Global True Lithuania Encyclopedia of Lithuanian heritage worldwide

London, England

London is often called the “3rd city of Lithuania” as, supposedly, there are more Lithuanians in London than in any other city save for Vilnius and Kaunas. While the exact numbers may be up for discussion, London certainly has more Lithuanian-born people than any other city outside Lithuania, up to 80,000 in total.

While most of London’s Lithuanians are recent immigrants, London has a deeper Lithuanian history than any other major city in Western Europe. Before World War 1 already, Lithuanians built their church in London, to be followed by numerous Lithuanian clubs established soon after World War 2.

St. Casimir Lithuanian Chuch in London (1913)

St. Casimir Lithuanian Church

St. Casimir Lithuanian Church of London is the only Lithuanian church in Western Europe. It was built in 1913. At that time, London had the second-largest community of Lithuanians in Western Europe, second only to the Glasgow mining area in Scotland. Some 2000 Lithuanians lived there, mostly in the blue-collar East End, where they built their St. Casimir Church.

Interior of the St. Casimir Lithuanian Church

Being a small community of Lithuanians compared to the massive Lithuanian-American districts of the time, the church they built is comparatively small, currently dwarfed by massive new buildings surrounding it. Yet, it has survived well over a century, always offering Lithuanian mass, with new immigrants always replacing the past generations of London Lithuanians after these assimilate and move away. Few Lithuanians now live around the church but they come from all over London.

St. Casimir Lithuanian Church, now surrounded by large new buildings in a gentrifying neighborhood

While the church interior is not Lithuanian in style, it has numerous ethnic motifs, including a mural of Rūpintojėlis in a chapel-post, another Rūpintojėlis on the altar table, Lithuanian-language stations of the cross, a sculpture of St. Casimir, a commemorative plaque to a diplomat and patriot John Michael Liudžius, and a commemorative plaque to priest Juozapas Montvila, who sadly sunk with “Titanic” while being relocated to a Lithuanian-American church in Worcester, Massachusetts. In Lithuanian, the plaque says “Born in 1885 and having left for America from this church, he sunk in the Atlantic with the ship “Titanic” on 1912 04 15, performing his priestly duties to the end”.

Rūpintojėlis on the altar

Rūpintojėlis mural

Next to the main church hall, there is a café where Lithuanians meet after Mass. There, paintings show the key personalities of the church's history, including Montvila and other priests. This extension of the original church building was erected in 1974.

Lithuanian cafe within the church

Originally, Lithuanians began their Catholic activities in London as early as the late 19th century, when, in 1896, they acquired a church building together with Poles. However, at the time, Lithuanians were undergoing a sweeping national revival, and the status quo of Polish being the “language of science, books, and faith” in Lithuania gave way to the widespread use of native Lithuanian, something that antagonized the Poles. This led to the “divorce” of the parish, with the Lithuanian St. Casimir Society moving to a German church, then using a warehouse for a church since 1902 before building the current one.

Priest Montvila plaque in the church

St. Casimir statue

Being the only Lithuanian parish in the United Kingdom, St. Casimir parish serves Lithuanians all over the country. One of its priests goes to different Lithuanian-heavy cities every weekend, celebrating monthly Lithuanian-language masses in various non-Lithuanian churches there. That said, after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the religiosity of Lithuanians have declined, and so only a small minority of some 150,000 post-Soviet Lithuanian immigrants the United Kingdom regularly participate in the religious services. Therefore, the initial plans to expand the St. Casimir Lithuanian Church ~2010 (after the largest chunk of Lithuanians immigrated to the UK due to Lithuania joining the European Union) were cancelled. These plans included building a second hall in the basement where the mass would be broadcast.

The parishioners of the St. Casimir Lithuanian Parish in London

Lithuanian Houses of London and the DP community

London also had several Lithuanian clubs and halls, all of which have been closed.

Lithuanian Sports and Social Club opened in 1947, in a building that had previously served as a parish hall for a non-Lithuanian parish of St. Margaret which lost its church during the London blitz (World War 2). It is located 1,5 miles from the St. Casimir Lithuanian church, whose community previously sought additional premises for secular activities. While now it is a house, the plaque “LITH HALL” Survives.

The LITH HALL in East London

The main Lithuanian hall of London was, however, the massive Lithuanian House that operated from the 1950s until 1996. It owned a large 5-floored terraced house in the prestigious Notting Hill neighborhood (1-2 Ladbroke Gardens).

Unlike the St. Casimir parish, the Lithuanian House was established by very different Lithuanians: so-called DPs. This group of Lithuanians had to flee the Soviet Genocide during World War 2 in 1944 and could not return to Lithuania as it remained Soviet-occupied. Seeing themselves as exiles, they put enormous work into creating pieces of Lithuania abroad, continuing the Lithuanian culture and campaigning for its freedom. Moreover, many of them were intellectuals rather than blue-collar workers, giving rise to various endevours. While some 3000 Lithuanian DPs ended up in the United Kingdom, London was not their main center of settlement, likely surpassed or equaled by Bradford, Manchester, Nottingham, and Glasgow area. That said, London being the capital, it was important for the Lithuanian DPs to have their presence here, and so even though the Lithuanian House often struggled economically, it survived until the independence of Lithuania.

