ROMAN CATHOLICISM.
By will dated 1563
John Leake (d. 1572) left his biggest silver spoon to
the church, 'if mass be ministered again'. (fn. 83) His
widow and children were indicted for recusancy in
1587, (fn. 84) 1606, and 1608, (fn. 85) and in 1586 his widow's
second husband John Cornwell was suspected of
harbouring a priest and Leake's two sons, Joseph and
Jasper, (fn. 86) were accused of using their position as
justices of the peace to shelter him and of mocking
the Anglican communion service. (fn. 87) There was
suspicion in 1606 that Jesuits were being hidden
in Edmonton. (fn. 88) Other recusants were Richard
Palmer (1588), (fn. 89) Joan Ashley (1592-3), (fn. 90) Edmund
Tayler (1599), (fn. 91) and John Gillett and his wife
(1613), (fn. 92) who were mostly from yeoman families,
and Thomas Gillett or Jellect and his wife (1615-
1619) (fn. 93) and Philip Fursden and his family (1635), (fn. 94)
who were gentry. A 'college' of Jesuits was resident
in Edmonton for a time between 1624 and 1627 (fn. 95)
but there were said to be no recusants there
c. 1640. (fn. 96)
There were two papists in 1676 (fn. 97) and John
Mulberry, yeoman, was indicted for recusancy in
1684. (fn. 98) In 1706 there were said to be no papists in
Edmonton (fn. 99) but it must have been soon afterwards
that William Le Hunt set up a large Roman
Catholic seminary for young men who were then
sent to foreign seminaries. (fn. 1)
No papists were recorded in the late 18th and
early 19th centuries. (fn. 2) The first Roman Catholic
church was that of the Precious Blood and
St. Edmund King and Martyr, consecrated in
1907. Situated on the west side of Hertford Road,
opposite Bounces Road, it is a neo-Gothic building
of rusticated stone with a squat tower. It is served by
Redemptorists (fn. 3) and was attended on census
Sunday 1903 by 199 in the morning and 180 in the
evening. (fn. 4) St. Monica's church in Palmers Green
originated as a mission in 1910. The church, a stone
building in the Gothic style, was built by Edward
Goldie in 1914 at the corner of Green Lanes and
Stonard Road. (fn. 5) There is a brick presbytery
adjoining it and St. Monica's hall was built west
of the church in 1931. (fn. 6)
In 1923 the first parish priest in New Southgate
acquired a presbytery in Bowes Road and added a
small extension which was used for services until
1935, when the church of Our Lady of Lourdes, a
simple brick building, was erected next to it. (fn. 7)
Benedictines of the priory of Christ the King were
running a preparatory school at Cockfosters in
1936 and in 1937 they registered the priory chapel
in Bramley Road, Southgate, for worship. The
church hall was registered in 1940. (fn. 8) The priory is
an austere building in white brick. A similar
building, the priory of Our Lady, Queen of
Heaven, originally known as Regina Pacis convent,
was built for Olivetan Benedictine nuns in Priory
Close, Southgate, in 1941. (fn. 9) The chapel was
registered for worship in 1968. (fn. 10)
There is a chapel belonging to St. Joseph's
nursing home in Church Street, an institution run
by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
since 1910. (fn. 11)