St Wilfrid, Kennington Park

Introduction

A mission was established in South Walworth or Newington, supplied from St George's Cathedral, and Mass was first offered on 2 October 1904 by Bishop Amigo.

History

The church was described as "a pleasing Late Gothic composition in red brick". In 1905 Miss Frances Ellis purchased the land on which the church is now built and gave it to the Diocese of Southwark. A small stable building on the land opened as a chapel for the parish on 3 November 1905. In 1914 Mr Henry Smail, a lawyer from Wimbledon, and his wife donated £5,000.

The building was completed in eighteen months and the first Mass was celebrated on Sunday 7 November 1915. In 1920 the mission at St Wilfrid's became officially a parish. The church was restored in 1948-1949 with the help of the War Damage Commission. Further extensive repairs and renovations were made to the church from 1957 to 1959.

A programme to entirely restore the fabric of St Wilfrid's was launched in 2016 and lasted two years. Father Palmer was succeeded by Father George Boniface from 1920 to 1923 and then by Father Leon Bourdelot from 1923 until 1947. The restoration works were started under one parish priest and completed in 2018 during the time of another.

Architecture and furnishings

The two stone altars were donated by the Smail family, and the Lady altar was erected in memory of Henry Smail who died in 1915. In 1929 an organ was installed in memory of Fr Palmer and a statue of St Joseph placed in a niche of the church tower. The stable on Lorrimore Road, converted to a chapel, remains as the lower sacristy of the present church. The high altar was renovated, with the reredos repainted and regilded, and similar work was undertaken in the Lady chapel.

The intricate stonework of the pulpit, altar rails and baptismal font was cleaned, the statuary restored, and the interior plaster and ceiling repaired and repainted. Many other spaces, including the sacristies, the narthex, the confessional and the crying chapel, were restored. The damage to the high altar rails remains visible. During the same era, the very fine Stations of the Cross were erected in the church.

Parish life

The parish runs an RCIA group for adults preparing for baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. The parish welcomes volunteers, including for reading at Mass and serving the homeless. The church is a 10-minute walk from Kennington Underground station and a 15-minute walk from Oval Underground station.

Sacraments and pastoral care

A minimum of six months notice is required to marry, even in another Church. The Sacrament of Confession is regularly available at St Wilfrid's. The parish supports single parents, offering welcome and acceptance, and affirms that their children can be baptised, make First Holy Communion, and be confirmed even if the parents are not married.