About

In 1793, the Roman Catholic chapel of St. Mary was built at Park Vista, Greenwich.

It catered mainly for Catholic seamen at the nearby Royal Hospital. Irish-born seamen at the Hospital formed most of the congregation, though Portuguese-speaking seamen from the Cape Verde Islands, Brazil, India and Portugal often came to services here. The building of the present church, Our Ladye Star of the Sea begun in 1846 and was completed in 1851. It was designed by William Wardell and has furnishings by Pugin, including the stained glass window and the tomb chest of Canon Richard North. It is surmounted by a tower completed by an ornate spire which in turn is complemented by the pinnacle spire of the adjacent stair turret.