St. Mary Immaculate, Falmouth

Introduction

Saint Mary Immaculate in Falmouth, within the Diocese of Plymouth, was designed by architect J A Hansom in a blend of Gothic and Burgundian Romanesque styles and built in 1868. The church was opened on 26 August 1869 by Bishop Vaughan, assisted by Bishop Ullathorne of Birmingham.

History

The architect Joseph Aloysius Hansom (1803–1882) invented the hansom cab in 1834. In 1881 the tower and spire were completed to the designs of J S Hansom, J A Hansom's son.

The chief benefactors of this period were the quarry-owner Thomas Moor Horsford and the granite-shipper William George Freeman. The parish school was in the crypt until 1886 when it was relocated to a single-storey, linear building to the north-west of the church, which is now (2013) the church hall.

Canon Cassey died in 1902. Under his successor, Canon James Burns, who died here in 1924, the Catholic Church became better integrated in the life of the town.

The Lourdes Grotto to the north aisle was created in 1926. In 1946 Canon George Cantell prepared the church for its consecration by Bishop Grimshaw on 8 September 1948.

Canon George Cantell, who arrived in 1946, was much involved in the Liturgical Art Movement of the period. Canon George Ford, Chancellor of the Diocese, came in 1952 and died suddenly on 10th November 1961.

During the 1970s the granite altar was brought forward and the original gradine and tabernacle shelf discarded. During the 1970s, the baptistery was moved to the Sacred Heart chapel and the former baptistery became the reconciliation room.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is constructed of Killas rubble stone with granite stone dressings. The plan consists of a nave with apsidal chancel, north and south aisles with small apses, a square tower to the south-east corner, and a crypt below the nave. The interior has plain plastered walls and an arch-braced and scissor-braced roof springing from wooden corbels to the nave. The seven-bay arcades comprise equilateral two-centred arches on round columns with octagonal capitals.

The tower is divided into three stages: the first square, the second octagonal, and the third cylindrical with a conical roof with lucarnes. The polished granite altar to the chancel with a seven-bay arcade with trefoil heads was erected by the Freeman family. The windows in the sanctuary were given by two sisters, Jane H. Sturgeon Coleman (nee Polglase) and Amelia Billar Polglase and show nine events of the paschal mystery. Two windows in the former Sacred Heart chapel, now baptistery, were given by Canon Cantell and made by Fr Charles Norris of Buckfast Abbey in 1948.

A stone statue of the Mother and Child is located outside the west entrance, but formerly located in the Lady Chapel. The Lady Chapel windows are a memorial to W G Freeman's wife. The big window over the west door is a memorial to T M Horsford and his wife, who died in 1897. The statues of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady and St Joseph are handsome works in carved wood, as are those of Our Lady and St Bernadette in the Lourdes Grotto, and the stations of the cross. The parish has a Parish Evangelisation team meeting in the hall in Falmouth.

Parish life

The parish has a St Vincent de Paul Society group that meets in the presbytery. A 100+ Club is run by the parish with subs of £12 per year per number. The church has facilities for wheelchair access, hearing aid loop, disabled parking, and guide dog access.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish offers a First Holy Communion programme for children in year 3 or above. The Parish Pastoral Council advises the parish priest.

The Christmas Draw sells tickets at £1 each or £5 for a book of five. A CAFOD Deanery Meeting is hosted in the Church Hall in Falmouth.