St. Alban's Catholic Church

Introduction

For a time St Alban's served as a cathedral for the Diocese of Shrewsbury after the restoration of the hierarchy.

History

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin designed the church in 1838, and it was built between 1839 and 1841. Conservationists restored the original Pugin wall decoration in the chancel, one of the most significant restorations in the church's modern history. New Pugin-like light fittings were installed following work to replace stonework around many windows and restore the wooden floor in the nave.

Architecture and furnishings

The church has an unfinished west tower, a nave with high clerestorey and two aisles, and a chancel, all in Perpendicular style. The interior features a five-bay arcade with slender clustered shafts, a ten-window clerestorey, and a king post and collar roof. The pulpit, added in 1850 by Edward Welby Pugin, is square in plan with traceried panels and statues in niches. The church is built of coursed and squared rubble with ashlar dressings and a Welsh slate roof.

The unfinished west tower has a deeply moulded west doorway with a 5-light window above and a stilted arched light in the upper stage flanked by statues in niches. The south aisle has a gabled porch with shafts to a deeply moulded archway, and a statue in a niche over the south doorway. Angel corbels across the western angles of the aisles carry statues in traceried niches clasped between buttresses. The shallow chancel has 4-light windows north and south, and a 7-light east window.

The choir gallery and organ loft are in the tower, and there is an open-work chancel screen carrying a rood. The high chancel has a coloured tiled floor and an ornate altar piece with an advanced central statue in an aedicule over the tabernacle, forming the centrepiece of the altar with 12 figures of saints each side. There are traceried sedilia to the south of the chancel. The east window contains stained glass with a central figure, the rest emblematic.

A chapel to the SE has a painted Perpendicular arch and walls painted with stencilled monograms and emblems to dado height. An altar recessed at the east end of the north aisle has 3 statues in traceried niches set beneath a small high window with stained glass. Every Friday throughout the year the parish prays the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Stations of the Cross.

Parish life

The Parish Social Committee organises social activities for parishioners of all ages, reflecting the range of ethnic groups, cultures and nationalities within the parish. The 500 Club is a parish fundraiser that funds projects such as altar cloths, garden equipment, outbuilding repairs and parish social events.

Ministers of the Eucharist take Holy Communion to the sick and housebound. Welcomers and Stewards greet people at weekend Masses and some of the busier services.

The parish supports CAFOD through Lent and Harvest Fast Day fundraising, Soup Lunches, the Bollington Fun Run, campaigning for social justice and responding to disasters. Flower arrangers bring colour and beauty to the church throughout the liturgical year. The Parish Council supports the work of the Parish under four pillars: Spiritual Growth, Community, Communication and Fabric.

St Alban's Catholic Primary School serves the families of the parish and the wider community. St Alban's is proud to be a Fairtrade Church, committed to supporting producers in developing countries through ethical purchasing.

Regular events

The bereavement support group arranges an annual Mass in November for all who have died during the year. The Season of Creation includes a prayer service and a closing service on Saint Francis' feast day.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish prepares children for baptism through two preparation classes with the baptism preparation team. The parish baptises adults through the RCIA programme, culminating at the Easter Vigil. The parish offers marriage preparation for engaged couples, recommending contact at least six months in advance. The parish's bereavement support group meets regularly to contact and offer practical and pastoral help to all who have been bereaved.

Visiting

The hospital chaplaincy team can visit those going into hospital, a nursing home or rest home, offering the Sacrament of the Sick and Holy Communion. St Alban's supports Caritas fundraising in many ways, including home collection boxes which are emptied twice yearly.

The parish offers a weekly Care for Creation Bible study. The parish publishes a printable leaflet with a full calendar of eco events, actions and reflections for every day of the season. New parishioners are invited to meet for coffee and a chat and receive an invite to the next Parish Welcome Afternoon.