Holy Apostles and Martyrs - Wallasey

Introduction

In 1907 the 'iron church' was opened on June 9 by Bishop Allen, constructed of corrugated iron on a timber frame.

History

In 1907 Roman Catholics in Wallasey erected a temporary corrugated iron church to replace the Mass centre set up by a priest in a local house in 1901. In 1933 Canon Fisher died, and Father (later Canon) McNally was appointed to the parish. In the late 1930s, plans had been drawn up for the new church but with the outbreak of war in September 1939, the carrying out of the plans came to a standstill. November 1951 saw building work on the new church start, and the foundation stone was laid on Sunday, May 4, 1952.

The foundation stone was laid on 4 May 1952 and the church opened on 31 August 1953. The architect was Francis Xavier Velarde (1897-1960), a pupil of Professor Charles Reilly and a major Liverpool-based Catholic architect.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of brown brick in English garden wall bond (5:1) without a cornice or parapet. The church has a nave and sanctuary under a single roof with narrow side aisles and a shallow, curved chancel apse. The church has an attached south-east square campanile and entrance porch, and an attached south-west square baptistery and entrance porch. The interior walls are of unadorned brown brick, and the floor is largely carpeted but where visible is of large terrazzo squares with thin copper edge banding and inset cross motifs.

The nave has seven-bay arcades with circular reinforced concrete columns and round-headed arches, with columns decorated with paired silver spiral bands and capitals with incised silver crown and cross motifs. The wooden nave roof has a flat centre with striped sunken panels and angled sides with bold zig-zagging, painted predominantly orange and cream. The sanctuary is raised by a flight of shallow steps, with the roof a continuation of the nave roof. The church has relief sculptures by Philip Lindsey Clark, and font and Lady Altar statue by Herbert Tyson Smith.

The side aisles have square relief panels of the Stations of the Cross, with the figures painted silver. The high altar has a wide oval concrete base with a silver-painted relief carving of an angel offering a chalice. Within the apse arch is a large, flat-pyramidal reredos of concrete or cast stone, which recalls the Last Supper with relief heads of the twelve disciples rising to Christ at the summit. The Lady Chapel has an altar with a statue by Herbert Tyson Smith of Our Lady with St John Fisher holding his axe of martyrdom and a bouquet of roses.

The baptistery contains a fine stone font by Herbert Tyson Smith standing on a polished marble base. The font cover is pyramidal with a fish-scale pattern and a cross finial.

The statuary is of some importance, and the cast mullions of some of the windows are significant examples, as are the relief statues of English martyrs that adorn the western and eastern elevations. The church is a local landmark, particularly noticeable at night when the lantern at the top of the tall campanile is lit and visible from some distance away.

Music and liturgy

The parish holds a Mass for the Bereaved annually in November, during which the names of those who have died since the last such Mass are read out during the lighting of candles. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated in a service jointly with the neighbouring parish every Advent and Lent.

Parish life

The first phase of the repair and restoration project has been completed, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with a grant of £502,500. The completed work included re-roofing the church’s pitched and flat roofs, provision of extra toilet facilities and replacement of an external metal fire escape. The work on the roofs included the installation of a large amount of insulation which will increase the energy efficiency of the building. Heritage activities included the production of an exhibition illustrating the life and work of Velarde and information panels for heritage open days and group visits.

In September each year, the church participates in the national Heritage Open Days, and in 2020 created a virtual tour due to Covid-19 restrictions. The parish supports CAFOD with Family Fast Day collections twice a year and occasional emergency aid collections. The parish is part of Wallasey Village Churches Together and joins in the WVCT Covenant. The parish runs a Fair-trade stall at all weekend Masses, with profits going to CAFOD.

The parish is a Fair-trade parish, marking Fair-trade Fortnight and using Fair-trade tea and coffee at church meetings. The garden group manages an area for bees and insects at the side of the church and a border at the rear. The parish has active social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook. The parish office is at the Presbytery.

The parish has a social committee that organises social events throughout the year, including an annual summer barbecue on the first Sunday of July. The social committee has helped organise film nights, concerts, musical evenings, race nights and regular fundraisers for charities.

The parish has a banner group that produces wall hangings to decorate the church and enhance liturgy. The parish has a music ministry with music groups playing at two of the three weekend Masses. The parish has received funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to implement a plan for the Martyrs and Believers gardens and training sessions between March and September 2021.

Visiting

The church garden project is developing an underused side garden into three areas: an apostles' garden, a martyrs' garden and a believers' garden. The garden project is enhancing biodiversity by planting pollinator friendly plants. The parish has a ministry providing Holy Communion to the sick and housebound.