A HISTORY OF THE

PARISH OF ST GREGORY THE GREAT

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

1852 - 2002 BY GERALD MORRIS AND 2003 - 2016 BY DOREEN MORRIS A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

Foreword

Dr. Levi Fox, O.B.E., D.L. Director Emeritus of the Stratford Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Some years ago I very much enjoyed talking to the late Thomas Band about his research into the history of St. Gregory's Church. At that time he was a regular user of the Birthplace Trust's Records Office which came under my care as Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. In more recent times I have had the pleasure of hearing more about the same subject from Gerald Morris who has been attending a records course I conduct for the University of Warwick. I have been impressed by the range and depth of his research and I warmly commend his accompanying account of the early history of St. Gregory's. Levi Fox, The Shakespeare Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon, October 2002

St. Gregory the Great, 2 Welcombe Road, Stratford-upon-Avon. CV37 6UJ. Telephone Number: 01789 292439. Website: stgregorys-stratford.org A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

Preface 1852 - 2002 It would not be possible to write a History of the Parish of St. Gregory the Great without a great deal of help from many sources. The task became more complicated since parishes, as we know them, did not exist in the nineteenth century. It was nearly seventy years after the Catholic Hierarchy was restored in this country before canonical parishes were established. The custom was to call a particular territory a mission. The area of Stratford-upon-Avon, was part of the Benedictine Mission at Wootton Wawen, some six miles away. In 1849 the Community decided that it was no longer suitable for the needs of Stratford upon Avon to be served from Wootton. A site for a church was a necessity for the people. The English Benedictine Congregation have provided our priests in Stratford-upon-Avon for all but five of those years. I wish to thank Dr. Robert Bearman and the staff of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Records Office for their help. They provided many documents and much information for my research. I am also grateful for material obtained from the files of the late Thomas H. Band, Parish Archivist. The assistance of the Abbot of Douai, the Right Rev. Dom. Geoffrey Scott is much appreciated in compiling the full list of parish priests. Many parishioners and local townspeople have also provided valuable information. Gerald Morris, Stratford-upon-Avon, October 2OO2 Supplementary Preface 2003 - 2016

My late husband, Gerald, had great pleasure in chronicling the original part of this History and, since he completed it, it has become necessary to update it so that the main components may be included in the Parish website on the Internet. As he died in October 2008 I have undertaken to do this on his behalf and I have been glad to extend the History for a further fourteen years. I have used as my main resource the Parish Bulletins which give a continuous commentary on the events in the Parish. My thanks for this detailed information, covering 2003 to 2016, go to the Parish Priests, Father Austin and Father Alex and to the Parish Secretaries, Mrs. Veronica Harrison and Mrs. Jayne Welch. I am also very grateful to Mr. Con McHugh for his editing of the updated copy and his addition of the wonderful contemporary photographs. As we rejoice in the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Church of Saint Gregory the Great, I hope that parishioners and other readers will enjoy reading about life in this parish over the last one hundred and sixty four years. Doreen Morris Stratford-upon-Avon October 2016 www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 3 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

Contents

Foreword ...... 2 Preface 1852 - 2002 ...... 3 Supplementary Preface 2003 - 2016 ...... 3 Contents ...... 4 Parish Timeline ...... 5 Priests who have served St Gregory’s ...... 6 The Mission at Wootton Wawen ...... 7 Stratford-upon-Avon ...... 10 Plans for a new church ...... 12 Church of Saint Gregory the Great ...... 14 The Parish Schools ...... 17 Parish Societies ...... 23 St. Gregory's, St. Joseph's and Our Lady of Peace Churches ...... 24 The Twenty-First Century ...... 29 Recent History ...... 30 Old Photographs ...... 33 Photographs 2016 ...... 34 Photographs from the Celebration of 150th Anniversary of the Opening of St Gregory’s Church 22nd October 2016...... 36 Acknowledgements ...... 39

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Parish Timeline

1733 Records show Benedictine Monks in Wootton Wawen, some 6 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon. 1849 Benedictine Monks start to address the spiritual needs of those living in Stratford upon Avon. 1850 Church site purchased for £175. 1852 Parish is founded. 1853 Temporary Chapel (Our Lady of Salette) opened 17th May in Rother Street. 1866 Church building completed 30th July. 1866 Church opened 23rd October by William Bernard Ullathorne, The Bishop of Birmingham. Building cost £1,533. 1882 Land purchased to build new school for £750. New school opens in Henley Street on 17th March. 1958 Work on replacing South West End Wall and Porch completed in May at cost of £3,000. 1960 New School in Avenue Road opens 29th September. 1966 Mass times 7 am, 8 am, 9 am, 10.30 am, 6.30 pm. Parish celebrated the centenary of the opening of St Gregory’s Church on 23rd October. 1967 Baptist Chapel in Tiddington acquired by Diocese. St Joseph’s Mass Centre opens on 8th December. Permission granted for church in west of the town. Present school completed with accommodation for up to 280 pupils. Old school in Henley Street vacated and used as Parish hall. 1973 Our Lady of Peace church opens at cost of £36,000 on 22nd May. Mass celebrated by Archbishop George Patrick Dwyer. Chimes ring out from new Angelus Bell at St Gregory’s. 1990 Mass times St Gregory’s: Saturday 5.30 pm, Sunday 8.30 am, 11 am, 6.30 pm. Our Lady of Peace: Sunday 9.30 am. St Joseph’s: Sunday 10am. 1996 Mass celebrated in Stratford Guild Chapel for the first time since the Reformation. 1998 Silver Jubilee of Our Lady of Peace Church. 2000 St Joseph’s Tiddington closes 5th November. 2001 St Gregory’s Organ restored. 2002 150th Anniversary of founding of the Parish. 2004 Mass times: St Gregory’s: Saturday 5.30 pm, Sunday 8.15 am, 11.15 am. Our Lady of Peace: Sunday 9.30 am. 2009 Old school in Henley Street let out as Buzz Café. 2016 Parish celebrated 150th Anniversary of the Opening of St Gregory’s Church.

