Welcome to St Joseph's 

It was a major milestone for the Church when in 1962 Canon Clifton ( Parish Priest of Tooting ) offered the first mass at the Single Gate school, Colliers Wood. The Church, dedicated to St Joseph was built soon after and Fr Michael Byrne was appointed as the first parish priest in 1966

The church was consecrated by Archbishop Michael Bowen in 1980.

The Merton Priory site is less than half a mile from St Joseph's, Colliers Wood. In May 1117, fifteen Augustinian Canons entered the new Priory which was built by Gilbert, a knight of Henty 1. Thomas Becket ( Chancellor and Archbishop of Cantebury), who was martyred in 1170 attended school at the Priory, as did Nicholas Breakspeare who later was to become Adrian IV, England's only pope from 1154 until 1159.

The Priory was an important venue; Henrey Vl was crowned in the Priory Church, and Henry lll was married to Eleanor of Provence

In 1538, Henry Vlll disolved the Monasteries and confiscated the properties. The stone from the Priory was used to build Nonsuch Palace in Ewell.

The site is now a car park and nothing remains above ground other than a precinct wall. However, during the excavation St Joseph's was given some of the stone (which was discovered along with 300 graves), and St Josephs now use this stome as the the base which holds the statue of Our Lady of Merton.