Holy Rood Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1851 as a chapel and was rebuilt as a church in 1905. It is situated on the corner of Groundwell Road and Lincoln Street in the centre of the town. It was designed by

Edward Doran Webb Edward Doran Webb (1864–1931) was a British ecclesiastical architect. Based in Wiltshire, he worked on several churches including at Salisbury, Finchley, Swindon and Aldermaston. Webb also designed the Birmingham Oratory. He had strong connec ...

as a Gothic Revival church and was the first Roman Catholic church built in and around the town since the Reformation.Swindon: Churches
in ''A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 9,'' from ''

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universit ...

'' (London: Victoria County History, 1970), 144-159.

History

Foundation

In 1848, two years before the Restoration of the English hierarchy, a Roman Catholic

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

was started in Swindon. A priest would come from St Thomas of Canterbury Church in

Fairford Fairford is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswold hills on the River Coln, east of Cirencester, west of Lechlade and north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park. History I ...

to say

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

once a month in the town. In 1851, a chapel was built in the town between Regent Street and Sanford Street. From 1857, the chapel had its own resident priest. By 1882, the chapel was seen to be too small to accommodate the increasing local Catholic

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

so they bought a disused Unitarian church in Regent Circus in the town. The church was built by the Unitarians in the 1860s, on the site of an old chapel made of iron. The church was completed in 1875 and cost £2,500. It was a Gothic Revival church. In 1887, a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

was added to the church.

Construction

In the 1900s, with the local Catholic population increasing, plans were made to build a new, larger church. The architect Edward Doran Webb was commissioned to design the church. He was also the architect of the

Birmingham Oratory The Birmingham Oratory is a Catholic religious community of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by John Henry Newman as the first house of that congregation in England. ...

. The new church, on Groundwell Road, was also in the Gothic Revival style. In 1905, the church was opened. From 1926, efforts were made by the parish priest, Canon J. J. Noonan, to raise between £6,000 and £7,000, to pay the debt from the construction of the church. Six years later, the debt was paid off. On 1 September 1932, the church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by the

Bishop of Clifton The Bishop of Clifton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton in the Province of Birmingham, England. The see is in the suburb of Clifton in the city of Bristol where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of SS ...

, William Lee.

Parish

The church is situated next to Holy Rood Catholic Primary School. The church has five Masses celebrating the Sunday liturgy: 6:15 p.m. on Saturday; and 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

References

External links