The Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn Fields

Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson British
 Designed and etched by Auguste Charles Pugin British, French
 Aquatint by John Bluck British

Not on view

From the late 18th century, restrictions against Roman Catholic worship in England gradually loosened, encouraged by the arrival of refugees fleeing the French Revolution, and by the Act of Union in 1801 which united Great Britain and Ireland. In London, a chapel at 53-54 Lincoln's Inn Fields intially served the Portugese embassy, then the Sardinian. Rebuilt after a fire in 1759, the structure was repaired after the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780. When the embassy proper moved in 1799, the chapel remained open under the protection of the king of Sardinia, holding services until 1858. This interior view shows balconies supported by wooden Doric columns and a domed ceiling over the altar.

The Roman Catholic Chapel, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London), Hand-colored etching and aquatint

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