The Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn Fields

The Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn Fields

Thomas Rowlandson

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

From the late eighteenth century, restrictions against Roman Catholic worship in England gradually loosened, encouraged by the arrival of persecuted French Catholics during the Revolution, and by the Act of Union in 1801 which united the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. In London, a substantial chapel at 53-54 Lincoln's Inn Fields first served the Portugese embassy, then that of Sardinia. This structure was rebuilt after a fire in 1759, and repaired after damage sustained during the Gordon Riots in 1780. When the adjacent embassy moved in 1799, the chapel remained open to worshippers until 1858, under the protection of the king of Sardinia. This interior view shows balconies supported by wooden Doric columns and a domed ceiling over the altar.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn FieldsThe Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn FieldsThe Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn FieldsThe Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn FieldsThe Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn Fields

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