The building was later opened by him in November 1870. The architect was Gilbert Blount (1816-76), and the builder was a Mr Perry of Stratford. Original plans by Blount indicate that the church incorporated the earlier nuns’ chapel. The organ by Norman, Hill & Beard came from Holloway Prison, Islington. Blount (1819–1876) began his career as a civil engineer under Isambard Kingdom Brunel, working as superintendent of the Thames Tunnel works. Following a period of employment in the offices of Sydney Smirke, he was appointed as architect to Cardinal Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster, working almost entirely on ecclesiastical commissions. In 1882, Blount’s pupil and assistant Alfred E Purdie (1843-1920) added a large eastern extension to form a nuns’ choir, now called the Lady Chapel, where unusually the nuns could be partially seen by the congregation. It also seems likely that Purdie created what is now the Sacred Heart chapel at the west side of the sanctuary, which was previously the nuns’ altar, visible from the eastern transept. This chapel is not present on Blount’s original plans and so is likely to…