A Brother of the Third Order of St. Francis, anxious for the salvation of so many thousands of souls residing in this large district and therefore removed from the life-giving influence of our holy religion, asks his brethren and sisters of the Third Order to unite with him in a daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament and to offer in connection with this visit, a Pater, Ave, Gloria, that Almighty God will be pleased to establish a mission."

This anonymous quotation is often seen as the first inspiration for the founding of the friary church of St. Thomas of Canterbury and its adjoining schools at Woodford in the county of Essex.

These standard accounts go on to explain how, some 15 years later, Cardinal Vaughan, Archbishop of Westminster, was taking a rest at Ascot in the home of Lady Henrietta Pelham-Clinton, Dowager Duchess of Newcastle.

During this visit the Cardinal happened to lament the fact that there was no Catholic church or school between St. George's Walthamstow and St. Helen's Ongar.

Cardinal Herbert Vaughan (1832-1903) was one of the great architects of Catholic Expansion in London and the South-East, he founded seminaries, churches and especially schools.

Henrietta was born in 1843 at Deepdene, a beautiful estate at Boxhill in Surrey, the only and beloved daughter of the merchant Henry Thomas Hope whose family once owned the famous diamond called after their name.

Indeed, Henrietta had a shrewd brain and, contrary to the description of her in "Pall Mall" magazine, as being "completely given up to good works in the East End," her obituary in the "Woodford Times," 9 March 1915, described her as follows: "She had a very artistic nature and a keen perception of all things beautiful and was an enthusiastic musician.

Henrietta had spent a great deal of time in France where she had witnessed the Church's battle to defend its schools against the 4th Republic.

She was also influenced by the growing clamour of English Nonconformists to control their own schools and Cardinal Vaughan's ardent belief that the Catholic Church in England not be limited to social work in the slums.

Henrietta's son agreed, her remains were exhumed on 2 July 1913, transferred to Woodford and, after a requiem Mass, re-interred in the floor of the chapel of St. Francis to the right of the present high altar.

One of the greatest successes of the parish, which fitted closely into the ideals of the founding Dowager Duchess, was the expansion of Catholic education in the Woodford area.

and the Diocese of Brentwood, not only in a pecuniary fashion, but being involved on the Governing Boards and in the busy pastoral work of these merging schools.

The latest addition to the development on the Upper Site has been the construction of St. Joseph's House which provides a Sixth Form common room, offices and relaxation areas.

The Governors were desirous of ensuring that the grounds of the Upper Site were also refurbished taking a particular interest in the layout of new garden plots, pathways, play areas and entrances.

Flowerbeds are carefully nourished whilst the Catholic nature of the school is immediately apparent to any visitor with judiciously placed statues of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. Anthony of Padua.

The Governors were also able to maintain and monitor the erection of new buildings such as Arcella House (Science), the Padua Centre (Biology Lab) and St. Paul's (Modern Languages).

[citation needed] In May 1999, the Department for Education and Employment (DFEE) nominated it as a "Beacon School" to show good practice both locally and nationally.