St Mary, Leyland

Introduction

St Mary, Leyland, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, was built in 1962-64 by Weightman and Bullen, with J. Faczynski as partner in charge. The church was consecrated on 4th April 1964. The parish was founded by the Benedictine monks of Ampleforth Abbey in 1845, with the original church on Worden Lane.

Architecture and furnishings

Ampleforth Abbey served the parish until 2022 when it was handed over to the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The church has a circular, aisled plan with a central altar, projecting entrance and five projecting chapels. The church is built of pink brick with reinforced concrete and copper covered roofs, zig-zag to the main space and flat to the aisle. The freestanding tower to the liturgical NW is an integral part of the design.

A large polychrome ceramic mural representing the Last Judgment by Adam Kossowski occupies the width of the porch above the two double-doored entrances. The aisle walls comprise thirty-six panels of abstract dalle-de-verre stained glass, totalling 233 feet in length, by Patrick Reyntiens, mostly in blues and greens, on the theme of the first day of Creation. Suspended above the altar is the original ring-shaped light fixture, and also Adam Kossowski's ceramic of Christ the King. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel contains a green marble altar with in-built raking supports, behind which is a tapestry representing the Trinity designed by the architect J. Faczynski.

The entrance is in a large projecting porch with roof rising outwards and the roof slab cantilevered above the doors, its underside curving upward. The roof has a circular glazed light to its centre, its sides leaning outwards, culminating in a sculpted finial of copper or bronze. The church has a brick rotunda with projecting painted reinforced concrete chapels to left and right, of organic round-cornered form, while those behind are square-sided. The exposed brick drum rises to the exposed, board-marked concrete folded roof.

The church has fixed curved timber benches placed on a slightly raked floor. The church has a folded radial roof above the main space, leaning outwards to shelter triangular clerestory windows. The font is placed in the narthex, in a shallow, marble-lined depression in the floor, comprising a concrete cylinder with an inscribed bronze lid. The sanctuary is floored in white marble, raised by a step, and the white marble altar is raised by three further steps.

Further original light fittings are suspended above the congregation. The Our Father is sung in Latin at the High Masses.

Parish life

The parish is part of the South Ribble Family of Parishes, which includes St Mary's, Leyland; Our Lady's, Tarleton; St Mary Magdalen and St Teresa's, Penwortham; and St Oswald's, Longton. The parish has a Community Centre. The parish maintains a sick list for prayers. The parish has a Facebook page.

The parish has a Flickr photograph album. The parish holds a Children's Mass.

The parish has a 300 Club lottery with an agent. The parish holds an Annual Altar Servers' Mass in church.