This study offers an insight into the interface between the worship and mission of the church in poor urban communities through historical, theological and anthropological analyses. It considers the emergence of Ritualism in the mid-Victorian Church of England and the attempts of the establishment and Church hierarchy to put it down, particularly in the most deprived districts. The first preoccupation for many in the Church and for its leaders was to draw the masses into church worship. In the case of the 'slum priests' who are the focus of interest here, the nature of this worship became a bone of bitter contention and ultimately led to a long period of liturgical reform in the Church of England.