In 1861 Cardinal Wiseman, the first Archbishop of Westminster,
sent Fr J C Keens to set up a mission in Little Albany Street as a
part of the parish of St Patrick's, Soho. He found that there were
about 2,000 families living in the area, many of them lapsed.
So it was established as an independent parish. Fr Keens set
about finding a site for a Church and Presbytery and soon, just
after a Christmas, an anonymous benefactor leased a site in Little
Howland Street (now Ogle Street) from the Duke of Portland.
St Charles Borromeo, Ogle Street
The site was 90 feet by 60 feet. Possession was taken of the
site on February 2nd, 1862, and the foundation stone was lied on
August 22nd that same year by Provost (later Cardinal) Manning.
The church was solemnly opened on Wednesday, 20th May, 1863, by
Cardinal Wiseman. It had been in use since the previous February,
but in being Lent, the celebrations were postponed until after
Easter.
The Church of St Charles Borromeo in Ogle Street is an unusual
one as it seems to fit into the terrace of the rest of the
buildings on the street instead of standing on it's own ground like
many other churches. I work nearby from time to time and always
marvel at this church hidden away in central London.
The lease on the church site ran out in 1905 and as the area had
become commercialised by that time the price of the freehold was
formidable. A proposal to demolish the church and built a factory
luckily did not come to anything.
After 16 years the problem was solved by the generosity of
Madame Meschini and her son Arturo who, in June 1921, bought the
freehold and presented the land to the diocese of Westminster.
So on October 4th, 1921, the church was solemnly consecrated by
Bishop Joseph Butt.
The cache is not in sight of the church, due to another nearby
cache but the church can be seen at N51 31.210 W0 08.400 and is
really worth a visit. The cache is a magnetic nano. This is london
- stealth will be required and remember to bring your own pen!
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I
would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he
can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid
duplication