St. Edmund, Calne

Introduction

The foundation stone of the present church of Saint Edmund in Calne was laid on 3rd March 1962, and worship began in 1964 in a simple building raised on exposed laminated timber beams with large window openings.

History

Mr Edwarde put up “Rose D'or” on Lickhill Road in Calne in 1926, and by the early 1930s the front room was open as a Mass centre with a priest travelling from Chippenham. For much of that decade the Mass centre remained at 4 Lickhill Road, until the house could no longer hold the numbers. What is now the church hall is the presbytery’s original garage, shown in use as the church in 1947.

From 1947 to 1951 Father Patrick McGoven served as parish priest at Saint Edmund’s, and his death came in 1992. Fundraising under the parish priest of 1953 to 1958 reached the stage of seriously considering a new church. RAF Lyneham had no full-time Catholic chaplain, so Calne served the station’s Catholics, and the RAF contributed to the building fund of Saint Edmund’s Church. In 1958 a new parish priest took over, the foundation stone was laid in 1962, the church was built, and the church opened for worship in 1964.

Architecture and furnishings

The laying of the foundation stone of the present church building in March 1962 is recorded in photographs. In October 1987 the altar rails on the sanctuary came out and the ambo was lowered. In 2010 a redecoration of the church interior included installation of a new ceiling and new carpets.

The rear of the Saint Edmund statue is inscribed with Saint Edmund of Canterbury, DAJ and 1955. During the early 1980s the altar was relocated to the centre of the sanctuary and given a marble frontal carrying a bronze winged chalice and ears of wheat by Seán Crampton.

On 3rd October 1986 the Catholic Herald described the Stations as a major contribution to modern church art and named Seán Crampton as sculptor, together with the parish priest. The Eleventh Station includes a child playing with the end of the rope, oblivious to the Nailing behind the child. On the end wall of the church, four Stations include a modern soldier with a rifle and gas-cape standing among barbed wire.

With arms raised on a bench that stands for a bridge between heaven and earth, Mary is depicted beside a rail formed like a Torii gate. When the entrance porch was enlarged in September 1990, the stone font, made in an old English pattern from stone out of the ruins of Stanley Abbey, was moved into the main body of the church. For the golden anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone, a leaded Christus Rex stained-glass panel and new oak entrance doors were installed in March 2012. September 2012 saw cast glass and resin stained-glass panels from Saint Joseph’s Church at RAF Lyneham installed in the sanctuary.

Music and liturgy

The parish maintains a strong tradition of liturgical music, supported by two instrumental music groups and two organists. The Sunday morning Mass is always celebrated with music, accompanied by either an organist or one of the two music groups.

The Saturday evening Mass is celebrated without music or singing. Children's Liturgy of the Word takes place at Sunday morning Masses during school term time. In the Children's Liturgy, after the opening hymn and greeting, children process with a book of the scriptures to the church hall, returning for the presentation of the gifts and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

On Holy Thursday in April 1999, the parish committed itself afresh to the cause of the poor by making a New Covenant, displayed within the church. The parish promises to celebrate a specific Mass each month dedicated to the poor of the world. The parish promises to celebrate a special liturgical celebration each year including a penitential acknowledgement of failure towards the poor. The parish promises to use CAFOD Family Fast Days as a catalyst for prayer and discussion on the needs of the poor during the Children's Liturgy.

The parish promises to remember in Bidding Prayers the poor and the sick, both in the parish and the wider world. The cast bronze statue of the Annunciation was sculpted by Seán Crampton in 1995 in his workshop at Rookery Farm, Calne, whilst he was a parishioner at the church. In 1999, the year of Seán's death, the parish agreed to purchase the bronze statue of the Annunciation for the church. The statue was installed and blessed at a special parish vigil on the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation on 24th March 2000.

Positioned on the ambo where the Word of God is proclaimed, the statue serves as a starting point to the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross in the church were sculpted in welded phosphor-bronze by Seán Crampton and installed from 1983 to 1986, paid for by parishioners. The Guardian of 9th August 1999 reported that Seán Crampton, who died aged 81, was the award-winning sculptor responsible for the Fourteen Stations of the Cross for the church in his home town of Calne. The Stations were completed in 1986.

The First Station shows the rage of the Accuser, the indifference of Pilate, and the acceptance of the bound Christ, with the loose binding of Our Lord's hands added as an afterthought that became a leitmotif. The Third Station includes a figure of hatred visualised while listening to the 'Messiah'. In the Crucifixion, only Our Lady and Christ are represented, with a great climacteric mushroom cloud behind the Cross. The Thirteenth Station is a pietà in which the final Entombment produces another unexpected figure, holding back the stone of the sepulchre.

The work was to be in wrought bronze and was to be basically figurative. The Fourth Station has only two figures for the intimate moment between Our Lord and His Mother, and the ground becomes insubstantial, a theme that plays a symbolic role through the series.

Parish life

Pupils from Saint Edmund's Catholic School often attend a Friday morning Mass at the church. Refreshments are served after the Sunday morning Mass each Sunday in the parish hall adjacent to the church.

Mothers' Prayers takes place in the church hall every Tuesday. The parish promises to hold at least one social fund-raising event each year where the entire proceeds are for the poor. The parish promises to allow the parish hall to continue to be available to charitable bodies. The parish promises to use fairly traded goods every time refreshments are served in the parish.

The parish promises to establish a rota of drivers available to parishioners needing transport to Mass and social events. The parish promises to support Saint Edmund's School in recognition of its contribution to the growth in faith of the community. The parish promises to undertake a project on the needs of the poor with candidates preparing to celebrate the sacraments for the first time. Saint Edmund's Parish is accredited as a 'Fairtrade Church'.

As part of the parish 'Covenant with the poor' two charitable projects were chosen for 2018. At a parish meeting held on the First Sunday of Advent, 2nd December 2018, the charity Mary's Meals was chosen as the Parish Project for 2019. The Parish Project for 2020 was to raise funds to support the charity TREE AID, established 1987 in response to the famine in Ethiopia. The Parish Project for 2022 was to raise funds to support the Swindon based charity THE HARBOUR PROJECT which assists refugees and asylum seekers.

The parish supported this charity in 2022 and 2023. A water tank, paid for from the Parish Project fundraising, has been built. The Parish Project for 2025 was to establish an Emergency Hardship Fund. At an open parish meeting held on 1st December 2025 it was agreed that an Emergency Hardship Fund should be established to support those in need who seek financial assistance.

The RISE Trust provides services for families and young people in the North Wiltshire area including Calne. The Otto Beit Medal award is on display in the church porch.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Infant Baptism is celebrated upon request to the Parish Priest, with parents invited to attend preparation sessions with parishioners. The Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated on approximately a three yearly cycle, with catechists supporting preparation of young people.