The former Lithuanian House in Notting Hill (two final homes on the terrace on the left of this picture)

In addition to housing a bar, canteen, Lithuanian library, and ethnic activities such as Lithuanian folk dances, Lithuanian House also served as the center of Britain’s Lithuanian community and the other key Lithuanian institutions that encompassed the whole of Great Britain. Since 1961, a Lithuanian publishing house operated here, and in 1991, when Lithuania’s freedom became achievable once again, a Lithuanian information center was established within the Lithuanian House.

While the Notting Hill Lithuanian House is the building usually thought about when mentioning this name, there were two other Lithuanian Houses. Before acquiring the main House, since 1950, Lithuanians had a smaller Lithuanian House at 43 Holland Park. That building was sold and replaced when it became too small. On the other hand, the Notting Hill building itself was sold in 1996 and replaced by a smaller and cheaper building at 17 Freeland Rd. That building was, however, later sold as well, leaving London without a secular Lithuanian Hall for the first time since the 1950s.

The first Lithuanian House of London

Like elsewhere in Great Britain, there was an unusually swift decline of the Lithuanian DP community, with very few Britain-born Lithuanian children continuing the Lithuanian activities, leading to Lithuanian Hall effectively serving just a single generation. This decline is typically attributed by the DP Lithuanians themselves to anti-immigrant discrimination of the 1960s-1980s Britain, which made their children drift away from the culture of their parents, wishing to rapidly assimilate, as well as mass re-emigration of Lithuanians from Great Britain to the richer and farther-from-the-Soviets USA (by some estimates, more than half of London DPs eventually migrated to the USA or Australia).

The final Lithuanian House of London

The sale of the London Lithuanian House coincided with the arrival of tens of thousands of new immigrants to the London area. This garnered controversy, with different groups of London Lithuanians blaming each other for the decline of the House. That controversy was even more pronounced in the case of Headley Park “Sodyba”, described below.

Headley Park “Sodyba”

Likely the most famous Lithuanian institution in Great Britain, Headley Park “Sodyba” (Lithuanian for “Homestead”) was a vast area of Lithuanian-owned countryside near Headley. It included a Lithuanian museum, Lithuanian club, and Lithuanian memorials, such as the chapel-post now located in St. Patrick Cemetery.

Sodyba was opened in 1955 by the Lithuanian DPs. It served as a vacation zone as well as a retirement zone for London Lithuanians (this senior housing was rebuilt in 1964-1965). Open-air ethnic activities like Lithuanian scout camps also took place here, as well as general pastimes such as fishing or shooting. “Sodyba” also served as a regular hotel, enjoyed by the other ethnic communities of London as well, for example, in 1963, only some 30% of summer guests were Lithuanians.

Sodyba from a drone

Sodyba’s Pentecost would be the main event of the year for London area Lithuanians, with 500 participating in the Pentecost of 1961.

In 1973, a swimming pool was opened.

Unlike many other DP-era Lithuanian sites of Great Britain, Sodyba also became loved by the 1990s and 2000s-era Lithuanian immigrants who participated in Pentecost and other festivities there.

Sodyba building from a nearby road

Controversially, Sodyba closed down and was sold in 2015, events that still create reverberations in Britain’s Lithuanian community. Recent immigrants often blame the children of Sodyba’s founders, who, being uninterested in Lithuanian activities, "decided to sell Sodyba for personal gain"; meanwhile, these children of DPs often blame the recent immigrants, whose transgressions in Sodyba had led to Sodyba losing the license to sell alcohol.

That said, the ownership of Sodyba always was up for discussion, with the sale suggested numerous times before the 2010s, when southern Europe outcompeted Britain’s countryside as a vacation destination.

After the sale, Sodyba remained abandoned with various Lithuanian signs remaining intact for about a decade while various court cases progressed, with a rebuilding beginning in 2024.

Surviving Lithuanian signs on the shuttered Sodyba entrance in 2024

London Lithuanian Cemetery zone

DP Lithuanians often sought to be buried together. While their numbers were too small to open their entire cemetery anywhere in Great Britain, there were enough of them to acquire a separate zone within London’s Saint Patrick Cemetery.

Lithuanian zone in London's St. Patrick Cemetery

This Lithuanian Cemetery Zone also serves as an area for Lithuanian monuments. Here, the chapel-post of Headley Park was relocated from the “Sodyba” after it was closed. When it was created, this chapel-post was criticized by some, as it doesn’t follow the traditional Lithuanian convention completely. Instead of a crucified Christ, the chapel-post includes Rūpintojėlis, a traditional Lithuanian figure of worried Christ. Like many DP monuments, the chapel-post essentially doubles as a monument to lost Lithuania with many Lithuanian details all over it, such as the Cross of Vytis and columns of Gediminas symbols (when similar traditional monuments are built within Lithuania itself, they typically have much fewer symbols of Lithuania).

