We all love a good conspiracy. Whether it be reptilians controlling the world, our water being poisoned with fluoride by world governments or music lyrics containing secretive messages when played backwards, it’s safe to say that we’ve encountered at least one conspiracy theory that makes us approach the world a little bit more cautiously. Today we’re heading to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, otherwise known as Farm Street Church, in London. The church was founded by Jesuits, but before you think this is another conspiracy theory video, I’m sorry to disappoint you but it won’t be. There are many other places on websites such as YouTube to entertain yourself with stories on how our reptilian overlords are controlling our everyday affairs. The Jesuits have been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. I won’t be going into all of that. What I will say is that the Jesuits are a religious order. A religious order is basically a group who have a unique style of worship and mission in the world. There are many religious orders, such as the Franciscans, the Dominicans – oh, speaking of the Dominicans, did you know we’ll be heading to St. Dominic’s priory in London in a future travel guide? Be sure to keep an eye out! The Jesuits are a religious order too. They are distinct from other religious orders such as the Franciscans and the Dominicans in that they do not have a particular uniform, or what is more formally known as a habit. The construction of Farm Street Church came in the aftermath of the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in Britain. During the Protestant Reformation in Britain, the ability for Catholics to worship was severely curtailed by King Henry VIII and others. But Catholics slowly started to gain their rights again following emancipation in 1829. One of the consequences of this was the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy beginning with Cardinal Wiseman being made the first Archbishop of Westminster in 1850. Remember him? We spoke about him in our travel guide of Westminster Cathedral – do check it out! Prior to 1850, during the 1840s Jesuits were looking for a place to call home in London. In 1843, a group of Catholics petitioned Pope Gregory XVI to build a church in London and this was agreed. The colloquial name “Farm Street church” sounds strange. Why? Well, Farm Street Church is based in Mayfair, London. This is one of the most affluent parts of London. It is featured in the board game Monopoly and is surrounded by equally affluent parts of London such as Knightsbridge and Oxford Circus. However, the name itself harks back to the days when there was in fact a Hay Hills Farm. Funny how that’s changed, right? In fact, it could be said it’s a story representative of much of London. Things are so expensive, and house prices have shot through the roof. But we’ll leave the economics for another day. The more formal name of the church is The Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception. Quiz time: What is the Immaculate Conception? Is it A) The view that Jesus was born of a virgin? Or B) That the Blessed Virgin Mary was virgin her entire life? Or C) That the Blessed Virgin Mary was free of sin from the moment she was conceived and throughout her entire life? No, you can’t ask a friend but we’ll give you five seconds to answer. The answer is indeed C) That the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from sin from the moment she was conceived by a singular act of grace of God. In English: She was a goody two shoes from the moment she came into the world. The Immaculate Conception is an important holiday in quite a number of countries such as in many regions in Spain and Switzerland, Italy, Portugal and Austria. Stay tuned for our future travel guides by giving us a subscribe as we’ll be heading to a number of churches in these countries. ChurchMapped is an upcoming technology company with a Christian focus. Our travel website focuses on churches around the world. We also plan to launch a social network, games, dating, jobs and music service too. Stay tuned by giving us a hit on that ‘Subscribe’ button. Now back to where I was. The importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be seen the moment you see the church’s entrance. Notice the similarity between this and the painting shown earlier by the Spanish painter Bartolome Esteban Murillo? Hmmmm. Now let’s head inside! Farm Street was built in 1849 and became a parish of the Archdiocese of Westminster in 1865. When its doors opened, a reporter for The Morning Post described it as a “marvel of decoration”. That much is agreeable: the church is beautiful. As is indicative from its formal name as well as its facade or exterior, the Blessed Virgin Mary is strongly emphasised throughout the church. Scenes of her, particularly in the Annunciation where she says “Yes”, feature throughout the church. But she isn’t the only person who features throughout the church. Also featured are Jesuits – after all, this is a Jesuit church – throughout the church. For example, consider St. Ignatius of Loyola. He was the founder of the Jesuits himself, and the church was opened on his feast day on July 31st 1849. There is also a branch of spirituality named after him too. Check it out! There is also St. Margaret of Scotland. She was a Scottish queen in the 11th century. But those of you have seen our previous travel guides might think the name sounds a bit familiar. Why is that? Why yes, St. Margaret was also featured in our previous travel guide of Guardian Angels Church, which is also in London albeit in the East End. Do check our travel guide out of Guardian Angels Church! But the similarities between the two churches – Farm Street Church and Guardian Angels Church – does not end with St. Margaret of Scotland. Oh no. The two are also similar architecturally. Both Farm Street Church and Guardian Angels are examples of English Gothic, although the former is usually said to be Decorated Gothic whilst the latter is Perpendicular Gothic. Speaking of similarities and differences, in our upcoming website you’ll be able to find out and compare churches. All you have to do is enter the names of the churches you would like to compare, and voila! ChurchMapped will spit out the answer for you. ChurchMapped is an upcoming travel website with an emphasis on churches around the world. We are also in the process of launching a music, games, jobs and dating service too. Be sure to visit us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for updates on when we fully launch. Farm Street is also similar to another church we’ve covered: St. Peter’s Italian Church, also in London. Do check our travel guide of the church out once you’re done with this amazing travel guide of Farm Street Church. Both of these churches were built around the same time, namely, the 1840s. Furthermore, both of these churches struggled to be completed. This was the case with St. Peter’s Italian Church, where the original plan had to be scaled down. Similarly, Farm Street Church struggled to reach completion. An ambitious priest by the name of Fr. Randal Lythgoe envisaged a church being built in the area. It was supposed to have a capacity of around 900 people, though this had to be scaled down to the more practical 475. The cost of the church was around £5,800 which was a huge amount of money in those days, or approximately £580,500 in today’s money when inflation is taken into account. But the money was gained through the kindness of donors – a bit like Guardian Angels church – awwwww! Farm Street Church is also similar to St. Peter’s Italian Church in its relationship to the Palace of Westminster. If you remember in our previous travel guide of St. Peter’s Italian Church, we noted that the church was discussed by politicians as they were not comfortable with such a large Catholic church – and it was indeed large in those days – being built in London not too far from the Anglican St. Paul’s Cathedral. I smell rivalry! Whilst the same can’t be said for Farm Street church exactly, it’s tied to the Palace of Westminster in that the altar of Farm Street was designed by the celebrated architect Augustus Pugin, the same man who helped build the interior of the Palace of Westminster. Farm Street Church is also reknown for its strong musical tradition. Check out its organ! That’s about it but before we end our travel guide of Farm Street Church and this part of London, let’s run through the list of conspiracies attributed to the Jesuits because they are rather – well – amusing. Jesuits have been blamed for: the sinking of the Titanic, starting World War I and World II, killing Abraham Lincoln, the list goes on. In fact, it’s so bad the Jesuits had to address it themselves on their website. That’s it for this episode of ChurchMapped. In a future episode of ChurchMapped, we’ll be travelling to Brussels, Belgium to see the Church Of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon. If you are still interested in churches in London, why not stick around to see a future travel guide on St. Dominic’s Priory as well as St. James’ Church. We’re also heading to Amiens, France to see Amiens Cathedral as well as Minneapolis, United States to see the Basilica of Saint Mary. Don’t forget to tune in to our previous travel guides such as Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. We are heading to a different part of Germany called Regensburg to see some of the churches there such as the Dreifaltigkeitskirche. ChurchMapped is an upcoming travel website with an emphasis on churches around the world. We are also in the process of launching a music, games, jobs and dating service too. Be sure to visit us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for updates on when we fully launch. Until next time!