The Oratory is a Grade II* listed building in the Kensington and Chelsea local planning authority area, England. First listed on 15 April 1969. Church. 4 related planning applications.

The Oratory

WRENN ID
lesser-groin-umber
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Kensington and Chelsea
Constituency
Kensington and Bayswater MP: Joe Powell (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
15 April 1969
Type
Church
Address
The Oratory, Brompton Road Sw3, SW7 2RP
OS grid reference
TQ 271 791
Coordinates
51.49713, -0.16958
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Oratory is a church built in 1884 by H Gribble, designed in an elaborate Italian Baroque style. The building features a nave with three main bays, side chapels, transepts, and an apsed chancel. Its symmetrical facade has five bays on the ground floor and three above, with a pediment and a recessed porch. The exterior is partly rusticated and includes applied pilasters and blind niches. The return elevations are treated similarly, with balustraded parapets on both the nave and aisle. A lead-covered dome with a cupola and ball finial sits over the crossing. Inside, the church is elaborately lined with marble, featuring domes in the nave and well-lit side chapels, along with numerous Baroque-style marble sculptures, including figures in the spandrels.

Local climate

The Oratory sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 93% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 94% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 51% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 4 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. The Oratory House (Block Parallel to Brompton Road, Brompton Oratory) Grade II* 42 m
  2. Monument to Cardinal Newman Grade II 80 m
  3. Former Jewellers' Shop (James Hardy and Co) Grade II 85 m
  4. Church of the Holy Trinity Grade II 85 m
  5. Empire House Grade II 113 m
  6. Cabmen's Shelter in Centre of Road Outside Oratory House Grade II 121 m
  7. 27, Brompton Square SW3 Grade II 130 m
  8. 57, Brompton Square SW3 Grade II 133 m
  9. 54 and 55, Brompton Square SW3 Grade II 134 m
  10. 58, Brompton Square SW3 Grade II 134 m