St Gregory's Church, Cheltenham
History
Foundation
In 1809, a chapel was built on the site of the present church. It was built with the guidance of its first priest, Fr Augustine Birdsall OSB from Douai Abbey.
Construction
In the spring of 1854, the monks from Douai Abbey were still serving the church when building work started on the church. The church was designed by Charles Hansom, brother of Joseph Hansom and father of Edward Joseph Hansom. He also designed Plymouth Cathedral and St Osburg's Church in Coventry. He designed it to be a Gothic Revival church.
In May 1857, the chancel was completed and the church was opened. That year, work on the tower and spire had started, but was of course not complete. In 1876, the tower and spire were completed. The next year, on 6 November 1877, the church was consecrated.
The stained glass windows were designed by Hardman & Co. Inside the church, the altar and reredos were made by Farmer & Brindley. The majority of the carving was done by Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons of Cheltenham; a firm which also worked on Cheltenham Town Hall, St John's Church in Poulton-le-Fylde, St Mary's Church and St Alban's Church in Warrington and St Cuthbert's in Earls Court.
Parish
The church is in the parish of St Gregory the Great with St Thomas More. It serves the St Thomas More Catholic Centre on Princess Elizabeth Way in Cheltenham. On 30 November 2011, St Thomas More Church was demolished and the church hall was developed to accommodate a sacristy, a chapel and use by community groups.
The church has three Sunday Masses: 9:30 am, 11:15 am and 5:00 pm. St Thomas More Catholic Centre has one Sunday Mass at 5:00 pm on Saturday.
See also
References
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Gregory (1387870)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "Parishes". Clifton Diocese. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Gordon Beattie, Gregory's Angels: A History of the Abbeys, Priories, Parishes and Schools of the Monks and Nuns Following the Rule of Saint Benedict in Great Britain, Ireland and Their Overseas Foundations : to Commemorate the Arrival of Saint Augustine in Kent in 597 AD (Gracewing, 1997), 254.
- ^ History from StGregorys.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2015
- ^ Church of St Gregory, Gloucestershire from British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 9 January 2016
- ^ Demolition of Hester's Way church marks start of new era from Gloucestershire Echo, 1 December 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2016
- ^ Deanery directory Archived 11 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine from Diocese of Clifton. Retrieved 17 March 2015
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