Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activities, ...

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

, Worcestershire, England. It was built from 1833 to 1834 and designed by Thomas Rickman in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It is located between Beoley Road West and Holloway Lane in the town centre. It is a Grade II listed building.

History

Construction

After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Catholic mission Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

was maintained around

. At first the mission was in

Beoley Beoley is a small village and larger civil parish north of Redditch in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire. It adjoins Warwickshire to the east. The 2001 census gave a parish population of 945, mostly at Holt End. The parish includes the ...

and supported by the Sheldon family. From 1783, the mission was at Chapel Farm in Heath Green. The current church's site was bought by a local noblewoman, the Lady Catherine Smythe. On 11 February 1833, the foundation stone was laid. The local priest, Fr Bruno Tunstall contributed to the building costs. The church is only the Catholic Church designed by Thomas Rickman. On 24 April 1834, the church was opened. In 1872, the church was restored. The work was done by Hardman & Co. Historic England
Redditch - Our Lady of Mount Carmel
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 14 June 2022

Developments

Initially, the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

was served by

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

priests from Downside Abbey. From 1948, the parish was transferred to the care of priests from

Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire Belmont Abbey, in Herefordshire, England, is a Catholic Benedictine monastery that forms part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It stands on a small hill overlooking the city of Hereford to the east, with views across to the Black Mountai ...

. They served the church until 1968, when the parish was handed over to the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...

who continue to serve the

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

Parish

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is its own

. It has three Sunday Masses at 5:00pm on Saturday and at 8:15am and 6:00pm on Sunday.

Exterior

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (sign outside), Beoley Road West - geograph.org.uk - 1986872.jpg, Sign Statue of Jesus in grounds of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Beoley Road West - geograph.org.uk - 1986880.jpg, Statue of Jesus

References

External links

* {{Archdiocese of Birmingham Redditch Roman Catholic churches in Worcestershire Grade II listed churches in Worcestershire Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Worcestershire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 1833 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1834 Religious organizations established in 1833 Thomas Rickman buildings