Church of Our Lady and St. Alphege, Bath

Introduction

The church was initially served by the Father Prior of St John's, but the Benedictines left Bath in 1932 and in 1937 St Alphege's was made a parish church with its first secular parish priest. The current parish hall is the second one and was opened in 2010.

Architecture and furnishings

The Lady Chapel at the end of the north aisle was added to the church in 1954. The 1880 Forster and Andrews organ was moved, restored, and installed in 2022 by Wood Pipe Organ Builders of Huddersfield. The capitals on the north side depict scenes from the life of Our Lady, and those on the south side from the life of St Alphege. Fourteen panels of the Stations of the Cross were inserted into the walls around the church during the early 1930s.

The plan was for a rectangular basilica church some 37m by 15m to seat 400. The nave was separated from the side aisles by six rounded arches and five columns on each side. The sanctuary was raised above the level of the nave and terminated in a shallow apse. Externally a three-bay loggia portico served as the entrance to the church.

A campanile or bell-tower at twice the height of the church was intended to be constructed later, but it was never built. The walling stone came from the local quarries in Box, but that for the columns, which have a polished surface, was from Leckhampton, near Cheltenham. The distinctive roof tiles were imported from the Lombardy region of Italy. Lighting was by decorative golden sunburst fittings suspended above the nave and sanctuary.

The baldacchino of gilded oak which covers the altar was carved by Stuflesser of Ortisei in the Italian Tyrol and decorated by Watts of London. The stand for the statue of St Joseph is made of English oak with the staff of St Joseph lying in front of the statue. In 2012, Bath Orthodox artist Tamara Penwell painted the icon of St Alphege which is in the Church of St Alphege and which was unveiled there at an ecumenical service. The fine carving of the Virgin in the Lady chapel is by Theodore Kern.

The church has a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in the entrance area, which is carried around the church in parish processions. At the west end of the south aisle above the door to the sacristy is a painting of the Madonna and Child from the Stuflesser workshop in the Italian Tyrol.

Music and liturgy

Five decades of the Rosary are prayed publicly in the Lady Chapel at least every Saturday. The church opened with a Solemn Blessing and High Mass in July 1929.

Parish life

The parish has a team of welcomers at the door on Sundays and Feast Days to greet familiar faces as well as visitors and new people. New flower arrangers are always welcome, and the garden team are working to grow their own flowers to use in the Church. The parish has close links with St John's Catholic Primary School, which is next door to the Church. Members of the parish attend St Gregory's Catholic College for their secondary education.

Regular events

Beacons is a community gathering linked to the SVP, open to all in and around Bath, meeting monthly. Beacons holds a popular raffle in support of a different charity each month.

Guided tours of the church take place annually during Heritage Open Week. The embroidered banner Ave Maria is given prominence in the sanctuary on Marian feasts. There are Penitential Services during Advent and Lent.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is celebrated regularly in the parish, usually during an evening Mass on Thursday. At least six months between the planning and the wedding is required for marriage at the church.

First Communion is celebrated on the feast of Corpus Christi in June, and preparation for First Confession is tied in with preparation for First Communion, starting in January. A group organises coffee after the 1100 Sunday Mass as well as various events during the year.

Visiting

The statue of St Joseph came from the Church of St Joseph in Southdown. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated on a Saturday morning after Mass and before the Thursday evening Mass during Adoration.