Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Catholic Harringay
Taking a Sunday walk, to explore the Catholic Heritage of Harringay, start in The Gardens, for this part of Harringay was built on land once owned by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem based in Clerkenwell
Henry VIII’s marital problems leading to the split from Rome meant that the land was forfeited and the estate split up.
After the Reformation, few Catholics made their home in this part of the world; as late as 1767 there were only sixteen people recorded as Catholic in Hornsey Later, in 1783, the chaplain to the duke of Norfolk, Martin Hounshill, was buried at Hornsey. French émigrés under Father, later Cardinal, Cheverus opened a chapel in Queen Street, Tottenham in 1793, thereby starting the revival of Roman Catholic worship on the northern fringe of London
Crossing Green Lanes, which it appears may have been used by pilgrims making their way to Walsingham, head for St Augustine’s, Mattison Road where, from 1964 until 2009, many of Harringay’s Catholic population gathered.
During most of the 19th century, Catholics worshipped outside Hornsey trekking to Highgate Hill, then later to St Paul, Wood Green (1882), St. Peter-in-Chains, Stroud Green (1894) and St Ignatius, Stamford Hill, (1894)
By 1927 the Catholic population needed a new parish, but, as no suitable site was available in Harringay, the new mission was established at West Green. Originally called the parish of West Green and Harringay a wooden church was built at No. 370, West Green Road. The building was enlarged in 1953 and moved a few yards to the west in 1958 to make way for the brick and concrete church of St. John Vianney which was opened in 1959 and consecrated in 1964. The new church held 480 people, while the old wooden church served as a parish hall.
By 1958, St. John Vianney's was catering for a much larger Catholic population than had been foreseen in the earlier days, and eventually, in 1963, the church purchased the 400 seater Decorated brick church in Mattison Road, once the home of Harringay’s Primitive Methodists
Mass was celebrated in the adjoining hall in 1963, when a priest-in-charge of Harringay district was appointed, and the parish of St. Augustine of Canterbury was created in 1964; so named because the agreement to purchase the church was made on 26th May, the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury.
The purchase was completed in 1964 and Mass was said in the Hall for the first time on the 22nd December, the 4th Sunday of Advent.
The parish served a congregation of about one thousand people composed of many nationalities but closed in 2009 forcing those worshippers to return to West Green or churches even further afield.
Harringay Parish boundaries
St Augustine's is now run by London Catholic Worker as Giuseppe Conlon House of Hospitality
Sources: St Augustine’s Parish site
Hornsey, including Highgate - Roman catholicism | British History Online
Tottenham: Roman Catholicism : British History online
UPDATED: 17 March 2011
Tags for Forum Posts: catholicism, churches
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Peter on
-
I'm very interested to see, Liz, that you've picked up on the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, as I've come across them in my attempts to research the history of my house in Chesterfield Gardens, and the Gardens in general.
I'm keen to find out exactly what happened to that land in the intervening time, who owned it and when, up until when the roads in the Gardens were cut and the houses built.
It does feel as if the Gardens area has a bit of a history of its own. -
-
Permalink Reply by Liz on
-
Have you seen this posting from a while back by Hugh called The Gardens, the Very Beginning?
-
-
-
No Liz, I hadn't seen that -- fascinating.
What I HAVE found out, is that most of the land, minus the northern side of Kimberley Gardens, was bought by the Provident Association of London Limited insurance company in September 1890, presumably the owners of the land who then sold freehold properties when they were built.
It is between the Knights and the Provident Association that I'm not clear, and Hugh's posting has shed some light on that.
Thanks! And more info welcome. -
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh on
-
Peter have you looked at my articles on Wikipedia. There's a limited amount of detail that can be included, but I did include stuff on the Gardens area - try the 1750-1880 article and the 1880 onwards one.
-
-
Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
-
Thanks Liz for this. Now that Ramadan's here, will your next Sunday walk be on Friday?
-
-
-
Whatever day I publish, I fear the entry will be very short as it is very hard to dig up much more than a few dates for the synagogue.
The mosque opened in 1987 but can't find much 'history' about it although there are a few more photos of it. -
-
Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
-
The Mosque on Wightman Rd? It has not been there that long. I think it's about 5 years old and post dates the block of flats opposite which was built on an old petrol station.
-
-
-
Well to be precise, the synagogue closed in 1987 and the purpose built Mosque appeared on the site in 2001 (it was in the final of Islam Channel's 'Model Mosque' in 2007) . However, there has been a mosque in Harringay on the ladder since 1987.
I assumed that it was in the synagogue. Perhaps it was elsewhere...anyone know? -
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
