Catholic Church in the United Kingdom was not yet a reality, particularly in Ireland, where the Protestant Ascendancy was still in full force. The Treaty of Union of 1707, like the Act of Settlement, had stated that no "Papist" could succeed to the throne. Restrictions on the civil rights of Catholics only began to change with the passing of the Papists Act 1778, which allowed them to own property, inherit land and join the British Army, although even this measure resulted in the backlash of the Gordon Riots of 1780, showing the depth of continuing anti-Catholic feeling. After 1790, a new mood emerged as thousands of
St Anne's Roman Catholic Church, Laxton Place St Anne's Roman Catholic Church, Laxton Place St Anne's is a Roman Catholic church in Laxton Place near Regent's Park in London. The church was constructed in 1970 but fell into disuse at the turn of the 21st century. There had been a school chapel in Little Albany Street since 1857, replaced in 1938 by a new church in Seaton Place. The redevelopment of the area in the 1960s included provision for a new church on the corner of Laxton Place and Longford Street. Cardinal Heenan laid the foundation stone on 30 May 1970 and the church opened later that