The Catholic population continued to expand and mass had to be celebrated in the dining-room of the Oaks where the Friars had moved in October 1894. By December 1895 the church was almost finished but, (a sign of things to come), the plaster took a long time to dry and the Catholic population could only be fitted into the new friary refectory for midnight mass. On Christmas morning there was mass at every half hour beginning at 7.00; finishing with Solemn High Mass at 11 o'clock. The Duchess, now living in her own suite of apartments at the Oaks, with her well known love of music had already organised a choir to sing carols as well as the Bordise Mass in B flat. On May 24th 1896 the first mass was celebrated in the new church and, once the debt had been cleared by the Duchess, who had also arranged for a specially built organ to be installed, the church was consecrated on 7th July 1896 by Cardinal Vaughan in a brilliant ceremony, with choir and special soloist hired, followed by a reception in the new Friary.
There can be no doubt about the Evangelical missionary nature of the new Friary and parish church. The building of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the foundation of the Iron School, the purchase of property in Mornington Road for a convent school run by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux are clear expressions both of Cardinal Vaughan's and the Duchess of Newcastle's vision. The glorious high profile in the laying of the foundation stone and the equally splendid formal church opening were to impress people that the Catholic Church had arrived in Woodford to make an impact which would last. The development of the parish was equally vigorous.
In the Catholic Times Mr. Claydon, a Ransomer, advertised for Catholic books so as to establish a parish library at the Woodford Friary. At the Christmas mass of 1895, Father Forrest lectured on the life of St. Thomas of Canterbury and the importance Of Upholding the Catholic Faith. There were monthly meetings, organised by the Guild of Ransomers, to explain the faith: in March 1896, an ex-Baptist explained why he was being converted to the Catholic faith. In May of the same year, Mr. Drummond, a barrister, gave a talk at the Friary on confession, "a number of Protestants being present". At Candlemas Father Edward delivered a sermon ("forcible and lucid") on the importance of Roman Catholic schools. In June a glorious Corpus Christi procession was organised in the parish grounds, and a week later, a special procession organised to pray for the success of the Education Bill before Parliament which would give more freedom and authority to the Church to run its own schools.
Six years later, such prayers brought success for the old Iron School (which had been moved to the rear of the Oaks site), was considered no longer able to house all its pupils so the Duchess erected the first brick building on the site, consisting of a large room divided by a glass partition. The Duchess also brought two nuns from the convent she had established in Mornington Road to teach 24 pupils. Naturally such activity was viewed with extreme hostility in some quarters. One local vicar wrote a circular to his parishioners telling them to be on guard against the Papists. He reminded his parishioners how, when he was a boy, he had an aunt who was a Roman Catholic and when she came to visit he was always sent away! More attacks followed, particularly against the label "Roman" and the church's doctrine of Indulgences though other letters to the local press ridiculed such fears and another newspaper reported how, "the Franciscans spoke highly of the kindness they had received at Woodford."
The Friars responded, tongue in cheek, to any hostility. Father Edward even placed an advert in the local newspaper decrying such attacks, saying they were based on ignorance and, if anyone wanted to know the truth about the Catholic Church, they should apply to the Friary where educational literature would be "cheerfully" given to them.
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 A simple memorial tablet in the floor of the chapel of St. Francis marks the resting place of Henrietta, Dowager Duchess of Newcastle. |
At the same time, however, the parish and the Franciscan community worked steadily to build up the parish not only in the reg-ular provision of mass and the sacraments or in the lectures and processions but also at Claybury Hospital, Woodford Bridge, as well as the "Local Gladstone's Home for Poor Men and Women". In 1897 and 1898 the Franciscans even organised parish trips to Southend, happy occasions ending with tea at Riggs Retreat.
By the turn of the century over 300 parishioners were making their Easter duties but the pace set by the Duchess (now residing permanently at the Oaks), and Father Edward slowed down. Henrietta became ill, deeply upset by the ruling from the Franciscan Order in Rome which separated the three houses at Clevedon, Ascot and Woodford from the French Franciscans at Amiens and incorporated them into a separate English province. Father Edward returned to France whilst the Duchess fought unsuccessfully against the decision in the ecclesiastical courts. In October 1903 the first Provincial Chapter of the English Franciscans met at Forest Gate under its Vicar General David Fleming ofm, Father John Forrest was confirmed as Guardian at St. Thomas of Canterbury, Father Peter Hickey, Vicar and the Woodford Friary was instituted as a house of studies.
The Duchess continued her work but, on May 8th 1913, she died of a stroke. her requiem took place in the church she loved (there had been a private entrance from the church to the Duchess' apartments, probably where the repository now stands) and she was buried at St. Patrick's cemetery, Leytonstone. The Franciscans of the Woodford community, however, kept insisting that St. Thomas of Canterbury Church would be a more suitable resting place for the Dowager Duchess. Henrietta's son agreed, her remains were exhumed on July 2nd 1913, transferred to Woodford and, after a requiem mass, re-interred in the floor of the chapel of St. Francis to the right of the present high altar. A simple memorial tablet marks her resting place. A year later, Woodford like the rest of Great Britain, witnessed the outbreak of World War 1 and the end of a thriving, bustling age for the Catholic Church.