Visiting the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Bethnal Green

"The vemently anti-catholic Protestant Alliance took legal action, citing an old law left over from Papist persecutions that banned the establishment of Catholic religious communities in England. Initially, the Alliance lost, on a technicality - they petitioned the wrong court, but they tried again at the correct court. This time, they lost properly after the Magistrate ruled that as other Jesuit ministries in England were legal, the Assumptionists could be as well."

"In 1901, a French Catholic organisation, the Augustinians of the Assumption (Assumptionists) were invited to set up a base in the UK after their eviction from France. After moving around a bit, they finally managed to buy the corner plot in Bethnal Green and started building a church."

"The architect was Edward Goldie, and the builders were Messrs Goddard & Sons of Farnham & Dorking. Construction started in 1911, and the church was opened on 22 June 1912 by Cardinal Bourne. However, it was not formally consecrated until 1962."

The Church of the Assumption in Bethnal Green was constructed on a site with significant historical development. The area transformed from residential houses in the late 1700s to a densely populated neighborhood with shops and smaller dwellings. In 1901, French Assumptionists arrived in London after their expulsion from France and purchased a corner plot to build a Catholic church. The vehemently anti-Catholic Protestant Alliance challenged their establishment using archaic laws from the Papist persecutions era. After initial legal setbacks, the Assumptionists prevailed when the Magistrate recognized that other Jesuit ministries operated legally in England. Architect Edward Goldie designed the brick church, with construction beginning in 1911 and completion in 1912 under Cardinal Bourne's blessing.

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