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Priests who have served St Gregory’s

The following priests served St. Gregory’s parish during its first one hundred and fifty years:

1852 Alfred Jeken Dayman (secular) 1858 Charles Stanislaus Holohan OSB 1859 Henry Gregory Lane OSB 1864 George Bernard Fazakerley OSB 1866 William Benedict Scarisbrick OSB 1867 Michael Placid Sinnott OSB 1868 William Benedict Purton OSB 1873 James Vincent Spears OSB 1878 Edward John Stutter OSB 1887 John Ignatius Stuart OSB 1889 Hugh Joseph McConnell OSB 1890 Arthur Richard O’Hare OSB 1891 George Bernard Fazakerley OSB 1894 Bernard Romanus Thomas OSB 1899 Peter Wulstan Fossato OSB 1901 James Gilbert Atherton OSB 1913 Peter Wulstan Fossato OSB 1934 William Benedict Sander OSB 1935 Francis Raymond Aspinwall OSB 1943 Thomas Edmund Connolly OSB 1949 Henry Leonard Wynne OSB 1952 James Mark Ackers OSB 1954 William Aloysius Bloor OSB 1961 Thomas Vincent Deane OSB 1964 James Robert Richardson OSB 1979 Myles Placid Sinnott OSB 1990 Philip Romuald Simpson OSB 2000 Paul Austin Gurr OSB 2010 Alexander Austin OSB

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The Mission at Wootton Wawen

The Catholic Hierarchy was restored in 1850 but it was many years before the old missions acquired their existence as parishes. The ancient Cathedrals and church buildings were not available and new ones had to be planned, built and paid for throughout the country. Priests had to be found and Bishops consecrated. Cardinal Wiseman and his fellow Bishops established a policy to postpone the introduction of parochial systems and sub divisions of dioceses. Missions did not become parishes in the strict sense before May 1918 (Code of Canon Law). Missions then fully established became canonical parishes. It was the custom of past Provincials to give a mission its independent territory as soon as it was given a priest of its own. From the Reformation until 1849 there was no permanent Roman Catholic mission in Stratford. It was the Benedictine monks, living in the village of Wootton Wawen, some six miles away, who looked after the spiritual needs of the Stratford Roman Catholics. They worked in various conditions of difficulty and danger. It is recorded that Benedictine monks first came to Wootton around 1733. The modern mission there began in 1806, the chaplain being the Rev. Dom James Benedict Deday OSB, Titular Prior of Rochester, who remained at Wootton until his death on 7th November 1845. He was succeeded by Dom Joseph Bernard Short (1840-1851), then Dom Peter Joseph Hewitt (1851-1869). Dom Henry Gregory Lane was resident there during 1857-1859, in Stratford-upon-Avon 1859-1864 and again at Wootton in 1867-1869. Dom John Morrall was chaplain, at Wootton, from 1869 to 1888. In Wootton Wawen the Lords of the Manor were staunch Catholics from the Norman Conquest of 1066 until the year 1903 and were able to support resident clergy, who worked from Wootton Hall.

Wootton Hall www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 7 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

The House as it stands is of Italian design and built of stone, mainly in 1687. From the appearance of the masonry and the presence of the initials of Francis, second Lord Carington and his wife Anne, with a peacock’s head, the family crest, and the date 1687 on the lead rain-water heads of the south front, there can be no doubt that the house was built by them at that time (the outbuilding at the rear of the Hall was the site of the original manor house (of the Staffords) with a dovecote nearby). The dining room, formerly called the White Room, from the white paint that covered the panelling, was for some time prior to the building of the chapel in 1813, used as a chapel within the house for the family and for other Roman Catholics who entered through a door from the grounds. Previously to this, the building at the rear of the house (now the laundry) was used for divine service. It has a cross on the brickwork of one of the chimneys and it is said that a carved and gilt oak beam, a relic of this chapel, long remained within. There is reason to believe that, earlier still, the chapel was situated in the present kitchen. The chapel in the White Room was dismantled when the brick built Roman Catholic Chapel was added onto the back of the house by Catherine, Lady Smythe, in 1813. This building work was funded by Catherine, the Dowager Lady Smythe, two years after the death of her husband, at a cost of £4,000. The Chapel building was 80ft long, 30ft wide and 32ft high to the crown of the arched ceiling. The roof was divided into compartments for decoration and the East window was filled with stained glass. The altar of fine marble was sculptured and brought from Rome. The tabernacle was carved out of a solid piece of Carrara marble and surrounded by coloured marble pillars with gilt capitals. The pulpit was Grecian, a gift of Fr. Joseph Hewitt, in 1853. A small organ of fine tone was constructed by Fr. J. Benedict Deday during his time in charge of the mission. The Cemetery was created in 1850. (Fr. Joseph Hewitt died at Wootton in March 1869 and he is buried in this cemetery. A small chapel was erected there in his memory and this was blessed and opened on 27th September 1872.) A school and a reading room were situated in part of the old Mill House during 1851 and continued in use until 1961 when the new school opened at Henley in Arden. A presbytery was provided at ‘The Cottage’ opposite the Mill, for the Benedictine priests (the priests’ house was the old Priory) who had moved from the chaplains’ rooms at the Hall during 1841. The long period of Roman Catholic ownership came to an end in September 1903, when Mr. G. H. Hughes purchased the property. The chapel was then turned into a music room. The sacred ornaments were removed to the New Church, situated on the road from Wootton to Alcester, and dedicated to Our Blessed Lady and St. Benedict. Mr. Hughes died in 1906 and the Hall was sold to a Mr. Robert Darley Guinness.

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On St. Gregory's Day 1849, Dom John Bernard Short OSB, priest to the Roman Catholic Community and resident chaplain (1840-1851) to the Smythe family at Wootton Hall, decided that it was no longer appropriate for the busy town of Stratford-upon-Avon of some 8,000 people to be administered from the modest mission headquarters at Wootton Wawen. He formed a committee to raise money to purchase a site for a church and a cemetery in Stratford. The freehold land on which the new church was built was purchased of Mr. Joseph Calloway of Stratford-upon-Avon and the Deed of Conveyance was signed on 5th April 1850. The purchase price was £175. In 1851 Fr. John Bernard Short (who in 1857 became chaplain to the nuns at Stanbrook Abbey) was succeeded at Wootton by Fr. Peter Joseph Hewitt (Downside).

