Sacred tieart Cfmrcfi 1985 1985 is bound to go down as the year of anniversaries for the diocese of East Anglia, as you know I have celebrated the fortieth of my priesthood, and now you are celebrating sixty years of the Church of the Sacred Heart and St. Margaret Mary. Anniversaries make us look back on the years that have gone by, hopefully with much gratitude. Yes, together we give thanks for the sixty years of the presence of your church. Its presence is a sign of the love and forgiveness of God. Cardinal Hume once said to a group of young people that whenever they saw a church, they were to see it as a symbol that God wanted them. He is so right! God wants you and me to be, in the world today, witnesses of his love, bearers of his forgiveness and truth. Whenever you come to the Church of the Sacred Heart and St. Margaret Mary, to celebrate the Sacraments of Christ's love, remember that what you receive you are called to share. May the Church in Dereham continue to blossom and grow in the service of Christ. Yours devotedly, +Alan C. Clark Bishop of East Anglia The first record of Catholics in East Dereham is in 1834, although undoubtedly there would have been Catholics in the area before that year; three were recorded at Gressenhall and five in East Dereham. One of these, a Mrs. Skerritt is recorded in "The Norfolk Diary1, written by Rev. Benjamin Armstrong, as having borrowed a book from him. At the time, East Dereham would have been in Costessey Parish. It is reputed that Priests must have visited the Town occasionally, but there appears to be no further reference to Catholics until 1911. At this time, a series of Lectures were held in the Corn Hall by the Motor Mission, each attended by over seven hundred people, the Mission being led by Mgr. Benson, the son of the then late Archbishop of Canterbury, Fr. Vaughan, nephew of Cardinal Vaughan, and Fr. Norgate, son of an Anglican Vicar. The nightly addresses were "What Catholics Believe" and the Police were always present, but although there was always dissention amongst some, there was no violence. Arising out of the Dereham Missions, a number of Conve'rts were made amongst whom was a girl of seventeen subsequently to become Mrs. May Rayner, who was received into the Church at Swaffham in 1912. The times were difficult for Catholics and when the Bishop arranged a Mission at Dereham, he was abused and spat upon, and attempts were made to overturn his car. Before the latter part of 1911, Fr. Gray celebrated Mass in a private house and later made use of the Bull Club Room. During the Great War, the Club Room was taken over by the military authorities as a billet, and so Fr. Gray had nowhere to say Mass. After a number of years he made arrangements to say Mass in a small room of the Postmasters House which was made into an Oratory. Also at this time Fr. Gray arranged each Christmas for a Horse and Wagon holding 10 persons to travel to Fakenham for Christmas Day Mass. It was not, however, until 1925 that the first official Church for Roman Catholics was opened, record of this having been given in The Journal (later to become the Dereham and Fakenham Times) for Saturday 25th July 1925. The first building was a temporary wooden structure provided by the Guild of Ransom upon a piece of land previously known for many years as the Children's Recreation Ground, situated at the corner of London Road and Commercial Road, and purchased by Fr. Gray. OPENING OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN DEREHAM - 1925 - 2 - At that time the Church Land extended as far as the Traffic Island at the junction of the two roads. This building was consecrated and dedicated to The Sacred Heart and St. Margaret Mary on Tuesday 21st July 1925. For the occasion, High Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Northampton, Bishop Carey-Elwes. The Clergy assisting at the time were the Rev. Mgr. Freeland Vicar General, Canon Flint (Lynford), Canon Eelee (Lynn), Canon Garrett (Wellingborough), The Rev. Frs. Carter (Sheringham), Alban (Buckingham), Edward Scott (Norwich), Wainwright (Norwich), Fitzgerald (Thetford), Ketterer (Swaffham), and Gray (Fakenham). INSIDE OF 1925 CHURCH - 3 - The Bishop in his address remarked that there were things in the history of the world which seemed written in letters of gold, but they were nothing when compared with the things which God did. The occasion being celebrated could be called an act which God performed not only for his own honour but also out of pity, love and