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The Ascension of The Lord, Lavender Hill is an Anglo-Catholic church situated on Lavender Hill, in Battersea, South West London. It is thought to be the first church in England dedicated to The Ascension of The Lord. The church is one of three in its parish: Lavender Hill, The Ascension and Battersea, St. Philip with St. Bartholomew. The latter two churches no longer continue to be used by the Church of England. St Philip the Apostle, Queenstown Road is now home to the Ethiopian Orthodox Parish of Saint Mary of Debre Tsion, and St Bartholomew the Less, Wycliffe Road is now home to the Greek Orthodox Parish of St Nectarious.

Founders of The Ascension
The Ascension, Lavender Hill, was principally conceived by Fr John Bourdieu Wilkinson SSC. As a young man John Wilkinson often sat on Clapham Common and gazed down upon the blue fields of Lavender which made up the historic Lavender Hill. He often dreamt that if he ever was called to become a priest, it would be upon the Lavender Hill where he would build a church for the faith to be proclaimed.

Eventually John's priestly calling began to materialize and he was ordained. Now a priest Fr John was sent to St Barnabas, Pimlico where the effect of the ritual riots where being felt. It was these riots that influenced Fr John, supported by a cohort of wealthy ladies from the Pimlico congregation, to conceive the idea of an Anglo-Catholic sanctuary away from the troubles of Central London. Fr John's thoughts were of The Ascension, Lavender Hill.

Amongst those who financially contributed to the building of The Ascension were, Lady Anne Antrobus, wife of Sir Edmund Antrobus, (second Baronet Antrobus, of Antrobus in the County Palatine of Chester) her sister-in-law through marrige, The Hon Jane Duff-Gordon, and a young dowager, Amelia, Lady Boston. A sizeable benefaction made by the ladies was used to purchase the grounds of Pountney House which ran from what is now Acanthus Road to the End of Crown Terrace (where the crown pub is situated today), and north of the church to Elsley Road. Today approximately only a third of this land remains in church hands.

It was then not until 1872, that Father Wilkinson, Lady Antrobus and the Hon. Mrs. Jane Duff-Gordon moved to Lavender Hill and the plot of land on which the church stands was purchased, thanks to the generosity of Lady Boston.

Building The Ascension
The people of the Shaftsbury Estate made it clear that they wanted the Ascension to resemble the churches that they had left behind in East London. With that in mind a significant Anglo-Catholic architect, James Brooks, was commissioned to design one of his finest churches, that of The Ascension Lavender Hill.

The foundation stone was laid on the 1st June, 1874, by John Patrick Boyle, Earl of Glasgow, and according to Henry Simmonds in 'All About Battersea' (1882) it was situated 'under the altar' of the temporary church.

It was not long before Brooks soon discovered that he was using too much of the available funds for the foundations of the new church. His clients quickly became alarmed by this unforeseen expense, and subsequently he was latter dismissed as architect. Ironically his replacement finished the church almost to his original specification. This overspend meant that some of Brooks more elaborate design features, such as the carving of the stone capitals in the nave, the projected tower with steeple, above what is now the south porch, and an elaborately carved stone reredos could not be completed. Having said this Father John's youthful vision had become a reality.

The new church was consecrated for worship by the Bishop of The Diocese, The Right Reverend Dr Anthony William Thorold, Bishop of Rochester, on the 30th June 1883.

The Church Fire
Just before 7pm on Friday the 13th April 1979, which happened to be Good Friday, a fierce fire broke out, quickly spreading along the church roof, and threatened to destroy the church in its entirety. The London Fire Brigade sent fire fighters from some six stations, some of whom battled the fire throughout the night to ensure that this historic landmark was saved.

The then Parish Priest Fr John Cuthbert CMP, praised the work of the fire service, recognizing that without their assistance the damage sustained to the building would have been far worse.

Worship
The Ascension, Lavender Hill is an Anglo-Catholic church which is affiliated to Forward in Faith, and served by priests of The Society of The Holy Cross. As such their style of churchmanship and worship is Catholic. There is an emphasis on the Seven Sacraments including Confessions. Practices and services include those of The Reserved Sacrament, The Veneration of Relics, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, The Rosary, Devotion to Our Lady, and Stations of the Cross.

Sunday Mass incorporates the "bells and smells" nature of the Anglo-Catholic Church with their use of incense, throughout the Mass, and bells at the Eucharist. There are lay deacons and sub-deacons, and servers, who wear the traditional catholic black cassock and white cotta.