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Stratford-upon-Avon

During the years 1849-1852 the Stratford committee raised £463 and the site on which St. Gregory's now stands was bought. It was walled in (during 1850) and used in part as a cemetery. This committee was wound up in 1852. In 1852 the Benedictine order withdrew temporarily from Stratford. Bishop Ullathorne OSB, installed as Bishop of Birmingham on 29th September 1950, appointed a diocesan priest, the Rev. Alfred Jeken Dayman, to take charge of the mission. Fr. Dayman was 31 years of age and had been an undergraduate of Exeter College, Oxford, from where he graduated in 1843. He had subsequently been ordained priest in the Church of England by the Bishop of Worcester. For help in securing his first clerical post he had turned to his school friend William Fulke Lucy, son of George and Mary Lucy of Charlecote Manor.

Charlecote House

Alfred J. Dayman was newly ordained and required employment. The Lucy family resolved to provide it. They had affectionate memories of the school at Great Tew which Fulke Lucy had attended successfully during the regime of Dayman's father, the Rector of Tew. A tutor was required at Charlecote for two of the younger Lucy sons, Henry and Reginald. When the gentry engaged a tutor at this period it was essential that the tutor should also be a curate. Adjoining the village of Charlecote is the village of Wasperton, where the vicar of the day was the Rev. Thomas Leveson Lane, a wealthy bachelor whose family was connected by marriage with the Lucy family. He readily accepted Dayman as his curate. In July 1845, when Fulke Lucy died aged 23, Henry Lucy (the new heir) was removed from Dayman's charge and sent to boarding school. Shortly afterwards Reginald followed his brother to Dunchurch School and Alfred Dayman became 'functus officio'. He was left only with the duties of the Wasperton curacy.

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During 1849 Dayman delivered a sermon entitled ‘The houses of God as they were, as they are and as they ought to be’. At this time the Anglican Bishop of Worcester, a strict Protestant, was considering separating Packwood from Wasperton and making an independent parish under its own vicar. Alfred Dayman was severely criticised and referred to as ‘a Protestant person in a Roman collar’ and as one who could not see the relative importance of different doctrines. After a period of protest Dayman's licence was eventually revoked by episcopal decree on 1st January 1850. Throughout the autumn of 1849 he had fought every inch of the way in person and in writing to establish that he was in fact a loyal Anglican. The Protestants declared Dayman a Catholic. He then went off to consult with John Henry Newman, who had himself, in recent times, become a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Alfred Jeken Dayman was received into the Roman Catholic Church by Fr. John Henry Newman on 12th January 1850. The Bishop of Birmingham, William Bernard Ullathorne, sent him to Marseilles in 1851 to study for the Catholic priesthood. Fr. Dayman was ordained by the Bishop of Marseilles on Easter Saturday 1852. It seems likely that Bishop Ullathorne had a special confidence in Fr. Dayman. They both shared a devotion to Our Lady of La Salette (a mountain near Grenoble). Fr. Dayman was to dedicate his church in Stratford to Our Lady of La Salette. This devotion had only just been sanctioned, at that time, by the Bishop of Grenoble.

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Plans for a new church

Fr. Dayman, a secular priest, arrived at Rother House, 14/15 Rother Street, in Stratford- upon-Avon on 19th September 1852 and immediately secured approval from Bishop Ullathorne for the cancellation of the Benedictine plans, which had been developing since 1849, for the construction of a Roman Catholic Church just outside the town. He was in charge of the Stratford mission but records of his ministry are sparse in the extreme. He was also the first priest to live in the town since the Reformation. Baptismal Register No. 1 shows that ‘In Ecclesia Sanctae et Beatae Mariae Salettensis apud Stratford-Super-Avon’ Fr. Dayman baptised a child (Thomas Hoher) on 28th October 1852, Similar baptisms were recorded until the register ends in 1857. A temporary Chapel, for Divine Worship was opened on Tuesday 17th May 1853, in the building, in Rother Street, which is now used as offices by Stratford-Upon-Avon Town Council (The Stratford Artshouse in 2016). High Mass was sung by Fr. Dayman, with Fr. J. Bond and Fr. Joseph Hewitt of Wootton Wawen being Deacon and Sub-Deacon. Bishop Ullathorne conducted a formal service of dedication. In the evening a select party of about sixty ladies and gentlemen dined together at one of the principal establishments of the town - Chairman Rev. Jefferies; Vice Chairman Mr. James Cox Jr. It is recorded that in 1853 Fr. Dayman purchased two houses, at a cost of £1250, in Rother Street from a John Morgan Sanders. Fr. Dayman had bought the freehold and equipped the premises in a most lavish manner. It contained a chapel, a library and a small school. He advised his Bishop that there was a great need of a school mistress although the accommodation was modest.

Rother House (The Stratford Artshouse, 2016) In 1857, on 16th and 17th September, Thomas Bennett, auctioneer, of Rother Street, sold all 447 lots comprising the entire contents of the Chapel, of the adjacent School and of Fr. Dayman's own dwelling. The missionary priest left the town and returned to his friends (members of his family) at Oxford. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 12 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

Fr. Dayman's mission had ended. Mortgagees had taken possession of the buildings. Fr. Dayman gave ill health as his reason for closing the chapel and the premises. During the Pastorate of the Rev. A.J. Dayman nothing was done towards any fund raising for the New Church. The Benedictines from Wootton Wawen returned immediately to the town and revived the Warwick Road project. They opened temporary chapels in various makeshift premises, one being a hired shed in Wood Street, until they could build the present church. In 1859 Dom Henry Gregory Lane was appointed Pastor when a new impetus was given towards the good work. The Catholic Church Building Society, in Stratford-upon-Avon, was inaugurated on Christmas Day, 25th December 1859, at a meeting held in the sacristy in Wood Street. The Chairman was Fr. H. Gregory Lane OSB: the Treasurer was James Cox Junior. This Society continued to collect moneys in the congregation for the building fund. At a meeting on 10th November 1862 it was decided to discontinue the society for the present. It is recorded that Fr. Gregory Lane was in the town from 1859 to 1864. He lived during the day in a small room less than ten foot square. When Fr. Gregory Lane was re-called in 1864 the building fund amounted to £984-14s-8d.

