Putting God back into Gower Street
Of all the roads in London you could choose, Gower Street is not perhaps the first place you might associate with the practice of religious beliefs. Not only is it home to University College, London, established by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham to be the first secular university in the country (known as "the godless institution on Gower Street"), but also home to the British Humanist Association.
It was brave, then, to set up the Roman Catholic Chaplaincy at 111, Gower Street, right opposite UCL's Biology department, appropriately named the Darwin Building after the outspokenly agnostic scientist. But that is what former priest and Vice-Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Bruce Kent, did in 1966, when he was Catholic Chaplain to the Universities of London, setting up a Chaplaincy – later named Newman House after the famous Cardinal Newman – right in the heart of Bloomsbury, the academic centre of London.
Newman House consists of four Georgian townhouses knocked through to form what is the largest Catholic Chaplaincy in the country, housing as is does 63 students and two resident chaplains. Although it is opposite UCL, it is intercollegiate, and also is open to students from all the London universities. I am a final year undergrad at UCL and am living for a second year at Newman House.
So, what is Newman House like? Before I lived there, I heard all sorts of rumours about it on the grapevine, which seriously put me off before I eventually applied, all of which turned out to be untrue. Contrary to popular belief, there is no 11 pm curfew (or indeed any curfew at all), and the people there are neither religious fruitcakes nor all clergy in training, and, yes, it is mixed (the gender balance is pretty well 50/50). In fact, the people here are some of the most interesting and normal people that I have ever met, and I found that I slotted in much better than I had in the somewhat anonymous halls of residence that I lived in during my first year. And in case you were wondering, no, the Chaplaincy is not full of pious types who don't know how to have fun – we have the best parties and I've rarely seen a more active student bar than the one here in Newman House. It's also the cheapest one about – a pound a pint!
Obviously there is a big emphasis on the spiritual life here too (unsurprisingly), and everyone is expected to participate in that aspect of life here in some way. However, one could never say that religion is ever 'forced down our throats', and everyone participates first and foremost because they actually want to.
The Catholic Church being a truly global religion, we have a huge number of international students here, including around half the residents. It is a real melting pot of culture, customs and backgrounds, which is often reflected in the interesting concoctions of smells emanating from the kitchens of an evening.
Overall, then, Newman House is a truly unique place, which performs an important role in life for many students in London, whether they are Catholics or not.
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