A General Parish History

The first text which follows is based on text taken from : "The Consecration of the English Martyrs Church Preston - A Souvenir" , published for the consecration of the church which was celebrated on Wednesday 14th September 1921.  (Note that the Diocese of Lancaster was created on 1924 and so Preston was part of the Liverpool Archdiocese). Further text is taken from histories written by members of the parish.

  • The Beginning of the Parish - 1864

    • About 1864 the Catholic population of Preston largely increased northwards of the town, and Bishop Goss came to the conclusion that the time had arrived when a church in that quarter was absolutely necessary.

      The churches already in existence were St. Ignatius' (1837), St. Augustine's (1840), St. Walburge's (1852), and St. Joseph’s (1862)  and the total Catholic population of Preston in or about 1864 was probably not far short of 30,000.

      A young priest named James Taylor was attached to the parish of St. Augustine, serving under Canon Walker and Bishop Goss chose him to be entrusted with the opening of the new mission in the north of Preston.

       

  • Wren's Cottage

    • The Bishop and his young priest inspected various sites, and at length a small and humble residence known as Wren's Cottage, situated in Garstang Road, about a quarter of a mile from the present site, was purchased. It consisted of the cottage, coach-house, and a two-stalled stable.

      The cottage served as a presbytery and the stable was converted into a chapel.  Rev. James Taylor moved into the cottage in December, 1864, taking with him all his earthly possessions on a wheelbarrow.

      The little chapel was solemnly opened on January 22nd, 1865: the Very Rev. Canon Walker preached in the morning and  the Rev. Father Soden in the evening. The collection totalled £34.

      However the church would only accommodate 145 persons and therefore Wren's Cottage and its coach-house and stable were a temporary makeshift. There was one Mass on week-days and Sundays, and that at 8 o'clock. In addition to his missionary duties, Father James Taylor held the office of chaplain to the gaol.

  • The Growth of the Parish

    • The congregation still grew, and had to be provided for.

      Father James set to work to get together funds for the building of a larger church. Personally he set forth on house-to-house collection and the late Mr. Joseph Gillow promised the young priest a donation of £1,000 if he could succeed in raising an equal sum. Father James contrived to collect this amount within a fortnight.

      A grave difficulty, however, arose when it became known in the neighbourhood that a Catholic church was to be erected,  on the ground that it was contrary to the covenant entered into at the time of the purchase of the land.

      This covenant prohibited the building of church or chapel on the site, and Father Taylor had eventually to abandon his scheme. Very shortly afterwards, however, the Corporation of Preston sold him a portion of the Gallows' Hill site, where English Martyrs Church still stands. Expensive and extensive levelling and excavating operations were necessary, as the place was, then, nothing more than a high, rough, sandy hillock.

        

  • The New Church

    • The ceremony of laying the foundation stone appears to have been of unusual grandeur and enthusiasm even for Preston, which is so famous for its Catholic functions.

      About 10,000 people were present to witness the ceremony, which was performed by Bishop Goss. All the guilds were represented and the Bishop himself gave out the opening verse of the grand old hymn, " Faith of Our Fathers," which was taken up by 10,000 voices.

      Building operations were begun at once, and with them came problems: the foundations were a serious matter, as an old sand-pit 14ft. below the surface of the soil was discovered and had to be filled up.

      The plans of the new structure had been entrusted to Mr. Edward Welby Pugin, and it is of interest that the original design included a tower which has not yet been completed.

      The initial cost of the church was £7,825 yet Pugin complained that he had been restricted by the amount of money available.

      The church, which was constructed to accommodate 700 people (considered at that time more than ample), was solemnly opened by Bishop Goss on December 1st, 1867. He was assisted by Bishop Roskell.

       

  • The Advent of Father J A Pyke

    • In 1874, Father Taylor was succeeded by the Rev Joseph A. Pyke, who had come to the English Martyrs as assistant priest in 1868.

      In 1877, Father Pyke redecorated the church according to designs. furnished by Mr. Pugin, and in the same year a superb, new organ, by Messrs. Hill, of London, was installed.

      In 1886, Father Pyke was appointed to the new deanery of St. Augustine's, and it was about that time that the rector began to grapple with the problem of accommodating his greatly increased flock. The church was too small, and the two solutions were either to enlarge or to open a new mission.

      At length it was decided on enlarging the existing edifice, and there can be no question that the additions have not only added to the beauty of the original church, but have also gained the object in view.

      Messrs. Pugin and Pugin, of London, were employed to undertake  the designs for the proposed extension of the church. These provided for:

      -    the addition of two bays to the nave and aisles,
      -    a new chancel 36ft. in length,
      -    two transepts, chapels, two additional confessionals, sacristies, a room for meetings.