Wood Street, 2002 By the early 1860s the church, the presbytery and school had moved to a site in Wood Street currently occupied by Mark Thomas, Jewellers. The premises into which the school moved had previously been occupied by a local shoemaker, who, it appears, ran another business a sideline: it was described by our forefathers as a ‘low dancing hall’. In an attempt to boost numbers, advertisements for the school appeared stating that children of all denominations could attend. After a short time, however, the school seems to have faded from the scene but the Mass centre remained and the priest continued to live there. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 13 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

Church of Saint Gregory the Great

Dom George Bernard Fazakerley was appointed Pastor in 1864. He and Dom Peter Joseph Hewitt (the Chaplain at Wootton Wawen) began to beg for the church. In 1865 Fr. Joseph Hewitt initiated an appeal in writing to the Catholic Nobility and Gentry and by the middle of the year he had so far succeeded. A sum total of £2,020-9s- 3d was raised from no fewer than 2150 recorded subscribers. Many, of course, would be unrecorded. The new church was entirely funded by subscriptions. At long last an architect could be appointed to draw up plans for a church capable of holding about 300 persons. A parishioner, Mr. Joseph Francis Tempest, offered Fr. Hewitt a sum of £100 if he would use the plans drawn up by Edward Welby Pugin and commence the work at once. E.W. Pugin, aged 32 years and living at Ramsgate, was already a figure of international importance with a vast architectural practice inherited from his still more famous father, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, who led the Gothic revival. With the consent of his superiors Fr, Hewitt accepted the tender of Mr. William Moss, builder, of Loughborough, for building the church at a cost of £1533. This was some £150 below any other tender price, The Contract was signed on 13th June 1865. The first stone was laid by James Cox Junior, Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon and was blessed by Fr, Hewitt. He was assisted by Fr. Fazakerley. The building of the church was completed on 30th July 1866. It was praised at the time as being ‘solemn yet cheerful, light yet devotional, a beautiful ornament to the town and one of the most striking of its public buildings’. Some additional costs are noted in the Minute Book of the Church Building Society as follows: Benches £ 70 - 0s - 0d Organ Loft and Staircase £ 60 - 0s - 0d Heating Appliances £ 65 - 0s - 0d Bell (fixed) £ 27 - 8s - 7d Decoration of Chancel ceiling £ 7 - 10s - 0d Altar £100 - 0s - 0d Altar rail £ 36 - 3s -2d Font £ 10 - 0s -0d

Fr. Fazakerley left the mission on 22nd September 1866 and was succeeded on 28th September by Dom William Benedict Scarisbrick.

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St Gregory’s Church, 1866 The church was opened on Tuesday 23rd October 1866. At 11 am the Bishop of Birmingham, Right Rev. Dom William Bernard Ullathorne OSB (a direct descendant of St. Thomas More) entered St. Gregory's to dedicate the new building and to celebrate the first Mass there. This was very appropriate indeed since the Roman Catholics of Stratford had been served, for hundreds of years, by the Benedictine priests from the mission place of Wootton Hall at Wootton Wawen. The Bishop was accompanied by nine other clergy one of whom, Fr. Rinolfi, was reported to have delivered a ‘most fervid impressive and eloquent sermon’. The dedication comprised a short service of blessing followed by the celebration of Mass. A choir had been assembled and under the direction of one of the clergy (Fr. Murphy) the Mass was sung to the music of Mozart. An excellent example of early ecumenical co-operation should be noted because the choir had been recruited from Protestant sources and it was recorded that other denominations helped to pay the cost of St. Gregory's first organ.

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The dedication was followed by a celebration luncheon in the Town Hall at 2 pm. One hundred people were present, a mere ten toasts were proposed and drunk, thirteen major speeches were made and three cheers were sounded on three occasions.

Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall, 1948

The struggle to build a Roman Catholic Church in Stratford had lasted for seventeen years and from beginning to end the layman most prominently involved was James Cox Junior. He was born into a Baptist family and retained the 'Junior' throughout most of his long life out of respect for his father, a Shottery farmer also called James Cox. He himself was a timber merchant. In 1849 he became a Roman Catholic and later in the same year married a girl from Leicestershire - Ann Cort, who by a strange coincidence, had also recently converted to Catholicism. From that moment they - and later their descendants - applied themselves with devotion and efficiency to the practical problems of the Church in Stratford. James Cox Junior was a member of both the 1849 and 1859 committees and on 22nd June 1865 as Mayor of the James Cox Junior, a genial Borough he laid the foundation stone of St. Gregory's liberal-minded man, who did Church. much to enhance the local James Cox Junior died aged 84 years on 23rd March 1909. prestige of the Catholic Church He had held every public office open to a resident of the town. His requiem was sung by a choir of Benedictine monks from Great Malvern and Belmont Abbey. The organist on that occasion was Bro. Aloysius Bloor - who as the Very Rev. Dom William Aloysius Bloor OSB, was to return as parish priest some forty five years later. Dom Michael Placid Sinnott replaced Fr. Scarisbrick on 12th December 1866. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 16 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

The Parish Schools

Seven years later, in 1873, when Dom James Vincent Spears arrived at St. Gregory's, he felt the absolute necessity of a school's being started for the children. He made this his number one priority and 1875 saw the school revived. Money was in short supply and children had to pay weekly, in cash, for their education. The school was housed in 19, Payton Street, while Fr. Spears lived at number 20. Both houses were rented to him by the Baptist minister, the Rev. Thomas Bumpus. It is interesting to note that in spite of church and chapel variations at this period in time, the clergy made contented neighbours living in one small street alongside each other – the Roman Catholic Priest, the Minister of the Wesleyan Chapel and the Vicar of the now demolished Church of St. James all lived in Payton Street. In November 1878 the school (St. Mary's R. C. School) moved to number 8 Warwick Road. The building was a de-licensed public house, erected in 1831, and known as the Warwick Tavern, with out-houses, stables and garden. The fortunes of this property were closely linked to those of the canal. Although accessible from the road, it catered mainly for the bargees: the stabling was an important element for it was here that the horses who towed the boats were accommodated. This property was leased to the Catholic Church authorities. The newly appointed priest, Dom Edward John Stutter, set about converting the outbuildings and added an extension to the stable block fronting the road. He and his successor, Dom John Ignatius Stuart, used it as their residence until 1889 when the first presbytery (attached to the church) was built.

