Watercolour of the second largest Catholic Church in Britain.
 
Brompton Oratory, usually known simply as “the Oratory,” is the popular name for the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a large Roman Catholic church on Brompton Road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London.  It is served by the Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri, a community of priests founded in Rome in the 16th century, and is one of the most prominent Catholic churches in the city.
 
The church was built between 1880 and 1884 to a Neo‑Baroque design by the young architect Herbert Gribble, a recent Catholic convert, and was later given its imposing façade and dome.  The interior is intentionally Italian‑Renaissance and Baroque in feel, with a very wide nave, seven side chapels, rich statuary, paintings, and a large dome that floods the crossing with light.
 
Oratorians, traditional emphasises scholarship, music, and devotional exercises carried out in an aesthetically rich setting.  It is especially famous for its choirs and sung Masses, drawing both local worshippers and visitors interested in Catholic liturgy and ecclesiastical music.
 
Interesting facts...
One of the best‑known whispers is that KGB couriers allegedly used the covered porch as a Cold‑War dead drop for passing secret documents, reportedly until the 1980s.  A specific marble pillar just inside the right‑hand side of the entrance is said to have been the spot where coded messages or films were slipped behind it, taking advantage of the discreet, busy traffic past the church.