      The windows from the old chancel were to be refixed in the new one, as also the windows in chapels and aisles. In each transept there were to be two three-light windows. An entrance was to be provided from St. George's Road to the south transept by a porch. The nave was to be divided from the chancel by an arch. The total length of the church was to be 154ft; the width across transept, 92ft; and the height, 59ft.

      The estimated cost of the extension was about £8,000, and the extra seating accommodation provided was for between 400 and 500.

      The foundation stone of the new buildings was laid by the late Bishop O'Reilly in 1887, and the important work forthwith commenced.  

      Shortly after the enlargement of the church had been decided upon, the congregation of the English Martyrs' assembled at a meeting: it was known that their Dean had promised a donation of £1,000 towards the new extension fund, however, there was still a debt outstanding on the church of close upon £6M, exclusive of the £8,000 it was estimated would be required to meet the cost of the enlargement. The meeting resolved to take up the old debt of £6,000 and to wipe it off by regular and systematic collection from house to house throughout the parish.

       

  • The Re-opening of the Church

    • The day fixed for the solemn re-opening was February 9th, 1888.

      The Dean had determined to make it a red-letter day in the annals of Catholic Preston, and the church as it was then completed was worthy in every sense, architecturally and artistically, of this great ceremony.

      Bishops, Prelates, Canons, Deans, priests, and representative members of the Catholic laity joined in the imposing ceremonies of the re-opening.

      From Ireland came the Right Rev. Dr. Donnelly, Bishop Auxiliary of Dublin; from Scotland Archbishop Macdonald, then Bishop. of Argyll and the Isles; from Wales t Bishop Hedley, O.S.B., of Newport and Menevia and others from nearer home.

      Around the Bishop of the Liverpool diocese (Dr. O'Reilly) were grouped the Bishops of Shrewsbury, Salford, and Middlesbrough, and the following dioceses were officially represented by members of their respective Chapters: Liverpool, Salford, Hexham and Newcastle, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Shrewsbury, and Northampton.

      The Religious Orders taking part in the function were those of the Jesuits, Benedictines, Passionists, Redemptorists, and Franciscans, while over 150 of the secular clergy joined in the procession.

      The sermon was preached by Cardinal-Archbishop of Westminster (then' Bishop of Salford), in which he dealt with the progress of Catholicity in England.

      The Bishop of Liverpool gave the toast, "Success to the English Martyrs. and Health of Dean Pyke." and in doing so spoke of the' excellent work done by Dean Pyke.

        

  • The Silver Jubilee

    • The next ceremonial of note occurred in the month of December, 1892, when the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of the church was celebrated.

      A solemn High Mass of thanks giving was sung on Sunday, December 11th, by the rector, Dean Pyke, who was the first priest ever ordained in the Church of the English Martyrs.

      Present on the altar and in the sanctuary were many a well known, much-loved face. Canon Taylor, the father and founder of the mission and  Father George Gillow, the staunch and steadfast friend of its priests and people were bpoth there. The "Te Deum" was sung for the blessings which God had showered down upon His clergy and people of the English Martyrs during the first twenty-five years of its existence.

      In the May of the following year, 1893, a mass meeting of the congregation was held to consider the best means of commemorating the Dean's Silver Jubilee. The Dean was very definite in refusing to accept any offering of a personal nature, (in view of the fact that preparations were being made to hold a bazaar for the enlargement of the schools), and requested their prayers on- the happy day. They gave him - 1,600 adults of them - their Communions. The Dean had won not only the hearts but the souls of his flock.

      Three years after his Silver Jubilee the Dean was elected to the Cathedral Chapter of Liverpool.

       

  • 1901 - 1921

    • 0ne of the greatest achievements in the Catholic history of Lancashire was the 1901 New Centenary Bazaar, in aid of the English Martyrs' Schools. The Canon had the whole-hearted support of his congregation and of the town at large, and the effort raised the splendid sum of £5,202 1s. 6d.

      The Canon died in November, 1902. His loss was mourned by the clergy and laity of Lancashire. His great popularity was manifested by the numbers of the mourners at his funeral, and by the throngs who witnessed with respect and emotion the passing of the cortège to the Cemetery.

      Father E. J. Pyke succeeded to the rectorship in the month of his uncle's death. The first noteworthy act of the new rector was the erection of the new Central Schools, completed in 1906 at a cost of about £4,000.

      The Golden Jubilee of the Church was celebrated on December 16th, 1917, when Pontifical High Mass was sung by the late Archbishop, the preacher at the morning and evening services being the Bishop of Clifton. The Holy Father sent his Apostolic Blessing to the clergy and people, and it is gratifying to record that this favour was repeated upon the occasion of the Consecration.

