London's Oldest Catholic Church - St Etheldreda's

London's Oldest Catholic Church - St Ethelreda's in Hatton Garden is one of only two buildings in London which survived since the reign of King Edward I.

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[gunnarthorsen]

St. Etheldreda's, founded as a Catholic church, was put up for auction in the late 19th century and Catholics (after emancipation) were able to buy it back. It dates to about 1250 AD, but it isn't the oldest Catholic church in London. Westminster Abbey for example was founded in 1245, and it (like many other pre-Reformation Anglican churches) was stolen from the Catholics. Despite the denomination that uses it today, it's still a Catholic church in the hearts of Roman Catholic everywhere, as is Canterbury Cathedral.

Henry VIII and his son Edward destroyed 1, 000 years of English spiritual traditions, customs, art, books, statues, rood screens, carvings, shrines, relics of saints, convents, monasteries, and more. Then they appropriated the very church buildings that their ancestors had built for Catholic worship, to the glory of God forever, and forced their subjects to toe a new line.

In modern times Anglicans, who inherited stolen church property, have criticized the Chinese communist government for appropriating church property in China and turning churches into "patriotic arms" of that government, pushing popes and others out of the picture. Oh - the irony.

[VictoriaPichel]

the guy in the bowler hat...always attracting old ladies! Gorgeous church... and lovely to see how it all looked centuries before!

[Washu]

Any CoE church that predates 1534 could be classified as being a Catholic church for the purposes of calculating what the oldest Catholic church is since they were built to be Catholic churches.

[PatriciaEnright]

Lovely video...its a beautiful much history to it. Visited it years ago....must go again

[EliteXtasy]

The little old lady is so adorable! Will you ever make videos on London suburbs?

[LetThemTalkTV]

Blimey! I've passed around there a thousand times and I never knew about it. Thanks.

[adamsmith]

I always enjoy your YouTube videos my friend. Keep them coming please. Thank you.

[grahamwood]

Love the way u involve random strangers in the video.

[clockendfarm]

Went to Mass there often. Sadly there's a restaurant in the crypt now. :-P

[CallieMasters]

That old lady is probably running the Mrs. Joolz Fun London Guide YouTube channel by now, though her fun activities are limited to a cup of tea, the sale rack at M&S, and keeping warm.

[charlesboyle]

The C.C.S hold an annual benefactor’s mass here, with reunions in the crypt for ex inmates of thier children’s homes

[gerardsmith]

I visited St Etheldreda’s in 2018. A noble and simple church.

[samuelbcn]

You don't wear a hat inside a church

[kimmichaelloodomamalin]

Fr. Jean Marie Charles Roux was here for around 40 years.

[annstrahlendorf]

daddy and I were there and took a little statue of the cathedral, and Paul from Philadelphia.

[adfgars]

I have been to this Church, also why the bowler hat in a Church... A man is meant to remove his hat in Church.

[evancortez]

Are there many Catholic churches in London?

[melbournemarvels]

too short, and no Blackadder references!

[connorerhart]

I wonder how they got it past King Henry VIII

[johnsoncairo]

Not impressed that you didn't take your hat off in Church. Was it lack of respect or ignorance?