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 www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 4 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon 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. www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 5 of 40 A History of the Parish of St Gregory the Great in Stratford-upon-Avon 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 www.stgregorys-stratford.org Page 6 of 40 A History of