The foundation stone of St Francis Xavier’s was laid 19 September 1837 and Queen Victoria sent her personal representative to the ceremony.

[3] It was opened on 7 August 1839, before the restoration of the English Catholic hierarchy in 1850, because of this, the church has no windows, fearing that any would be broken during the early 19th century.

The church was built on the site of a chapel used by the Society of Jesus during the reformation, hence it was dedicated to St Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary from the 16th century who travelled to eastern and southern Asia.

[2] The church contains a relic, the hand of St John Kemble a Catholic martyr, who was executed in nearby Widemarsh Common on 22 August 1679.

[5] The church also has a relationship with the nearby St Francis Xavier RC Primary School.