The handsome Italianate church of St Patrick's, Soho Square, occupies a prominent location, but I suspect is barely noticed by the crowds in nearby Charing Cross Road. However, as well as its impressive architecture, the church has had a remarkably colourful history.
As one of the oldest post-Reformation Roman Catholic parishes in London, its chapel was the first Catholic place of worship opened there after the passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1791. Originally occupying a former wing of Carlisle House, it was established in 1792 with the aim of serving the large (and poor) Irish community that had grown up in the area in the 18th Century: through much of the 18th and 19th centuries, the area between Soho and St Giles was notorious for its overcrowding and slums. Soon after its opening, it also witnessed the arrival of hundreds of French clergy fleeing the French Revolution, and in 1799 hosted the official Requiem Mass of Pope Pius VI, who had died a prisoner of the Republic in France.
Parish life expanded throughout the 19th century, albeit always with an emphasis on serving the poor - particularly after a further influx of people from Ireland following the potato famine in 1845. Soon after, efforts began on fundraising for a purpose-built church, and in 1893 the current building, designed by John Kelly - a pupil of G E Street - was consecrated. Kelly's design made good use of the site by acquiring a narrow frontage on the Square, comprising the porch below a tall campanile, with the main body of the church along a short passage to the original site.
The thoroughly red-brick exterior belies the bright, classically white-plastered interior, which comprises a long nave under a barrel vaulted ceiling, with a clerestory and apsed sanctuary. At first appearance it appears to have aisles, but the arcade in fact accommodates a series of chapels, a device which lends the interior a feeling of spaciousness. The sanctuary is decorated with mosaic and marble, and above the altar is an impressive painting of the crucifixion, dating from around 1650 and said to be by a pupil of Van Dyck.
The church was extensively restored in 2010-11, with the crypt developed for pastoral use. As well as offering confession and daily masses, the church is home to services for a variety of expatriate communities in different languages, offers support services to homeless people, and is a wonderful sanctuary from the surrounding bustle for private prayer.
St Patrick, Soho Square, London W1D 4NR
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