St. Wilfrid, Preston

Introduction

The first post-reformation Catholic church in Preston was established by Jesuits in 1761 as St Mary's in Friargate.

History

St Wilfrid's was begun in April 1792 and finished 14 months later at a cost of £4,000, driven by Father Joseph 'Daddy' Dunn. The church was opened on June 4, 1793 with an oratorio, Handel's Messiah, and the Coronation Anthem, as suggested by Father Dunn.

A new church of Saint Wilfrid opened in Chapel Street, June 1793 and Saint Mary’s closed, with the Jesuit priests living at 1 Chapel Street. In 1793 Dunn launched with 20 gns a fund to complete ornamental work and provide an organ in the new chapel. Dunn died on November 19, 1827, aged 82, 51 years after arrival in Preston in 1776.

When the English province of the Society of Jesus was restored in 1803, Fathers Dunn and Morgan chose not to renew their Vows or rejoin the Society, but welcomed and housed several Jesuits. In 1878 a new 'sodality' chapel and confessionals were added and the inside of the church was remodelled, finished in 1880. Ten years later stone cladding, terra-cotta and stone carvings were added to the exterior, and elaborate marbles from all over Europe were fixed to the interior walls and columns. The church was never really re-ordered for the post-Vatican II liturgy, retaining the altar rails and high altar with very little modification. The first stage of St Wilfrid's was a plain brick edifice with a balcony running along three sides of the interior.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of red brick with much buff terracotta cladding and dressings, and a slate roof. The church has mosaic portraits of saints over the arcade to the chapel. The church has a canted north gallery with ornamental cast-iron balustrade.

The St Wilfrid's Banner was commissioned in 1993 on the bi-centenary. The church has a mosaic of St Wilfrid in the south aisle.

The church is in Italian basilica style with a nave on a north-south axis, east and west aisles, east chapels and south apse. The interior has a coffered barrel-vaulted ceiling. The interior has marble cladding to the walls and apse, in various hues, including giant Corinthian pilasters. The north front has a large round-headed doorway with very elaborate terracotta surround including tympanum with reliefs.

The north front has a large circular window near the top flanked by monograms and under an enriched pediment. The stained glass windows in St Wilfrid's are particularly fine, most if not all made by Franz Mayer & Co., of Munich and London. The south aisle windows include St George and St Theresa, to the memory of Theresa Parker, 1912. The south aisle windows include St Helen and St Nicholas, to the memory of Nicholas and Helen Hayes, 1885.

The south aisle windows include The Death of the Virgin, to the memory of Alice, wife of Robert Moss of Preston, n.d. The south aisle windows include St John the Evangelist comforting Mary, to the memory of John Westhead, 1898. The south aisle windows include St Elizabeth, St Peter and St Agnes, to the memory of Elizabeth Banks, n.d. The Chapel of the Holy Ghost, at the east end of the south aisle, was designed by S.J. Nicholl.

Arches to left and right of the apse have single columns supporting entablatures which act as plinths for gilded sculptures of angels. The altar is of white and pink marble, fronted by a central panel enclosing the monogram IHS, and flanked by columns of dark green marble. The tabernacle of white marble, with an arched dome supported by angels, was designed by J.J. Scoles. In 1879 the organ-builders William Hill & Son undertook a major reconstruction of the original 1839 Davis organ from the old church.

In 1995 the organ was sensitively restored, repainting the front pipes to their original gold, and revoicing the reed stops to return it to how it must have sounded in 1880. St Wilfrid's provides the location for two projects offering practical support to Preston's homeless and those on the fringe of society.

Music and liturgy

The choir and musicians provide music at Taize, Reconciliation, Advent, Lent, Ecumenical and other liturgies as required throughout the year. The choir supports local Ecumenical Services and provides music at parish funerals and is invited to sing at weddings. The choir has no audition, only a commitment to attend regularly and a desire to support the liturgy. The choir consists of members from St Wilfrid’s parish community and students from the university.

The balustrade fronting the organ loft once served as an altar rail in the old church. A CD entitled Music to Celebrate Preston Guild 2012 features the Organ and Musicians of St Wilfrid’s Church, together with the St Wilfrid’s Guild Choir.

Regular events

The parish supports HCPT with their annual pilgrimage holidays to Lourdes. The choir recorded a CD in 2012 to celebrate the Guild Year, still available in the parish shop. The Pastoral Parish Council is a group of parishioners who meet regularly to discuss ideas and ways to support the Parish Priest.