Just two blocks from Clergy House, a fine Victorian building stands on the corner of Carlisle Place and Francis Street. Originally a Club for military officers, it was purchased by Westminster Diocese as the Archbishop's House for Cardinal Manning, second Archbishop of Westminster.
A plaque records the illustrious past of this building, now gutted and turned into modern offices.
It was from here that Cardinal Manning's funeral cortege set out in 1892, to take his body to Brompton Oratory for his funeral. His successor, Cardinal Vaughan, exchanged this building and the nearby plot of land for a larger one nearby - the present site of the Cathedral complex.
A painting in the Archbishop's Throne Room depictes Cardinal Manning's last audience, which would have taken place in 'Manning House.'
The etching above portrays the cardinal in the library of the same building.
No comments:
Post a Comment