8 Warwick Road, 1878

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The Catholic Truth Society used the ground floor of number 8 Warwick Road and installed a printing press to produce their earliest pamphlets. On the first floor, above the printing works, the Catholic schoolroom was opened. It is recorded in the Log Book that although it was an old building it was comfortable, well lighted and well furnished. The teacher in charge was Mr. James Gorton. Twenty-three children were recorded on roll on the first day - 18th November 1878. By the end of the Autumn Term numbers had risen to fifty pupils. Expenditure of £5 was listed against the first purchase of books. During 1879 the school was enlarged and by the end of that year one hundred and four children were on the register. Following the examination of standards for December 1879 the teacher in charge reported that the improvements were not so great as he could have wished but this was entirely due to the great shortage of books, slates and ordinary working materials. In May 1880, a Blue Paper was received from the Department of Education recognising the school as being fit to receive Government grants. It was then given the name of St. Gregory. Undeterred by all the early problems the Catholic Church managed to keep the school open. In 1882 the land was purchased at the top of Henley Street, from the Stratford Corporation, to build a new school for 150 pupils at a cost of £750. The land consisted of a yard and outbuildings which had been used by the local Board of Health since 1851. The history of the previous house on this site can be traced back to 1560 and possibly earlier. By 1761 the lease had reverted to the Corporation and the town overseers were paying rent for it as the workhouse which it continued to be until a new one was built in Arden Street in 1836. The house was demolished around 1840. The staff and children moved into the new purpose built school on 17th March 1884. In its day the Henley Street School was really up to-date and was able to boast of water closets rather than earth closets. In December 1885 there were 108 pupils on roll. Attendance was not good - the weather was very severe. Children who had a distance to travel (some lived at least 6 miles away) were absent. Many parents were unemployed. The poor attendance continued through January 1886 due to further severe weather conditions.

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Henley Street School (Boston Tea Party in 2016)

The first inspection of St. Gregory's Mixed School took place in January 1889. The number on roll was only 81, with an average attendance of 62 children. The Report stated that a very fair beginning had been made and the school seemed in proper working order. The Managers were informed that they could consider the school under Government control from 26th October 1888. During the early years of the Henley Street School the numbers on roll varied considerably from time to time and also during various seasons of each year. The average parents were poor. Some lived in the town and others in outlying areas. Many of the children had a considerable distance to travel to school, walking miles there and back again in the afternoon. Families often had to move about to secure work.

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The following are some of the more interesting extracts from the School Log:

5th September 1888 Many pupils not at school owing to the harvest season. 22nd April 1894 School closed by Medical Officer of Health - scarlet fever in the town. School did not re-open until 4th June 1894. 1st July 1898 Children kept away from school to take part in Pea-Picking. 1st December 1909 Mistress arrived late this morning having missed her train. 27th July 1917 Mr. and Mrs. Flower (Brewery) called in the afternoon. They spoke to the children and gave six pence to each of the older scholars and threepence to each one in the infants’ class instead of a tea party, on account of the war. 17th October 1917 Forwarded to the Director of Education some 32 pairs of soldiers’ socks, knitted by girls of the senior division. 21st March 1919 Received notice from Warwickshire County Council that the Educational year would, in future, commence on 1 April, each year.

Records show that numbers in 1938 were around 120 pupils and the top two classes were taught, side by side, in a single class space. In September 1939 the school reopened as a Junior and Infant School. Forty-four children aged eleven years and over were drafted to the New Senior School. The timetable was re-organised in November 1939 in order that school could close at 3.30 pm so that children might reach home before the time of the blackout. At the Christmas party, in December, to obviate the difficulties of the blackout, the children were given lunch instead of tea. Mr. Proudfoot, from the Ministry, came to speak to the pupils, in January 1942, on the necessity of collecting salvage. It was around this time that the magnificent wrought- iron gates guarding the entrance to St. Gregory's Church and Cemetery disappeared overnight and were swallowed up in the salvage drive for metal. By the 1950s there were classes, not only in the main building and in the school play- ground but also in the Mayflower Hall, Clopton Road, Trinity Hall in Tyler Street, a ground floor room at the Technical College and in rooms off the Baptist Hall in Payton Street.

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Dining room facilities promised by the Local Education Authority had not materialised. The Headmistress approached the Baptist Minister and as a result, in February 1951, the Sunday School Hall became the school dining room, serving 90 meals daily. The split sites were a nightmare for teachers, pupils and administrators and it was obvious that yet another site had to be found to house the whole of the flourishing school. Miss A. M. Leslie, Headmistress, retired in July 1952, after32 years' service in the school. In July 1958 the Managers approved plans for a new one form entry school on land at Avenue Road. Two permanent classrooms, the Entrance Hall, the Headmistress's Office and the Secretary's Office were completed and occupied on 29th September 1960. To these were added an outdoor swimming pool which was opened in 1963. It was later roofed over. The battle for proper accommodation continued. The Headmistress, Miss Harman, was resolute in her dealings with the County Education Office, the Diocesan Schools. Commission and the School Managers but it was not until April 1967 that two further classrooms were added. These were the two on the other side of the swimming pool.

St Gregory's School, 1970 More and more children from the surrounding countryside came to St. Gregory's School. Some of these were brought to school by the Deputy Head, Miss M. T. Richardson, in her own minibus, and taken home again after school. The present school was completed in January 1970 with three further classrooms, the Staff Room, the Assembly Hall and the School Meals Kitchen. All the children and staff were under the same roof for the first time. The old school in Henley Street was vacated and it became the Parish Hall. It is still there and is now let for other purposes.

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Accommodation for up to 280 children was provided in the new building. The end product was a very fine school indeed. At the official opening, on Tuesday 16th June 1971, the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend George Patrick Dwyer blessed the new school. He congratulated Fr. Robert Richardson, the School Governors and the Local Authorities for their great spirit of co-operation. He singled out for special praise the work of the Headmistress, Miss C. A. Harman, to whom the school is a memorial. Miss Harman, the first Headmistress of the new school, retired in the summer of 1977, having been Head for twenty five years. Mr. George Fowler was then Headmaster until 1987, when Mr. John Michael Caveney, the present Headteacher, was appointed. Meanwhile another interesting parochial development had taken place. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes (Carmelite sisters of Charity) had purchased the buildings at number 19, St. Gregory's Road, from Mrs. Doreen Thompson for the sum of £7,500, freehold. The sisters took up residence there and wished to establish a Convent School. The Diocesan Authority were concerned that plans for age 11 plus children, in the area, should not be jeopardized by the opening of an independent or private school. Negotiations had been ongoing since the summer of 1960. The Archbishop gave the sisters permission to come to the Archdiocese and to establish a private school for Catholic pupils up to the age of eleven years only. The school eventually opened in September 1962. It was known as Mount Carmel Convent School. The Sisters continued to provide Catholic Primary Education in the town for a period of twelve years. In 1974 Sister Manuela informed the parish that their school would close down in the summer of that year because the nuns now felt that this work was not in the true spirit of their vocations. Some of them were hoping to go to South America. Fr. Robert Richardson then purchased the property, on behalf of Douai Abbey, for the sum of £50,000. It then became known as ‘The Priory’ and was used as the Presbytery for many years.

