Our Lady Help Of Christians And St Denis Church, Torquay
History
Foundation
In 1864, Dominican nuns came to St Marychurch. They were invited by the Bishop of Plymouth William Vaughan. A house, Southampton Villa, was bought in the area. It housed the nuns, while an orphanage, St Mary's Priory, was built on the site.
Construction
In 1867, a Mr Potts Chatto, from the Daison estate, in thanksgiving for his son, Denis, recovering from a serious illness, paid for the construction of a church in the grounds of Southampton Villa. Joseph Hansom, who designed Plymouth Cathedral and Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, Torquay, was commissioned to design the church. In 1869, the church was opened. Southampton Villa was later demolished and the tower and spire of the church were built in its place. In 1871, a convent for the nuns next to the church was opened. The convent included a school and elementary school with a capacity for 200 children. An organ and lady chapel were later added to the church, they were paid for by Mrs Potts-Chatto.
Parish
The church is in the parish of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Denis. It has two Sunday Masses at 6:00pm on Saturday and 10:00am.
See also
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Media related to Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Denis, Torquay at Wikimedia Commons
References
- ^ Roman Church of Our Lady, Help of Christians and St Denis, British Listed Buildings, retrieved 1 June 2022
- ^ Churches from Diocese of Plymouth, retrieved 1 June 2022
- ^ Historic England, Roman Church of Our Lady, Help of Christians and St Denis, retrieved 1 June 2022
- ^ Historic England, Torquay - Our Lady Help of Christians and St Denis, Taking Stock, retrieved 1 June 2022