LOCAL HISTORY - CAMPION HOUSE
Back view of Campion House today
Campion House as it stands today
Campion House was a Roman catholic college run by the Society of Jesus in the Archdiocese of Westminster. It was situated in Osterley on the Thornbury Road, off the A4 road, in the London Borough of Hounslow.
education, helping them progress in their training for the priesthood. The college was not just for the Jesuits but also for students from all the Catholic dioceses of England and Wales, other religious orders and even from outside of the UK.
Foundation It was originally a Victorian mansion called Thornbury House. In 1911, it came under the ownership of the Society of Jesus as a retreat house. It supplied weekend retreats in Ignatian spirituality for working men’s sodalities and parish groups.
The college provided its own newsletter Stella Maris which was read by some of the soldiers within the British Armed Forces.
In 1915, Fr Edmund Lester SJ took over as director of the house. After the First World War he saw a dramatic increase in the number of vocations from veterans of the First World War, so he changed the name of the house to Campion House College and turned it into a sort of ‘pre-seminary’, a house of studies, a place to help young men, between 18 and 40 who had a late vocation to learn Latin and to further their
Second World War In 1935, Fr Clem Tigar SJ replaced Fr Lester as director of the college. Again, after the Second World War, the number of students drastically increased. So the stable and coach-house of the mansion were converted into a dormitory called Bethlehem. As the number of applicants continued to increase, appeals were made for funds to build extra space and accommodation. Other additions were made such as a statue, immediately to the south of the house, called the ‘Ghost’
16 | To advertise please email: suki@goldstarcreative.net
