St Joseph's, Newbury

Introduction

The Church of St Joseph was built on behalf of Canon Francis Green from 1926 to 1928.

History

In 1852, Father Robert Hodgson, Spiritual Director at Woolhampton, started a mission to serve the Catholics of Newbury. In 1853, priests from the Church of St Mary, Woolhampton, purchased a site at 105 London Road and established the first mission there. In 1864, a church was built adjoining the presbytery at a cost of £800, which remained in use until the building of the present church in 1928, when it became the church hall. The builders were Hoskings & Pond Ltd of Newbury, and a specialist firm, Simplex and Company, built the foundations and campanile at a cost of £2,062, with the overall cost at around £20,000.

A foundation stone was laid on 19 January 1927 by W T Cotter, the Third Bishop of Portsmouth. W C Mangan designed the church in the Italian Byzantine and Romanesque styles. The campanile is thought to have been inspired by that at Westminster Cathedral.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of Daneshill bricks of light and dark brown hue with black headers in English bond, under a Lombardic tile roof, with a copper dome to the campanile. The church has a cruciform plan and an aisleless nave with narthex to the north-east, and the campanile is detached and located to the north-west. The interior has an exposed roof of British Columbian pine and oak panels extending across the nave, transepts and choir. The sanctuary has a large baldacchino over the original high altar, supported by four Cippolino marble columns with Ionic capitals, and a barrel-vaulted canopy with gold mosaic and marble decoration.

The communion rail is of white marble with colonnaded twin columns of Siena marble and gates of gilded bronze. The high altar is placed three steps above the rest of the sanctuary and has a gradine with onyxes and other coloured marbles and a bronze gilded tabernacle, with hanging rood figures above. Behind the sanctuary there is a raised choir with an organ by J W Walker and Sons of Brandon, Suffolk. The altar, baldacchino, sanctuary steps and paving, the oak block flooring, and the fibrous plaster and cast stone work were provided by Messrs Marchetti of Portsmouth.

The north-east front has a triple window with tall, recessed pilasters, and the entrance porch is supported by columns of Verde Corona marble with a cornice of Siena, Pavanazzo and Petitor marbles. The campanile is square on plan, rises to around 30m in height, and has an ornate belfry with semi-circular brick balconies and a roof formed by an ornately ribbed dome surmounted by a Latin cross. The east transept has a painted panel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph set into a brick reredos. The west transept has a later-C20 grey reredos depicting the Virgin Mary bracketed by angels and inset with mirrored discs, surmounting an altar plinth of yellow and black marble.

Parish life

A music group has met for many years, about once a month, to play at the 11 o'clock Sunday Mass. The parish runs a First Holy Communion programme for children in Year 4 or above, beginning at the start of October.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Confirmation preparation is organised within the local Catholic community. Couples considering marriage at St Joseph's are encouraged to contact the Parish Office in the first instance. Couples are encouraged to make contact well in advance of their proposed wedding date for preparation and arrangements.

Baptisms at St Joseph's are arranged by contacting the parish office. Additional opportunities for Reconciliation are offered during Advent and Lent.