A fragment of Headley Park Sodyba chapel-post

Another monument here is erected for Lithuanians who died in World War 2 serving the British armed forces. 14 names are inscribed here together with Lithuanian words “Jų kova ir pasiaukojimas vardan laisvės niekada nebus pamiršti” (“Their fight and determination for freedom will never be forgotten”) and a somewhat different quote in English. While commemorating Lithuanians who served Britain, the monument includes the traditional Lithuanian Columns of Gediminas patriotic symbol.

A monument in London for Lithuanians who died serving the British military in the World War 2

While many Lithuanians are buried under similar regular crosses, one of the unique gravestones is dedicated to Bronius Kazys Balutis, Lithuania’s representative to the UK from 1934 to 1967. His gravestone is inscribed with Vytis and his famous words “Oi skambink per amžius vaikams Lietuvos, kad laisvės nevertas, kas negina jos” (“Ring through ages for the children of Lithuania that he who doesn’t defend freedom isn’t worth it”) – these famous words were inscribed on 500 Litas banknote. The gravestone was designed by a famous Lithuanian DP sculptor from France Antanas Mončys.

Bronius Kazys Balutis grave

As the UK never recognized the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the diplomatic ties continued, yet the Lithuanian representatives were sometimes ridiculed by the press as “envoys of the country that does not exist”. After his death in 1967, Bronius Kazys Balutis was replaced by Vincas Balickas, now buried nearby. Interestingly, Vincas Balickas started working in the Lithuanian embassy of Great Britain while Lithuania was still independent (1938) and he was one of the very few such diplomats to still be alive when Lithuania restored its independence in 1990. At 87 years of age, he was appointed (essentially confirmed) the ambassador of free Lithuania to Britain in 1991, serving until becoming 90 in 1994.

Even though the Lithuanians buried in the Lithuanian cemetery zone of London are mostly DPs, the zone is now cared for by recent Lithuanian immigrants, making a symbolic connection between the two groups.

Lithuanian Embassy

The Lithuanian embassy in London is the largest Lithuanian embassy anywhere in the world due to the huge Lithuanian community in Britain, with a staff of 45 and 50000 consular activities a year in 2024.

The building, formerly owned by Rolls Royce, was acquired by Lithuania in 2007 and opened after a renovation in 2011. Symbolically, it is named “Lithuanian House” in continuation of the fabled series of Lithuanian hubs in London (see above). With these hubs lost, the Lithuanian Embassy now is essentially the main center for Lithuanian events.

Lithuanian embassy in London

Lithuanian Christian Church of London

This is the only Lithuanian church established anywhere in the world by the third wave of Lithuanian immigrants (post-1990) that managed to acquire its own building. Led by the family of pastors Ditkevičius, it is not a Catholic church. Rather, it follows the Pentecostal tradition within Elim church.

Lithuanian Christian Church in London

Initially, some of the 1990s Lithuanian emigrants to Great Britain began visiting the Elim church. Since 1997, they formed a group centered in the home of Vilma Ditkevičienė, who also helped other Lithuanians (some of them unable to speak English well) to understand the teachings of the church.

Encouraged by the leaders of Elim church, Ditkevičienė launched a Lithuanian church within the Elim community. Initially operating in rented premises, they have their own premises since 2015. This is a former Roman Catholic church building erected ~1950. It was expanded by the Lithuanian Christain Church.

Lithuanian Christian Church in London

Lithuanian Christian Church offers services in Lithuanian which are translated to Russian and English and streamed online. While the majority of church members are Lithuanians, there are also Russian-speakers from Latvia and others.

Like many of the historic Lithuanian churches all over the world, the Lithuanian Christian Church has activities beyond religion itself. It operates “Moksliukas” (official kindergarten in English), a Lithuanian language school. It has a choir of ~20 and a rehabilitation program for addicts.

Moksliukas kindergarten

Beckton area

As the recent wave of Lithuanians migrated to London en-masse, many of them settled in the Beckton area. Sometimes, Beckton used to be called “A Lithuanian district of London” or even Bektoniškės, although it never had a Lithuanian majority. To this day, some Lithuanian businesses exist there but Lithuanians are outnumbered by South Asians and other communities.

Lituanica Lithuanian shop in Beckton

Perkūnas the pole

A totem pole with a name of Lithuania’s pre-Christian god Perkūnas suddenly appeared in 2023 on the cliffs near Folkstone. The mysterious author of the pole remained a mystery, dubbed “Lithuanian Banksy” by the local press. The artwork was liked by the municipality, ensuring its legalization and survival. Some offerings were seen at the pole although it is unclear if they were left by Lithuanians or other neo-pagans.

Perkūnas the Pole in Folkestone

If built by the recent Lithuanian immigrants, it would be the first Lithuanian-ethnicity-inspired monument or building erected by them in Great Britain.

Perkūnas the pole is located near N Downs way pedestrian path with glorious views of the English Channel. The location is approximately 51.101574525712465, 1.223900811856188.