Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory stands on Warwick Street in the City of Westminster, central London. Built between 1789 and 1790 by Joseph Bonomi the Elder, it is the oldest Catholic church in England outside those returned from Anglican use. Originally the Royal Bavarian Chapel, it served as a diplomatic chapel before becoming a public place of worship. The building survived the Gordon Riots of 1780, which destroyed its predecessor, and retains its original Georgian structure. It is now a Grade II* listed building and the central church of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The church has long been a place of significance for London’s Catholic community. In the 1730s, its origins lay in a chapel at the Portuguese Embassy in Golden Square, serving both diplomats and local Catholics. Among its notable worshippers were Cardinal Newman, who praised its spiritual importance, and Queen Mary, who prayed before the statue of Our Lady of Warwick Street during the 1936 abdication crisis. The church has also hosted royal and cultural figures, including Evelyn Waugh, who married here in 1937, and Sir Richard Burton, who was married in the building. Inside, the church blends Georgian elegance with Victorian restoration. John Erlam’s 1853 work introduced a bas-relief of the Assumption above the altar, while later renovations by John Francis Bentley added a mosaic of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary. The exterior, clad in plain red brick, presents an unassuming facade, its gilded stars and angels added in the 1950s. The interior retains touches of its original design, creating a quiet space for reflection amid the city’s bustle.