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Parish Societies

The Knights of St. Columba were active in the parish in the 1920s. Council 217, part of Birmingham Province 18, was established on 27th October 1929. The first Grand Knight was Mr. A. E. Pellett. Dom L. Powell OSB, who died on 3rd August 1936 was a member of honour, ‘Chaplain’ to Council 217.The Council continued its work until 1941. Eventually, it was unable to function owing to local conditions in the early years of World War II. The Council held its last meeting on 31st March 1942. The Grand Knight at that time was Mr. J. H. Brookes. A Section of the Catholic Women's League was inaugurated in the parish in 1953. During its early years the membership was around fifty ladies. The CWL is active in the Parish, in the Archdiocese (as part of the Birmingham Branch) and also at National Level. The CWL is not a fund raising organisation but it does from time to time become involved in one off special projects - the most recent being when a project was undertaken to assist the new Shakespeare Hospice. A sum of £2,300 was collected. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has maintained a presence in the parish over the last forty years, looking after the needs of poor families and annually supplying Christmas parcels to the elderly parishioners. Its members played a leading role in the running of the Priory Basement, where they and their helpers recycled good quality clothing and furniture for people in need. (The Basement ceased to function when the house was sold in 2013.) The Archdiocesan Guild of St. Stephen has several members, enrolled from the experienced parish Altar Servers.

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St. Gregory's, St. Joseph's and Our Lady of Peace Churches

St Gregory's Church, 1957 St. Gregory's Church had again become the focal point during the late 1950s. New housing developments were taking place and the resident Catholic population was increasing to such an extent that the church did not have sufficient capacity to cope. The number of visitors to the town was also increasing year by year. The Archbishop of Birmingham, Archbishop Francis Grimshaw, first mooted a suggestion to Fr. Aloysius Bloor, in 1956, that consideration should be given to finding a site for a new church on the west side of the town. Shortly after that, the parish priest had to devote his time to dealing with an urgent problem concerning the fabric of St. Gregory's Church. Over a period of years heavy traffic along the Warwick Road had badly shaken the foundations, necessitating the entire rebuilding of the South West End Wall, which had become unsafe. Planning permission to rebuild the complete end wall with an extension to the Narthex, was granted by the Council on 12th March 1957. The architects were Healing and Overbury, Rodney Road, Cheltenham. Sapcote Ltd., of Stratford-upon-Avon were the builders. The cost of this replacement, estimated at £3,000 was almost double the original total building costs. The work commenced in the autumn of 1957 and was completed in May 1958. The Hewins pipe organ which had been installed in 1896 in the organ loft, directly underneath the Great Window, was moved to the side of the organ loft as the pipework had been damaged by rain leaking from the flashings of the Bell Tower. The statue of St. Gregory the Great above the South West window was sculpted by Fr. Bloor. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 24 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

In the spring of 1961, Fr. Aloysius Bloor retired and was replaced by Dom Thomas Vincent Deane as parish priest. The Shottery development had to take a back seat since Fr. Deane was very much involved in the organisation of removing dry rot and woodworm from the Church. A new solid floor had to be provided in St. Gregory's Church. The work was carried out during the second and third week of the month of October 1963. The Catholic population was growing fast and St. Gregory's Church could not be enlarged on site. In 1964 Fr. Deane was transferred to another parish and Dom James Robert Richardson was appointed Parish Priest. In 1966 the Sunday Mass times were 7 am, 8 am, 9 am, 10.30 am and 6.30 pm. The Centenary of the Church was celebrated on the 23rd October 1966. Archbishop George Patrick Dwyer was chief concelebrant at the High Mass. The Choirmaster was John Leeson and the Organist Mrs. Judith Cussen. The former Baptist Chapel, in Main Street, Tiddington, was acquired by the Diocese. An arrangement was made for it to be used as a Mass Centre. The parish funded any maintenance and repairs. It was known as St. Joseph's Chapel, Tiddington and was opened on 8th December 1967. The Chapel served a need for parishioners south of the river and in Alveston. The Chapel continued in use for almost thirty-three years. The search for a suitable church site to the west of the town had continued during the 1960s. It was most difficult to obtain the necessary planning permission but the parish community persisted in its efforts. Finally in 1969 permission was granted but stringent conditions were laid down as to the external design. Then, to get things moving, Fr. Richardson started a Mass Centre at the Shottery Memorial Hall and on some occasions Mass was celebrated at St. Andrew's Church, just down the lane. The land for the new church was fenced off and blessed on 11th February 1972.

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The church was eventually built at a cost of £36,000.Archbishop George Patrick Dwyer blessed and opened it at a Solemn Mass on 22nd May 1973 in the presence of a large gathering of parishioners. The Church was dedicated to Our Lady of Peace and, at the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1998 Archbishop Maurice Couve de Murville suggested that the name of Blessed Robert Dibdale should be added. It has accommodation for 200 persons and is served from St. Gregory's, Warwick Road.

Our Lady of Peace Silver Jubilee Celebrations, 1998 One of Fr. Richardson's last tasks in the parish involved the re-ordering of the sanctuary and the consecration of the altar in St. Gregory's Church. This took place on 18th July 1979. Shortly afterwards he was replaced by Dom Myles Placid Sinnott. Fr. Placid was a zealous Parish Priest and a man of great charisma, who set about bringing the people of the parish together on a social level so that they could get to know one another. He undertook the task of refurbishing the Priory and the development of Priory Hall for parochial use. He also redeveloped St Gregory’s Hall in Henley Street for social functions notably the St. Patrick's Day dance held there every year. (This continued for many years and transferred to St. Gregory’s School when the Hall was let on a more commercial basis.) Fr. Placid transferred the St. Patrick's Day Mass from St. Gregory's Church to the Hilton Hotel (Crowne Plaza in 2016) so that the many Irish visitors for the Cheltenham horse racing Festival could be accommodated. This was much appreciated and the visitors gave generously to the parish's Lourdes Fund. The Mass is still celebrated there whenever St Patrick’s Day falls during the Festival.

