Brompton Oratory

The building standing before you is formally named the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, though it is far better known as the Brompton Oratory. It holds the distinction of being the second-largest Catholic church in London, and its massive nave is even wider than that of Saint Paul's Cathedral. The church was designed by a twenty-nine-year-old architect named Herbert Gribble, who won a competition in the late nineteenth century to bring a bold Italian Baroque style to the London skyline. When the church was first conceived, this area was nothing more than open fields and quiet lanes, a far cry from the bustling thoroughfare you see today.