compassion for the creatures He had made. In these things He took His own time, which often seemed long and weary to us, but which should be a matter of waiting and prayer that His will might be done for His glory and our salvation. The One Hundred strong Catholic congregation, despite the wet weather, were subsequently present at the luncheon at the King's Head Hotel at which the Bishop presided. Tribute was paid by him to the hard work put in by Fr. Gray in the erection of the New Church1 and Sir Henry Bedingfield proposed the toast of the Bishop. Whilst the opening of the little Timber Church at Dereham was in itself not a major event, it was nevertheless great in its portent. Centuries before, there was no place in England that was so Catholic, so full of devotion, so joined in unity with the spirit of the Church of God on earth as that part of Norfolk. A statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, which is in the Church today, was given by Mr. & Mrs. F. Rayner in memory of the death of their son Kenneth in 1939. The Monstrance was given in memory of the Rev. Fr. George Fressanges of Norwich, who was killed during the war. Many other gifts were given at this time, and indeed over the years the Church has flourished because of the generosity of the parishioners in giving many items for Church use and - 4 - decoration as well as financial gifts. Also around this time a great landmark appeared at the entrance to the Church land, namely the large Statue of the Sacred Heart, it was erected in 1932 and still has a prominent place at the gate of the Church. STATUE ON SITE - 1932 At the time of the Motor Mission a few converts came into the Church and this steady trickle continued, and during the time Fr. Ketterer served Dereham, Mr. & Mrs. Charlie & Vi Seeker were converted to the Catholic Faith and received into the Church. Having served the needs of the Parish for eighteen years, it became apparent in 1947 that the little wooden Church had become quite - 5 - inadequate for the needs of the increasing congregation. The War years had prevented works of repair being carried out and in wet weather, water rained down upon the altar and the worshippers, with the result that the Church became so damp the Blessed Sacrament could no longer be reserved there. In the year 1949, the Church ceased to be used except for Holy Days and the Assembly Rooms in Dereham became used for Sunday Mass. The Timber Church was eventually given up in October 1950, when work was begun on erecting a new Church. In the meantime, the Assembly Rooms, Market Place, Dereham, which was also used as a Magistrates Court Rooms, on Fridays and the Council Chamber on Monday and Tuesday evenings, became the venue for Masses due to the dedication and help given by Mrs. May Rayner and her husband, who erected a temporary altar and moved the furniture before and after each Mass. OUTSIDE OF THE NEW CHURCH - 1951 - 6 - Mr. & Mrs. Rayner were indeed great workers and benefactors of the Church for many years, and Mr. Rayner died only recently in October 1982 in Norwich. The building of the new Church commenced in 1950 as designed by Mr. Donovan Purcell and was finally completed in September 1951, and on 23rd September the new Church was opened and Blessed by His Lordship the Bishop of Northampton, the Rt. Rev. Mgr. Leo Parker. Built at a cost of £5,000 the new Church although simple in design has a semi-circular apse surmounted by a semi-dome. INSIDE OF THE NEW CHURCH - 1951 - 7 - The Church was intended to hold about One Hundred and Fifty people and was especially designed to permit enlargement at a future date, should Dereham ultimately become a self- supporting Parish with a Priest of its own. The then congregation of One Hundred or more Roman Catholics received visits from the Rev. Fr. M.L. Cowin of Wymondham. At the opening of the Church, the Bishop offered Mass assisted by the Rev. Fr. J.J. Ketterer of Kings Lynn, and Rev. Fr. G. Hulme of Walsingham. The Bishop in his address said the Church was the workshop as it were, of the supernatural works of Almighty God and he urged the congregation to use their Church. The New Church was blessed by the Bishop, assisted by Fr. Ketterer, by sprinklings Holy Water on the walls inside and out. The opening ceremony was followed by a Reception in the evening at which the Bishop received and spoke to members of the Dereham congregation. This took place at the former Kings Arms Hotel (which is now Woolworths). Fr. Hulme was there, as was Fr.