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For many years the saying of the Angelus prayers had been heralded by the ringing of a bell in the Bell Tower of the church. The original bell fell down in1935, one day when the congregation was going into mass, and it narrowly missed local timber merchant James Court-Cox. No action was taken at that time to replace the bell. In 1958 the complete end wall had to be rebuilt but the original bell tower was still not replaced. Fr. Placid, who was appointed Parish priest in 1979, always had a great devotion to the Angelus, as had parishioner Tom Beirne. Together they initiated the project of the bell restoration. Tom Beirne, George Murphy (Sacristan), and Father Sinnott travelled to the John Taylor Bell Foundary at Loughborough, Leicestershire in June l988 to finalise the requirements for a new Angelus Bell. Sound and tone were of particular importance in relation to its location and the surrounding site. In due course a new bell was manufactured and installed in October 1988. This coincided with the Marian year, the year of Mary, called by Pope John Paul II. Kieran McVeigh, of McVeigh Architects, Hunger Hill, Henley in Arden, prepared details of the construction work required and obtained quotations for the scheme. His fee was £613 plus VAT (Value Added Tax). Building contractors, Constable and Gadsby, of Stratford upon Avon, carried out the construction of the Bell Cote in Hornton stone. The sum of £3,040 plus VAT included dismantling some existing stone work, erecting scaffolding, hoisting and laying new stone. Hornton Quarries Limited, Edgehill, Nr. Banbury, (Architectural Masonry contractors) supplied the stone in sections with dowel joints already cut to facilitate assembly. The cost of this stone and the preparation of it came to the total amount of £6,240.50 plus VAT. John Taylor and Company Bellfounders of Loughborough, manufactured and installed the 12" diameter bell, chime fittings and framework, all of stainless steel together with external electromagnetic hammer and combined unit with timer and Angelus element at a cost of £2,588.20 plus VAT. The ultimate size of the bell was governed by its weight and that of the Bell Cote upon the roof of the church.

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A member of staff from the-Stratford Herald, was present when the bell was placed in position in the Bell Cote and he arranged for the event to be reported in this local weekly newspaper. The Angelus Bell, electronically operated, was to ring three times a day at 6 am, 12 noon and 6 pm. This would remind the faithful of a prayer to commemorate the Annunciation - when the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to say she was going to be the Mother of Christ. Chimes rang out from St. Gregory's Church, Stratford upon Avon after a silence of some 53 years. The inscription on the Bell reads: ‘Marian Year 1987/1988’

St Gregory’s Bell Tower and Bell, 2016 In 1990 Dom Philip Romuald Simpson was transferred from Douai Abbey to be Parish Priest at St. Gregory's. He was an accomplished church musician and had spent some thirty years as Bursar at the Abbey. He was assisted initially by various priests who travelled to the parish on Sundays to celebrate some of the Masses. These, by now, were at 5.30 pm on Saturdays and 8.30 am, 11.00 am and 6.30 pm on Sundays in St. Gregory's and at 9.30 am at Our Lady of Peace and 10.00 am at St. Joseph's. Dom Brendan Boniface Moran joined him as Assistant Priest on 13th January 1999 and the need for the supply priests then ceased. Fr. Romuald returned to Douai Abbey, and Fr. Boniface transferred to Our Lady and St. Joseph's Church, Alcester, on 31st July 2000. On the eve of the Patronal Festival of St. Edmund, in November 2001, the President of the English Benedictine Congregation, Abbot Richard Yeo, of Downside, honoured Fr. Romuald by appointing him Cathedral Prior of Coventry in acknowledgement of his work for the Congregation and for the Free Association of Benedictine Nuns. The Congregation has kept alive the titles of the former Benedictine Cathedrals by appointing monks to the title of Cathedral Prior. These days such appointments are usually welcomed by the Cathedral Authorities as an ecumenical link. Although this is an Office without Jurisdiction it confers upon the holder the title of Very Reverend, and authorises him to wear special priorial pontificalia on official occasions. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 28 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

The Twenty-First Century

Dom Paul Austin Gurr was appointed Parish Priest on 1st August 2000. At first he was helped by Fr. Malachy Stenson, a Passionist Father who had completed his priestly service at St. Saviour's Church, Broadway, when the Benedictines of Douai Abbey agreed to provide Dom Richard Jones as the Priest in Charge there. However, Fr. Malachy retired in November 2000 and so, as the only priest now ministering to St. Gregory’s parish, Fr. Austin was unable to continue the celebration of six weekend Masses. As a result, it unfortunately became necessary to close St. Joseph's Chapel at Tiddington on 5th November 2000. Fr. Richard began to travel from Broadway to Stratford to help by celebrating the Sunday evening Masses. This still left the interval between the morning Masses very short, especially with the journey from Stratford to Shottery between the 8.30 and 9.30 Masses. So, on Sunday 17th March 2002 the weekend Mass times were changed to Saturdays 5.30 pm, Sundays 8.15 am, 11.15 am and 6.30 pm at St. Gregory's, and 9.30 am at Our Lady Of Peace. During 2001 the organists at St. Gregory's had begun to experience severe difficulties with the original tracker organ. The main problem was with the ancient bellows, which, over the hundred and five years since its installation, had gradually deteriorated. Air which was required by the individual pipes was escaping in every other direction. So, during autumn 2001, the organ was completely restored, with tonal additions, by Stratford Organ Builder, David Edwards. On 28th June 2002 Fr. Austin celebrated his Silver Anniversary of ordination and a wonderful occasion was enjoyed by the whole parish. The Right Rev. Dom Geoffrey Scott, Abbot of Douai Abbey was a concelebrant at the High Mass, together with Very Rev. Canon Edward Stewart, the Dean of the Warwick Deanery, and several of Father's friends. The Jubilee Mass was followed by a short organ recital, given by Stephen Dodsworth, ARCO, Deputy Director of Music, Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. A presentation was made to Fr. Austin during a reception at the Priory, to complete this joyous occasion. On 17th July a parish Mass was celebrated at the Guild Chapel, Stratford-upon-Avon. The first Oratory on that site was established in the thirteenth century by the Catholic fraternity of the Guild of the Holy Cross, under licence granted by the Benedictine Bishop, the Right Rev. Dom Godfrey Giffard, of Worcester. In 1996, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of two charters granted to the town, permission was given by the Committee of the Trustees of Stratford-upon-Avon Town Council and the co-chaplains of the Chapel for a Roman Catholic Mass to be held there, the first since the Reformation. This annual event has continued since then. The 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Stratford-upon-Avon Roman Catholic Parish by the English Benedictine Community of Douai occurred on 19th September 2002 and the Parish was looking forward to the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Church on 23rd October 2016. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 29 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

