Saint Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs

Introduction

Saint Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs in Saint Leonards was built in 1889 by Charles Alban Buckler, with builder Edmund Boniface. The interior decorative scheme was carried out between 1908 and 1911 by Nathaniel Westlake.

History

A significant Roman Catholic community in St Leonard's began in 1834 with the purchase of land by a Catholic priest, John Jones, using a legacy from Barbara, Lady Stanley of Puddington. In 1848 the Society of the Holy Child Jesus under Mother Connelly was installed and a church begun.

In 1849 the parishioners settled into All Souls chapel, housed in the grounds of the Holy Child Convent in Magdalen Road. The first church was destroyed by fire on 3rd January 1887 with only the charred walls remaining.

In the seven week period between the beginning of January and the end of February the temporary iron church was erected beside the remains of the building destroyed by fire. The church was opened in July 1889 but not consecrated until 1907.

Some repair work was carried out in the 1950s but by 1981 some serious decisions had to be made. In the 1980s the interior was virtually completely re-done, the major work being the restoration of the mural on canvas to the chancel arch, carried out by Charles Camm. The present building was commenced on 30 March 1888, designed by architect Charles Alban Buckler, and unusually the chancel faced west. The mortuary chapel in the narthex was added later.

Construction of this church started on March 31st 1888, and it was officially opened on 6th July 1889. On 3rd January 1887 flames swept through the church, the roof fell in, and the damage was irretrievable. Stained glass windows were added, and over a three-year period from 1908, Nathaniel Westlake applied his artistic talents to the interior. The financial amalgamation of the two churches to the one parish took place on 1st January 2014.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is Gothic style, built of rock-faced ironstone with Bath stone dressings and slate roof. The interior has a broad nave with timber quadripartite rib vaults on shafts and short tunnel vaulted side chapels giving the effect of a nave arcade. The east end windows were replaced after World War II damage. There is an elaborate carved wooden organ loft with trefoil decoration, supported on columns with arched heads with quatrefoil decoration.

The original pews remain to the nave. St Leonard's Chapel has a fine alabaster altar with central tabernacle flanked by statues of saints. In front of the chancel arch and to the left is the original octagonal marble font with colonnettes and carved scenes of the seven sacraments, resited from the east end. On the right side in front of the chancel arch is the original stone and pink marble octagonal pulpit with carvings of saints within trefoil-headed niches without its columnar base.

The chancel arch is covered in wall paintings by Westlake depicting the Company of English Martyrs with the Hand of God obscuring the earlier trefoil window. St Joseph's Chapel to the north of the chancel arch has stencilled decoration and an elaborate Bath stone altar with statues of the Holy Family under a baldachino over the altar and panel depicting the Entombment to the altar. The chancel ceiling is covered with Westlake paintings of Evangelists and Prophets and there is an elaborate reredos of angels painted on copper plates under cinquefoil-headed pointed canopies.

The south wall has a painted Nativity scene and the north side a painted Last Supper, a memorial to the 14th Duke of Norfolk. The parish's musicians and choir provide the music mainly at Sunday Holy Masses.

The Community Development Team runs Sunday morning coffee after all Masses. The parish has a contemplative and memorial garden area.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish runs an RCIA programme, with contact via the Parish Office. Baptism preparation is initiated by introducing oneself to the priest at Holy Mass. For marriage preparation, one year's notice is required. The anointing of the sick is available on request for those going into hospital or during illness.