The bustle and frenetic activity of the early years was replaced by the silent work of consolidation and development as the late Dowager Duchess' expectations of the Church's future in Woodford were soon fulfiled. In 1891 the population of Woodford was 10,984: in 1901 13,798: in 1911 18,496 and in 1921 21,236, whilst the number of households in Woodford alone had risen from 2,614 in 1901 to 4,336 in 1921. The growing Catholic population, in what is now known as the five London Boroughs and the county of Essex, was also recognised by the hierarchy. In 1917 the archdiocese of Westminster was divided and Bernard Nicholas Ward appointed Administrator Apostolic of the newly formed diocese of Brentwood. On 20th July 1917 he was appointed Bishop and, on 7th November of the same year, formally consecrated.
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 1926: A view of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the Friary and the Oaks as seen from the newly constructed steeple of All Saints church. |
The sheer extent of St. Thomas of Canterbury parish at this time is hard to imagine. It included Chingford, Loughton, parts of Wanstead as well as South Woodford and Chigwell. In 1944 the visiting Provincial publicly commended the community for their work in three schools, four convents, five hospitals as well as the asylum at Claybury. This was without the responsibilities of the Franciscan community and the growing complexity of parish life. In 1917 the new bishop came to Woodford to administer Confirmation. In 1922 he returned whilst, in July 1924, Ward's successor, Bishop Doubleday left, declaring himself "more than satisfied with the spiritual and financial state of the parish, although rather exhausted after confirming a further 105 candidates." Three years later the Bishop of Brentwood returned to confirm a further 69 whilst, in 1939, when Father Agnellus gave a mission, 450 people attended mass at St. Thomas of Canterbury with a further 160 at Chigwell Convent.
The diocese became more than aware of these pressures. In 1917 a separate parish was formed at Our Lady of Lourdes in Wanstead. In 1919 Our Lady of Grace and St. Teresa at Chingford was formed whilst, in Loughton, the Spanish Claretian Fathers accepted responsibility for Sunday mass and, in March 1937, a separate parish was formed there after the diocese purchased land at Traps Hill. Perhaps the best indicator of the growth of the parish is the little Iron School whose first manager, after it was recognised officially as a public elementary school, in 1902, was Father John Forrest ofm. In 1908 the number on register there was 92. By 1923 this had increased to 118 so, in 1924, a plot of land adjoining the parish school was purchased by the community at a cost of £250. The Duchess had a two-roomed, brick building constructed beside the old 'iron' building but, in 1931 when the school's population had risen to 123, the 'iron' building was condemned by the Inspectorate. The Friars and the parish responded by considerable fund raising and the magnificent sum of almost £2,000 was collected to provide two additional classrooms.
There were other changes in the parish: on Friday, 16th January 1920, in accordance with the will of the late Dowager Duchess, the Poor Clares, an enclosed community of contemplative nuns, moved into the empty old residence of the Duchess known as the Oaks which stood to the right of the Friary. In 1931, Ivy Lodge, a mansion to the south of the church with magnificent gardens stretching from the High Road to Friary Lane was bought anonymously and given to the Friars and became a parish centre. Despite the bleak times, the friary church's first parish hall was a thriving social centre. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul met there, being reinstated after a gap of eight years on October 15th 1922. Other societies also met in Ivy Lodge; the Children of Mary, the Knights of St. Columba, the Catholic Women's League and, in April 1937, a Catholic Study Centre which was an offshoot of the Catholic Social Guild.
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 Ivy Lodge mansion, bought anonymously and given to the Franciscan friars. |
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 Chigwell Convent, Woodford Bridge. |
In 1931 there was a parish meeting over the impending Education Bill, a resolution being drawn up and sent to the local m.p. Winston Churchill. The Third Order of St. Francis thrived and there are accounts of Corpus Christi processions, the crowning of Our Lady's statue in May, devotion of the 13 Tuesday's of St. Antony, the annual garden fete (1931), Christmas Bazaars as well as lectures on apologetics. There was a youth club in 1943 putting on plays and dramas and, five years previously, in November 1938, a Catholic Scout Troop had been founded.
The buildings and parish church continued to be renovated. In July 1914 it was decorated at a cost of £100. In January 1921 the lighting above the community choir was improved by removing panels from the roof and replacing them with a sky light. In August 1921 heating was installed in the church, a new electric clock and, nine years later, electric lighting. The underground wells continued to be a nuisance, there being constant work to deal with the dampness on "the epistle side of the church". In January 1932 a new altar and 13 more stalls were installed whilst panelling in the choir, warped due to dampness, was removed. In the same year the church was re-decorated and, in 1933, new vestments and candlesticks were bought and the organ's hydraulic system overhauled.
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 1932: An aerial view of the parish church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the Friary and the nearby Montclair School. |
In 1914 - 1918 War had affected many homes but the Second World War made its efforts felt in the parish. There were complaints of bomb blasts which, in 1941, led to the church bell being inspected and strengthened and the removal of two crosses in front of the church. Shelters were dug round the church as, in September 1940, the Father Guardian complained of "incessant air raids". Refugees flooded in, school life was disrupted, even their coach was commandeered for the war effort. There were fund raising events and concerts on behalf of the Red Cross and permission was given to attend midnight mass at 4 o'clock on Christmas Eve to avoid the effects of the Blitz. Members of the Franciscan community played their part in the armed forces yet, by the outbreak of peace in 1945, the damage sustained by the parish community had not been too great.