St Francis Xavier – Hereford

Introduction

The church was constructed between 1837 and 1839 to the designs of Charles Day. The church is in the Greek Revival style with a Doric portico. The church contains the hand of St John Kemble, one of the Forty Martyrs.

History

The present building replaced an earlier church on Broad Street licensed in October 1791. In pre-Reformation times the site was occupied by the Convent of St Catherine. The foundation stone was laid on 19 September 1837.

The foundation stone was laid in September 1837 and the church opened in August 1839. The Jesuits paid for the church, dedicated to St Francis Xavier. Jesuit Fathers served the church until 1857, when it passed to the Benedictines. The general decorations were designed and carried out by Joseph Hanson of Preston.

The church was restored for the Jubilee of 1889 through the generosity of Mr John Lambe. In the early twentieth century a parish hall was added to the south of the church. The church's 1850 organ was replaced with a digital one in the 1980s. By 1995 the church had deteriorated and proposals for a replacement were considered.

The Friends of St Francis Xavier was formed by parishioners. The Friends of St Francis Xavier campaigned to save the church, and it reopened in December 2003.

The church re-opened in December 2003, commemorated in a marble plaque in the narthex. The Parish applied for funding and achieved financial support from English Heritage and the National Lottery to repair the roof and walls.

Architecture and furnishings

The building is of the Doric order of Greek architecture, with a façade based on the Treasury of the Athenians at Delphi. The church is 117 feet long, 42 feet wide, with walls 36 feet high and a dome rising to 60 feet. The dome is decorated with 390 gold stars on a blue background, inspired by the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. The interior is a 'hall church' with a coved ceiling and three square panels, the easternmost replaced by a lantern dome.

The six candlesticks were the gift of Robert Plowden of Rotherwas. The sanctuary lamp was given by Mrs Isabella Rogers, sacristan for many years. The Stations of the Cross were modelled from designs exhibited by a Belgian artist at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The organ was eventually damaged beyond repair and replaced by a new digital organ.

The Lady altar of 1920 is marble, with a relic of St John Kemble above. The gothic font was relocated from the church of St Denis in Harewood, originally in Chardstock, Dorset. The parish war memorial lists those who gave their lives in both World Wars. The church is built of brick with painted stucco render beneath a hipped slate roof.

The west front features a tall Greek Doric portico with fluted columns and piers framing the central entrance steps. The piers support a triglyph entablature and a shallow moulded pediment, topped with a gilded cross. The nave has a coffered, barrel-vaulted ceiling with a skylight over the sanctuary. The walls are adorned with pilasters painted in a marble effect, their capitals featuring egg and dart detail.

The Stations of the Cross are high relief sculptures in stucco set under Romanesque arches. The altar features a central gilded tabernacle with a dome supported by a pillared drum, standing on a marble altar table and flanked by two Ionic columns.

The marble High Altar and gilded Tabernacle are a replica of the tabernacle in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of Saint Peter's in Rome. Above the relic is a painted fresco of the Virgin Mary, with a corresponding painting to the north of the main altar depicting St Francis Xavier.

The Shrine to St John Kemble contains his preserved hand in a reliquary. A small choir and organist also provide music at the Saturday Vigil Mass.

Parish life

The parish has a Children's Liturgy group. The parish has a St Anne's Guild. The parish has a Poetry for Pleasure group. The parish has a Parish Prayer Line.

The parish has an Evangelisation Team. The parish has a Lunch Club. Sacramental preparation is available for Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and Marriage.