The future of a 120-year-old church in Charlton has been secured after an argument between two Catholic communities was settled.
Our Lady of Grace, on Charlton Road, has been welcoming worshippers since 1906, before many of the surrounding homes were built.
But in April last year the congregation had been threatened with eviction by the Augustinians of the Assumption, the Catholic community that founded the church and still owns the surrounding land.
There had been a long-running disagreement between the Assumptionists and the Archdiocese of Southwark over the upkeep of the church, which needs significant repairs.
After a year-long stay of execution, the church has now been given to the archdiocese, which took over Our Lady of Grace after the Assumptionists withdrew from Charlton in 1989.
Meanwhile, the Assumptionists have taken back the Grade II-listed presbytery next door, Highcombe House, once the home of Sir William Barlow, the civil engineer who designed St Pancras station, and the last of the old manor houses that once faced fields along Charlton Road.
An open day organised by the Our Lady of Grace Buildings Preservation Trust, which was set up last year to secure the future of the church and the buildings around it, will take place on Saturday (14th), giving neighbours a chance to look inside the church and find out more about its history.
The Assumptionists’ connection goes back to 1903, when a female congregation, the Oblates of the Assumption, moved into Highcombe House after being expelled from Bordeaux by the French government. The Assumptionists quickly built up a congregation of over 100 and the priests followed.
A French architect, Eugéne-Jacques Gervais, designed Our Lady of Grace church for them and the Assumptionists spread out across Charlton, including setting up a convent in the 1920s.
But they began to withdraw from Charlton after the Second World War, with the nuns leaving for Bethnal Green in 1972 and the priests following in 1989, when local clergy took over.
The Assumptionists still own the land, which includes Highcombe House, the former church hall and the old site of Our Lady of Grace primary school, which moved in 2017.
The Our Lady of Grace Buildings Preservation Trust said: “The trust warmly welcomes the transfer of Our Lady of Grace to the Archdiocese of Southwark, which secures the future of the parish in the year the church marks 120 years since its opening in September 1906.
“ We are grateful to the Assumptionists, whose stewardship of the site spans more than a century, and to everyone in the community who stood by the parish; that support made a real difference. The Trust will continue to support the care of the church, Highcombe House and the Parish Hall, working alongside the parish, the Archdiocese and the Assumptionists.”
The Assumptionists have been contacted for comment. The church open day takes place from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, including an organ recital at 11am and a talk on its history at 2pm.
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