Editing Uxbridge (section)

====Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael====
[[File:Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Michael R.C. Church - geograph.org.uk - 381530.jpg|thumb|left|Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael]]

After the [[English Reformation|Reformation]] in the 16th century, there was no official Roman Catholic place of worship in Uxbridge until after the passing of the [[Catholic emancipation|Catholic Emancipation Act]] in the late 19th century. In 1892 Father Michael Aloysius Wren bought a presbytery at 37 Lawn Road, next to which a temporary church of corrugated iron was built, dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael. St Mary's School was also founded on Rockingham Road at this time. Fr Wren was helped by his nephew John, who acted as his assistant priest. They covered an extensive area, including the modern Catholic parishes of Ruislip and Hillingdon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/the-beginning-of-the-modern-parish.html |title=Catholic Church Uxbridge – The Beginning of the Modern Parish |publisher=Official website |access-date=14 December 2015 |archive-date=18 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218085318/http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/the-beginning-of-the-modern-parish.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The mission grew and by 1907 the congregation numbered 150, with school attendance at 60. In time plans were made for a larger, more permanent church. This was led by Father Thomas Moloney, who bought the current presbytery and acquired the land that stood at the back so that a church could be built. The foundation stone was eventually laid on Low Sunday 1931 by Archbishop Alban Goodier, an English Jesuit who had been [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay|Archbishop of Bombay]] between 1919 and 1926. The new church, in Oxford Road, was designed by the diocesan architect, T. H. B. Scott. It was built of brick in the [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque]] style, seating 350. The church was opened by [[Francis Bourne|Cardinal Bourne]] on 29 September 1931 and was officially consecrated on 14 May 1936, after its debts were cleared.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/a-new-church.html |title = Catholic Church Uxbridge – A New Church |publisher = Official website |access-date = 14 December 2015 |archive-date = 18 February 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160218085319/http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/a-new-church.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>