Church of Our Lady & The Welsh Martyrs, Overton

Introduction

The Church of Our Lady & The Welsh Martyrs in Overton was built in 1958, its prefabricated structural frame finished in brick and timber.

History

A travelling priest said Mass in a local Catholic's house in the period before the Overton church was built. In 1953 a caravan chapel from the diocesan travelling mission was offered for semi-permanent use on a site on Salop Road. Fundraising for a permanent church was led by a canon of Saint Mary's, Wrexham, afterwards a monsignor, who was placed in charge as Mass attendance reached nearly 100. The curtains across the sanctuary opening were removed in the 1980s.

Architecture and furnishings

Dark stained hardwood is the cladding of the flat-roofed projections formed by the sanctuary, sacristy, kitchen and entrance lobby. The west wall and the side walls contain large timber windows that light the church.

Visiting

The church was built to seat 150 people and the cost was £5,928. The main body of the church has a prefabricated structure of laminated timber arched trusses on the 'Lanner Preform' system, springing from floor level and meeting at the roof ridge in the manner of crucks. The sanctuary is dominated by a rustic York stone altar. To each side of the altar are coloured limewood statues of Our Lady and St Joseph, carved in Italy.

Above the tabernacle is a painted triptych of Our Lady Help of Christians with side panels showing St Richard Gwyn as a schoolteacher teaching in Overton during the penal times and his martyrdom. The triptych is by Robin McGhie (1922-2012) and is one of the best works by this artist. On the front facade of the church is a papal crest by the sculptor Herbert Tyson Smith, in reconstructed stone.