What best way to start our first full day in London than take a ride on the Queen Elizabeth line? Using a mixture of older overland lines and new tunnels this latest addition to London’s urban transportation network runs from Reading, Berkshire,in the west to Shenstone, Essex, in the East. We took the sleekly aerodynamic train with characteristic London-transport-style patterned seats to Brentwood which is one stop before Shenstone.

Why Brentwood? It was to see Greater London’s newest cathedral, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary and St Helen.

Originally a parish church dating from 1861, St Mary and St Helen was raised to cathedral status in 1917. For years the relatively small church had to act as the cathedral for the diocese of Brentwood until, between 1989 and 1991, it was much enlarged by architect Quinlan Terry. What this transformation meant was that the old north aisle wall was demolished to accommodate an adjoining new extension, almost square in shape and built in Italianate renaissance style full of arches with the Stations of the Cross set as medallions between them. The pointed Gothic arches form an entrance to Florentine-type arches The dark, womb-like atmosphere of the pseudo-mediaeval church is changed into a luminous joyousness of a space reminiscent of fifteenth century Italian palace courtyards built by enlightened despots.

Has it been a successful exercise? I think so. I am aware, however, of considerable criticism of the architect as a glorified pastiche-maker, indeed, a ‘pasticcio’ maker. The neoclassical approach to architecture goes against most tenets held by modern architects. It is anathema to the current post-structuralist approach to building ‘for our times’. However, the ideal city and the correct way to compose structures still remains for many encapsulated in the architectural treatises of Alberti and neo-platonic theory. For me some of the most likeable buildings in London include Quinlan Terry’s Richmond riverfront and no 46 Tottenham Court Road.

Time will tell. Victorian terraces considered as slums in the 1960’s are now highly ‘des. res’ while new maisonettes of the same decade are increasingly regarded as a poor choice when selecting a home. These changing fashions for changing times are reflected in the prices set in the housing marketplace.

There may be elements of pastiche in the semi-circular portico on Brentwood cathedral’s main facade which looks more ‘Wrenaisance’ than renaissance. It is, indeed, based on an aisle entrance portico at Saint Paul’s cathedral. However, the whole ensemble of cathedral and the buildings which surround it in the ‘close’ seems to me very satisfactory. I especially like the accommodation of classical and Gothic styles with each other. For example, the way the Renaissance merges into Gothic in the cathedral interior by means of crowning early English Gothic stone piers with Tuscan order marble is genial.

When I consider Brentwood cathedral with Bristol’s Roman Catholic cathedral (which I will hesitate to describe here) then my liking for Brentwood’s choice is immensely strengthened.

So I’m not going to side with neoclassical style critics on Brentwood cathedral. Inaugurated by Cardinal Basil Hume in 1991 (I remember attending a homage to this very special man shortly before his funeral), with money given by donors (who wished to remain anonymous) and listed as Grade 2 starred, since 2022, Brentwood cathedral is that rare beast: a much-loved contemporary building.