Our Lady of Good Counsel, Sleaford

Introduction

The church was opened for services in June 1889. The building has a Gothic roof with collar beams and foliated ribs.

History

A foundation stone was blessed and laid by Right Rev Edward G. Bagshawe, Third Bishop of Nottingham, on November 24 1881. Originally the parish was named in honour of the Immaculate Conception, but by the time the present church opened in 1889 its name had changed to Our Lady of Good Counsel. In 1990 the Franciscans left Sleaford and the parish was passed back to Nottingham Diocesan priests. A foundation stone was laid by Capt E. Digby Boycott.

Land was acquired in December 1880 by the first parish priest from J.T. Marston, costing £610, and the building cost £780. The renovation of the church and the building of the sacristy were instigated during the late 1970s, and the church porch was rebuilt. An Italian priest, a consultant in church design, came over and advised on how the church should look.

Architecture and furnishings

The body and sanctuary are divided by a large Gothic arch, through which is a carved stone altar and reredos. The exterior has a lofty bell turret surmounted by a gilt Cross, containing a bell from the foundry of Messrs Barwell and Co of Birmingham. When the present church opened in 1889, the reredos was moved to the back wall of the sanctuary with the current altar placed in front of it, and the painting of Mary, the Immaculate Conception was hung over the main door. The painting of the Immaculate Conception was painted by the first parish priest, a German who came to England to escape Bismark's Kulturkampf.

The reredos was restored to its original position in 2015. The organ was moved from its previous home on the right of the church as you walked in and placed by the side of the main altar, the site of the original confessional. The reredos centrepiece includes statues of Our Lady in the middle, Saint Peter with the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and Saint Paul holding a sword. One inner statue depicts Our Lady and the Child Jesus receiving a gift from a saintly boy, probably a depiction of Saint Hermann Joseph.

Another inner statue depicts Saint Anne with her daughter, the child Mary. The inspiration for the painting must come from Bartolme Esteban Murrillo's masterpiece, to be seen in Madrid. There is a statue of Saint Francis dressed in the habit of a Grey Friar on the left as you walk into the church.

Music and liturgy

The Third Order of Franciscans continues to support the parish through prayer and liturgy, gathering monthly in the presbytery. Under two successive parish priests, a restoration committee was formed and Mass was celebrated in the parish hall while the main church was transformed. The bishop granted permission for the reredos to be moved to the right of the entrance door, and the large crucifix was hung over the main altar.

Parish life

A priest began the work to build a new Catholic school in Sleaford, which opened for lessons in October 1974. The school's Blue Team is named after Saint Francis, and the annual sports day trophy is named in honour of a priest.

Regular events

An annual Mass in November at the Sacred Heart statue in Sleaford cemetery remembers Catholics buried there. The monthly Crusader magazine from the Franciscans in Manchester is offered free in the church porch.