Origins and Foundation (1853–1854).
Founder: Captain Henry Bowden, Scots Guards Officer and Catholic convert.
He hosted Mass in his home, Tudor Hall, before donating the land opposite for a permanent Church.
He hosted Mass in his home, Tudor Hall, before donating the land opposite for a permanent Church.
Foundation Stone laid: 8 December 1853 by Bishop Thomas Grant of Southwark.
Opening: 8 August 1854, after just nine months of construction.
Opening: 8 August 1854, after just nine months of construction.
Architect: William Wilkinson Wardell, a protégé and friend of A. W. N. Pugin.
Style: Gothic Revival; strongly Puginian in spirit — Steep Roofs, Lancet Windows, disciplined verticality.
Wardell later emigrated to Australia, where he designed major Churches including Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne.
St Mary’s Church, Chislehurst, is now Grade II Listed (designated 29 June 1973).
The Bonaparte Connection (1871–1888).
This is one of the most remarkable aspects of Saint Mary’s history.
The Exiled Imperial Family in Chislehurst.
In 1871, Napoleon III, Empress Eugénie, and the Prince Imperial, settled at Camden Place, Chislehurst, near Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, where they attended Mass on Sundays and Feast Days.
After Napoleon III’s death on 9 January 1873, he was buried in Saint Mary’s Church, six days later.
In 1879, his son, Louis-Napoléon (the Prince Imperial), killed in the Anglo-Zulu War, South Africa, while an Officer in The British Army, was also buried here.
The Clutton Chapel (1874).
To house the Imperial Tomb of Emperor Napoleon III, a new Chapel was added in 1874.
Architect: Henry Clutton, a leading Catholic architect of the period.
This Chapel stood as a temporary Imperial Mausoleum until 1888, when both tombs (Emperor Napoleon III and the Prince Imperial) were transferred to Saint Michæl’s Abbey, Farnborough, Hampshire, where Empress Eugénie was also buried later on.
Graveyard and Notable Burials.
Graveyard opened 1864.
Includes the grave of Dr. Charles West, Founder of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Includes the grave of Michæl Treharne Davies, Catholic Author.
Address: 28 Crown Lane, Chislehurst BR7 5PL.
A comparison with other Southwark Gothic Revival Churches.
Here are the key Gothic Revival Catholic Churches in the Archdiocese of Southwark, starting with the most architecturally significant.
These are all grounded in the same 19th‑Century Gothic Revival Style that produced Saint Mary’s, Chislehurst — though each expresses the Style differently.
Address: 28 Crown Lane, Chislehurst BR7 5PL.
A comparison with other Southwark Gothic Revival Churches.
Here are the key Gothic Revival Catholic Churches in the Archdiocese of Southwark, starting with the most architecturally significant.
These are all grounded in the same 19th‑Century Gothic Revival Style that produced Saint Mary’s, Chislehurst — though each expresses the Style differently.
Saint George’s Cathedral, Southwark (1848). Architect: A. W. N. Pugin — the leading figure of the Gothic Revival.
Style: Early, Strict, Puginian Gothic.
Status: Cathedral of the Archdiocese.
Consecrated: 1894.
Notes: Considered the most important Catholic Church in England when built; heavily bomb‑damaged in World War II and restored.
Saint Peter’s, Woolwich (1843–1844).
Architect: A. W. N. Pugin.
Style: Early-English Gothic Revival.
Notes: One of Pugin’s purest Parish Churches; retains much of its original character.
Style: Early-English Gothic Revival.
Notes: One of Pugin’s purest Parish Churches; retains much of its original character.
Saint John the Baptist, Brighton (1835–1840). Architect: A. W. N. Pugin (major enlargement 1840–1841).
Style: Decorated Gothic.
Notes: A landmark of early Catholic emancipation; richly furnished in Pugin’s idiom.
Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham (1848–1849). Architect: A. W. N. Pugin.
Style: Early-English Gothic.
Notes: A compact but textbook example of Pugin’s Parish Church model.
Saint Mary Magdalen, Mortlake (1852).
Architect: William Wardell — the same architect as St Mary’s, Chislehurst.
Style: Early-English Gothic Revival.
Notes: Shares the same disciplined, Pugin‑influenced vocabulary as Chislehurst.
Style: Early-English Gothic Revival.
Notes: Shares the same disciplined, Pugin‑influenced vocabulary as Chislehurst.
Saint Francis de Sales, Hartley (1850s).
Architect: Edward Welby Pugin.
Style: Mid‑Victorian Gothic Revival.
Notes: A rural example with strong Pugin family influence.
Style: Mid‑Victorian Gothic Revival.
Notes: A rural example with strong Pugin family influence.
Saint Joseph’s, Guildford (1860s–1870s).
Architect: Edward Welby Pugin.
Style: High-Victorian Gothic.
Notes: More elaborate than earlier Pugin works, with richer Tracery and vertical emphasis.
Style: High-Victorian Gothic.
Notes: More elaborate than earlier Pugin works, with richer Tracery and vertical emphasis.
Saint Mary’s, Clapham (1851).
Architect: William Wardell.
Style: Early-English Gothic Revival.
Notes: Another Wardell Church, showing his characteristic restraint and clarity.
Style: Early-English Gothic Revival.
Notes: Another Wardell Church, showing his characteristic restraint and clarity.
How these relate to Saint Mary’s, Chislehurst.
Saint Mary’s (1853–1854) sits in the second generation of Southwark Gothic Revival Churches: Wardell was a direct disciple of Pugin, so Chislehurst shares the same disciplined, Liturgically‑driven Gothic.
The Clutton Chapel (1874) adds a later, more refined, Victorian Gothic layer.
The Church fits stylistically between the early Pugin Parish Churches (Woolwich, Fulham) and the later, more elaborate, E. W. Pugin Churches (Guildford).
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