Our Lady Immaculate Church (formerly the Church of the Immaculate Conception) 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 ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, Essex, England. It was founded in 1845, opened in 1847 and designed by Joseph John Scoles. It is situated on New London Road, next to Our Lady Immaculate Primary School, close to the junction with Anchor Street, in the city centre.

History

Foundation

In 1840, the site for the church was bought. It was purchased from Charles King, the father of the first mission priest to the area. In 1845, the mission to Catholic population in Chelmsford was founded.Chelmsford - Our Lady Immaculate
from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, retrieved 24 January 2016

Construction

In October 1847, the church was opened by the then

Vicar Apostolic of the London District The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1688 and was dissolved ...

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was an English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1 ...

. In 1850, he became

Archbishop of Westminster The archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

and a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

. The church was originally dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

. The architect was Joseph John Scoles. The main benefactors of the church were Charles King and William Petre, 12th Baron Petre. It was Lord Petre who chose Scoles to design the church. The church was built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style by the builders, Messrs Curtis of Stratford. The Lady altar in the church was originally in Thorndon Hall, home of Lord Petre. The east window in the church was made in Newcastle upon Tyne by Thomas Dunn and inspired by a design of

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

Developments

In 1973, the church was reordered and extended. A new altar 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 Brentwood, Patrick Casey. In 1982, the church's dedication was changed the Immaculate Conception to Our Lady Immaculate. In 1985, the present organ was installed. It was brought from a United Reformed Church in

Felsted Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...

. In 1988, the crucifix hanging over the altar in front of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was installed, it was designed by William Gordon.

Parish

From 2008 to 2022, the church was served by the

Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

, also known as the Premonstratensians or Norbertines, from St. Philip's Priory. They also served another

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

, Holy Name Church in Chelmsford. Holy Name Church was built in 1965 and is on the corner of Lucas Avenue and Gloucester Avenue in the Moulsham Lodge area of Chelmsford.Chelmsford - the Holy Name
from

, retrieved 24 January 2016 Holy Name Church has two Sunday Masses: 6:00pm on Saturday and 10:30am on Sunday.Mass times
from ChelmsfordCatholic.co.uk, retrieved 24 January 2016 Our Lady Immaculate Church has three Sunday Masses: 9:00am, 12:00pm and 7:00pm.

Interior

File:Our Lady Immaculate Church interior, Chelmsford.jpg, Church

File:Our Lady Immaculate Church sanctuary, Chelmsford.jpg, Altar File:Our Lady Immaculate Church Benedict XVI arms on organ, Chelmsford.jpg, Pope Benedict XVI's coat of arms on the organ

References

External links

Chelmsford Catholic Parishes site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelmsford, Our Lady Immaculate Our Lady Immaculate Roman Catholic churches in Essex Gothic Revival architecture in Essex Gothic Revival church buildings in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1847 1845 establishments in England Premonstratensian Order 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom