Founding The church was founded by
Edith Arendrup, a member of the wealthy Courtauld family who came to live in Wimbledon in 1877. At the time, there were few Catholics in the area, so she convinced the
Jesuits at
Roehampton to start a Mass-centre at her house in Cottenham Park. Seven years later, she commissioned the construction of a large church in a prominent position on the slopes of Edge Hill. The Grade II*
listed building was designed by
Frederick Walters, a young architect, who designed it in the late
Decorated Gothic style. From 1898, the church had a new benefactor, Caroline Currie of
Coombe Hill. She was the wealthy widow of the banker
Bertram Wodehouse Currie, and paid for the north aisle, along with a chapel dedicated to the founder of the Jesuits,
St. Ignatius, and the baptistery. The St. Ignatius chapel contains a medallion of Mrs. Currie who died in 1902. In 1905, another church was built within the parish by the Jesuits,
St Winefride Church. It was built to accommodate the congregation in
South Wimbledon. In 1913, again the parish needed to expand and a Mass centre was set up in
Wimbledon Park. In 1926, a church was built in the area by the Jesuits which became
Christ the King Church and was finished in 1928.
20th century In 1990 the church was re-ordered. A new high altar was installed, designed by David John who was also responsible for the bronze reliquary underneath containing relics of Roman and English martyrs, including
Saints Thomas More and
Saint Edmund Campion. The tiled floor was designed by Austin Winkley. The altar was dedicated by Bishop Tripp, an
Auxiliary bishop of the
Archdiocese of Southwark, at a special ceremony on the feast of the Sacred Heart, 22 June 1990. ==Parish==