Recent History

As from the November following Father Austin’s transfer to St. Gregory’s in 2000, Father Richard Jones had travelled to Stratford to say the Sunday evening Mass. From the end of July 2004 he became unavailable to continue with this and so the weekend Mass times became 5.30 pm on Saturdays, 8.15 am and 11.15 am on Sunday at St. Gregory’s and 9.30 am at Our Lady of Peace Church as from 1st August. There has also been a Sunday Mass for the Parish's thriving Polish Community, celebrated by their own Chaplains, for over 50 years, and the time for that became 1.00pm from January 2016 in St. Gregory’s Church. During the time from 1974 when the Priory was being used as the Presbytery, the house attached to the church was let out as three flats. When the last one became vacant in 2007 arrangements were made for the house to be reverted for use as the Parish Presbytery and Father Austin moved into it when it had been refurbished. The Priory continued to be used as the Parish Office and for various parish meetings. In 2009 the first Parish Christian Passover meal was celebrated in the Priory and this was a very moving occasion. Similar commemorations were held in 2011 and 2014. Also in 2009, the old school in Henley Street was let out as the Buzz Café (for young people) and afterwards was transformed into a commercial café, then later the Boston Tea Party. In August 2010 Father Austin was transferred to the parish of St. John the Baptist in Andover, Hampshire after ten years in St. Gregory’s parish. Father Alexander Austin became the new parish priest and on 19th September he and many people from the parish went to Birmingham to celebrate the visit of Pope Benedict XVI with a memorable mass at Cofton Park. In 2011 the parish welcomed Brother Simon Hill from Douai Abbey to spend three months assisting Father Alex Austin. Also in 2011 the larger rear sacristy at St. Gregory’s was converted to become the Parish Office and procedures began for the Priory to be sold. This was achieved in 2013, and at that time, the adjoining Car Park was remodelled and expanded for use for Parish parking between 5 pm on Saturdays and 2 pm on Sundays, with availability for public parking at all other times. The construction of a parish meeting room now became a priority. This was built at the rear of St. Gregory’s Church and was formally blessed and opened on 1st March 2014 by Abbot Geoffrey Scott from Douai Abbey. The Headmaster of the St. Gregory’s School, Mr. John Michael Caveney retired on 31st August 2012 after total commitment to both the school and parish as head for 25 years. Mrs. Jane McNally was welcomed as the new Headteacher. There has been an annual Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, since 1965 and this continues for parishioners and friends each year, with pupils from St. Gregory's School joining it every second year. Mrs Veronica Harrison retired as Parish Secretary in 2013 after 25 years of Service and was succeeded by Mrs Jayne Welch. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 30 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon

A Lunch Club for ‘over sixties’ was started on 14th May 2012 at Our Lady of Peace Family Room, for people who would like to meet and have lunch together and a chat once a month. This continues and has become very popular. Additionally, a Community Club, for people of all ages to meet and enjoy the company of other people, with tea/coffee and biscuits provided, and to carry out whatever pastime each person enjoyed, was started at Shottery on 26th November 2013. This event was transferred to the new Parish Room at St. Gregory’s on 11th March 2014 and continues after Mass on every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, except for July and August annually. The Bereavement Support Team was launched on 12th May 2013 and its members continue to be available to anyone who would be glad of their help. They also programme regular Holy Hours and special Masses to pray for deceased loved ones and all who have experienced bereavement or other loss. Later in 2013, Father Clement Anaedevha, from Edo State, in the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Nigeria, arrived in Coventry to study for a PhD in The Effective Role of Faith in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding. He was able to come to Stratford to assist Father Alex with most Sunday, and some weekday, Masses and Confessions. He is a welcome help in the parish and, hopefully, will be able to stay until he completes his Doctorate in 2017. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, announced on The Feast of Divine Mercy, in April 2015, that there would be an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy on 8th December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and that would start a “Year of Mercy”, to continue until the Feast of Christ the King on 20th November 2016. This has been commemorated in St. Gregory’s with an exhibition in the church and the publication of a booklet, ‘The Way of Mercy’, both compiled by Con McHugh and this also recognizes the 400th Anniversary of the death of Stratford’s Bard, William Shakespeare, and the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the church. During this year also, the annual Mass in the Guild Chapel was celebrated on 14th July 2016, and there was a day's pilgrimage to the English Shrine at Walsingham on 26th July 2016 to celebrate the Year of Mercy.

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It was with great rejoicing that Bishop William Kenney, from our Archdiocese, and Abbot Geoffrey Scott, from Douai Abbey were welcomed on 22nd October 2016 to concelebrate the Mass for the 150th Anniversary of the Opening of St. Gregory’s Church. The Altar Servers were very supportive and efficient. The colourful floral arrangements were created by the parish’s Flower Team and enhanced the church beautifully. The wonderful singing was led by a choir of volunteers and accompanied by the Parish Organist from St. Gregory's and the Instrumentalists from Our Lady of Peace Churches. The ushers who volunteered to help on this occasion were members of the Catenian Association which has had a Circle in Stratford-upon-Avon since 18th April 1967. The Mass was followed by a party in St. Gregory’s School, for which the delicious refreshments were provided by the parishioners and this was a most enjoyable sociable conclusion to this special occasion.

Our Lady of Peace, 2016 The ongoing projects for the Parish include the renovation and development of Our Lady of Peace Church and its surrounding car park and continuing maintenance of St. Gregory’s Church, both dedicated for the Glory of God. Ad Multos Annos!

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Old Photographs

St. Gregory’s Church, 1957

St. Gregory’s Church, 2002

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Photographs 2016

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Photographs from the Celebration of 150th Anniversary of the Opening of St Gregory’s Church 22nd October 2016

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Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge the co-operation of the staff of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Records Office, from whose collections many of the (historical) illustrations are taken. Gerald Morris I thank Con McHugh for his help in co-ordinating and publishing this extended history and for his marvellous contemporary photographs. Doreen Morris

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St. Gregory’s Church, 1937

St. Gregory’s Church, 1866