      Father E. J. Pyke succeeded in raising money by mysterious if not miraculous means. Without the aid of bazaars, brass bands, or extensive advertisement, he has freed the church from debt, and at a cost of £2,000, the interior of the Church was re-decorated in 1921, the scheme including the artistic embellishment of the sanctuary and a representation of "The Last Supper" over the chancel arch.
       

  • The Consecration

    • THE Consecration of the Church was performed on Wednesday, September 14th, 1921, by the Archbishop of Liverpool, assisted by the Bishop of Salford, Bishop Cowgill of Leeds, Bishop Singleton of Shrewsbury, Bishop J.S.Vaughan of Sebastopolis, and some 50 clergy, secular and regular.

      The Consecration was an impressive ecclesiastical pageant, with quickly moving scenes of episcopal retinues.

      The five Bishops, with their clerical attendants, simultaneously consecrated the five altars, and in the meantime the doors of the church had been flung open admitting multitudes of Catholics from all parts of the town.

      The climax was gloriously impressive. From the five altar stones twenty-five fires blazed forth from heaps of incense and wax, symbolical of the sacrificial fires that consumed the holocausts of the Old Law.

      On Sunday, September 18th,  "Thanksgiving Day," Pontifical High Mass was sung by His Grace the Archbishop of Liverpool. Bishops Cowgill, Singleton, and Vaughan were present on the Sanctuary. In the morning the preacher was Bishop Vaughan, and in the evening the Rev. Father R.O.Bilsborrow.

       

  • 1922 -1991

    • The year following the consecration of the church in 1921 the Baptistery was converted into a Memorial Chapel as a permanent record of those who had lost their lives in the Great War.  those servicemen killed in the 1939 to 1945 conflict were also listed in the chapel where each year six masses are said to them in perpetuity.

      Throughout this period the parish also enjoyed an active social life.  One feature, which had begun earlier in the century, was the annual reunion held in the Public Hall when young and old joined together for an evenings festivities.  They remained an important event in most Preston parishes until their decline in the 1950s.

      The spiritual life of the parish also flourished and many parishioners were involved in a variety of organisations. To cater for the needy a St Vincent de Paul conference was formed in 1873 and was always active. Other groups such as the Third Order of St Francis, The Apostleship of Prayer, the Children of Mary and the Catholic Women’s League were well supported.  The Christian Doctrine Society was particularly successful and its members instructed the large numbers who attended Sunday School. 

      Every Sunday, the Women’s, Men’s, Girl’s  and Boy’s Guilds would separately assemble for half an hour before proceeding to Mass in the mornings and again to Benediction in the afternoons.  Their weekly subscription supported both their own sick members and a variety of charitable causes both local and national.  Their membership steadily declined after the war and in the 1950’s they were summarily wound up by the parish priest and the funds absorbed to the annoyance of their members. 

      For fifty years after its foundation, the parish increased both territorially and numerically and at its peak had over eight thousand people who were ministered to by six priests.  Housing developments in Deepdale, Fulwood and Cadley resulted in the creation of three more parishes within its former boundaries: St Gregory’s was opened in 1924, Our Lady & St Edward’s in 1943 and St Anthony’s in 1944, whilst the number of parishioners steadily declined from 7,266 in 1935 to 5,801 by 1950; and from 3,964 in 1970 to 3,125 in 1980. 

      Between 1955 and 1965 Sunday Mass attendance fell by over a thousand and it became possible, by reducing the accommodation in church, to create a new Narthex and Baptistery, making an open and attractive entrance from the nave to the porch.

      A new primary school was built in 1976 in a large grassy area in Sizer Street and caters for 210 children.

      Between 1980 – 1990 numbers in the parish declined to 2100, mainly as a result of the demolition of many small terraced houses and their replacement by modern dwellings in the more open area of Plungington and by a commercial and light industrial complex on the south side of St Georges Road.  The policy of involving the laity in the daily operation of the parish was successful and many people benefited from the regular visiting of the Vincentians, the Bereavement Support Group, the Eucharistic and Baptismal Ministers, and of the Faith Group who maintained contact with families with children of pre-school age.  The Men’s Club and the Autumn Club were much appreciated and at Canterbury Hall the parish has probably the finest social centre in the diocese. 

      By 1991, closer ties and a harmonious working relationship had been developed with Emmanuel Church, St David’s Free Anglicans and Eldon Street Methodists. Though not yet at the stage of signing a covenant these local churches made the commitment to walk as one united body in the Guild Procession of 1992.

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