| St Andrew's Polish RC Church | |
|---|---|
| St Andrew Bobola Polish Roman Catholic Church | |
 St Andrew Bobola Church in Leysfield Road | |
  St Andrew's Polish RC Church  St Andrew's Polish RC Church | |
| 51°30′03″N0°14′16″W / 51.5009°N 0.2378°W /51.5009; -0.2378 | |
| Location | 1, Leysfield RoadShepherd's Bush,W 12London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | https://bobola.church/en/ |
| History | |
| Former name | St Andrew's Presbyterian Church |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1869 (1869) |
| Founder | Divisional generalArchbishopJózef Gawlina in 1962 |
| Dedication | St. Andrew Bobola |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Parish Church |
| Architect | Edmund Woodthorpe |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1869 |
| Completed | 1870 |
| Closed | 1960 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Polish Catholic Mission |
| Archdiocese | Westminster |
| Parish | West London Polish Community |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Most Rev. Vincent Nichols |
| Priest in charge | Fr. Zygmunt Zapaśnik |
St Andrew Bobola Church,Hammersmith (Polish:Kościół św. Andrzeja Boboli) also known as thePolish Church inShepherd's Bush is aRoman Catholicparish church serving the Polish community inWest London. The building was designed inGothic Revival style by Edmund Woodthorpe, and stands at 1 Leysfield Road, close toRavenscourt Park.
The church, originally founded in 1869 for theScottish Presbyterian community, was dedicated toSt Andrew the Apostle, patron ofScotland. It was constructed in the then fashionableNeo Gothic style as laid out by architectEdmund Woodthorpe (1814-1887).[1] It was consecrated in 1870. With the passage of time, the congregation declined and in circa 1960 it was decided to amalgamate it with a more active presbyterian parish elsewhere. The church authorities therefore sought to dispose of their asset to another Christian faith community. In 1961 the church was bought by thePolish Catholic Mission to theUnited Kingdom, with a mortgage, paid off in time with the help of donations and legacies from the faithful.[2]
The church was re-dedicated in 1962, this time to anotherSt Andrew in theArchdiocese of Westminster. Historically, it became only the second Catholic church to serve the capital's Polish community.[3] The first Polish church in London was opened in Devonia Road,Islington, dedicated toOur Lady of Częstochowa andSt Casimir. It became the first Polish-owned ecclesiastical building in the British Isles. It was consecrated on 30 October 1930 by cardinalAugust Hlond, primate of Poland in the presence ofCardinal Bourne of Westminster.
The Bobola congregation in West London was initially made up largely of people who had survived the trials ofSiberia during and afterWorld War II. It also served unofficially, as aGarrison Church for the thousands of Polish veterans, who had fought with the allies and were deprived of the right to return to their Polish homeland, surrendered to the USSR under theYalta Agreement. From 1961 to 1979Monsignor Kazimierz Sołowiej (1912–1979) was the parish priest. He took charge of the refurbishment of the building.[4] Despite an "uneventful" exterior, the interior of the church was, according toBridget Cherry, "daringly modernised" by émigré Polish craftsmen and artists under the direction of designer Aleksander Klecki.[5] It contains many items inspired by Polish art and religious devotions.
To the right of the entrance (when facing the church from the exterior) is theLady chapel dedicated to Our Lady ofKozielsk, whose original image in Poland wascrowned byPope John Paul II in 1997.[6]
The pipe organ is situated on the liturgical west gallery and was built in 1901 by Henry Jones and Sons of London. The instrument maintains the original tubular pneumatic action and comprises 18 stops over two manuals and pedals. The organ is featured in a video recording of Bach Prelude and Fugue in D Minor BMV554 performed by leading British organist Jonathan Scott (Scott Brothers Duo). The recording from 6th June 2025 is available on YouTube.
The church is considered a building of architectural heritage.[7] It is listed with theHammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group.[8] In 2008 the parish priest was presented with a prestigious conservation award for the Church from the Hammersmith Society.[9]
The parish and the entire Polish community in West London were shocked and saddened to learn that the fourth parish priest of St Andrew's, Mgr.Bronisław Gostomski had died in theSmolensk air disaster on 10 April 2010. He had been aboard the Polish Airforce Russian-builtTupolev Tu-154 aircraft carrying the delegation of notable Poles intending to visit theKatyn site on the 70th anniversary of the Massacre, when the plane crashed near the Russian city ofSmolensk. There were no survivors and the cause of the disaster remains unexplained.[10][11]
Because the authorities inCommunist Poland would have forbidden any commemorations of Poland's struggle against theUSSR, the only way to remember the fallen was to institute such memorials in the thenFree World. Hence there are over 80 memorial plaques in the church building. The first to be installed on 24 November 1963 was a plaque designed by Stefan Jan Baran in honour of theLwow Eaglets ("Orleta lwowskie").[12] On 12 April 1964 a plaque in honour ofGen.Walerian Czuma was unveiled.[13] Other plaques commemorate the manyPolish Army regiments which took part in the defence of Poland in several wars. They include:
On the ceremonial founding anniversary of thePolish Corps of Cadets, on 29 May 1983, memorials to their battalions were unveiled: Cadet Corps Numbers 1, 2 and 3.
On 23 April 1978 soil from the site of theKatyn massacre inSoviet-Russia was brought to the church and secreted inside its wall in commemoration of the 28,000Polish Army Reserve officers of all faiths and members of the professions, who were murdered in 1940 on the orders ofStalin. The symbolic act was enabled through the offices ofCavalry officer, captain Zygmunt Godyń.[14]
In the small garden of remembrance surrounding the church building is acolumbarium, where the ashes of over 1300 deceased are kept.[15] The initiative for a "crypt", to the left of the main entrance came from Maria Leśniak.[16]
