The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs, also known as the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs (OLEM), is an English

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 let ...

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, ...

located at the junction of

Hills Road Hills Road is an arterial road (part of the A1307) in southeast Cambridge, England. It runs between Regent Street at the junction with Lensfield Road and Gonville Place (the A603) to the northwest and a roundabout by the Cambridge Bi ...

and Lensfield Road in southeast

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. It is a large

Gothic Revival 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 ...

church built between 1885 and 1890.

Foundation

The first post-reformation Roman Catholic church was opened in Cambridge in 1841; St Andrew's Catholic Church (later dismantled and re-built in St Ives) remained the only chapel available for Roman Catholics in Cambridge until the construction of OLEM. In 1865, the parish priest

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Thomas Quinlivan acquired additional adjacent land, but the funds could not be raised for construction. With the aid of the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

, the entire Lensfield estate was purchased in 1879. The task of raising more funds fell to Quinlivan's successor,

Mgr M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. MGR may also refer to: * ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system * Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for: * Manage ...

Christopher Scott. On the

Feast of the Assumption The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

, 1884, the former ballerina

Yolande Lyne-Stephens Pauline Duvernay or Yolande Marie-Louise Duvernay or Yolande Marie Louise de Varnay (December 1812 – 2 September 1894) was a noted French dancer. Biography Pauline Duvernay was born at Versailles and became a student of Hippolyte Barrez at t ...

, widow of

Stephens Lyne-Stephens Stephens Lyne-Stephens (4 October 1801 – 28 February 1860) was an English Tory politician who represented Barnstaple before the 1832 Reform Act. After inheriting a family fortune from glass manufacture in Portugal, he was later reputed to be the ...

, who was reputed to be the richest commoner in England, offered to provide the £70,000 for the construction of a church on the site (equivalent to £ million in ). The building work was undertaken by

Rattee and Kett Rattee and Kett was a building contractor based in Cambridge History The business was founded by James Rattee in 1843. After George Kett joined the business in 1848, the partners worked together on the wood carvings for the Palace of Westminster ...

, and began in 1885, following the plans of the architects

Dunn and Hansom Archibald Matthias Dunn FRIBA, JP, (1832 – 17 January 1917) was a British architect. He was, along with his partner Edward Joseph Hansom, among the foremost Catholic architects in North East England during the Victorian era. Short biogra ...

, and the foundation stone was laid in June 1887. The construction of a new Roman Catholic church on such a prominent site, as well as its dedication to the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, caused much controversy among local Anglicans and members of the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. Despite this, and the ill health of Mrs Lyne-Stephens, the church was completed and then consecrated on 8 October 1890. The first Mass was attended by all the Roman Catholic bishops of England and Wales except for Cardinal Manning and Bishop Vaughan.

History

After its opening, the church saw a great rise in the number of Catholics in the parish. This was partly due to Fr Robert Benson's reputation as a preacher, as well as Mgr Scott's work as parish priest. OLEM also hosted the 1921 Bible Congress, the greatest Catholic gathering in Cambridge since the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

. Between 1922 and 1946, the church was used by the Cambridge Summer School of Catholic Studies. In a 1941 air raid, a small bomb struck the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually locate ...

, blowing a six-foot hole in the roof and another in the wall of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

chapel. The blast also shattered most of the windows and collapsed part of the organ gallery. The repairs, including replacement windows to the original designs, cost at least £35,000 (equivalent to £ million in ).

Architecture

The building, one of the largest Catholic churches in the United Kingdom, is designed in the

Gothic revival 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 ...

style and follows the traditional cruciform layout. It features a polygonal apse and a central lantern tower. The construction includes Casterton stone for the foundation, Ancaster for the plinth, and the remainder in

Combe Down Combe Down is a village on the outskirts of Bath, England in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Somerset. Combe Down village consists predominantly of 18th and 19th century Bath stone-built villas ...

stone. The interior is constructed in

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...

, Plymouth marble and Newbiggin stone. The spire, the tallest in Cambridge, reaches 214 feet (65 m) and can be seen for a distance of several miles. The stained glass windows depict, among other things, dedications of Cambridge Colleges and scenes from the lives of English martyrs, in particular

St John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

. To bring the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

in line with the

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

directives resulting from the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

(1962-1965), its design and re-ordering was done by Gerard Goalen of

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the uppe ...

. On 7 April 1973,

Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Charles Jameson Grant (), American editorial cartoonist * Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist * Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor * Charles Grant (dance ...

, the

Bishop of Northampton The Bishop of Northampton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton in the Province of Westminster, England. The see is in the town of Northampton where the bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and ...

, consecrated the present central altar. The original high altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. The church was upgraded to a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

in 2022.

Rectory

The

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically o ...

is immediately to the south of the church and dates from around 1890. It is in the Tudor style, of red brick with stone dressings and a castellated slate roof. It is a Grade II

Renaissance statue

The church houses a mid-16th-century statue of the

virgin and child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent ...

, in oak and about half life size. The statue is said to have been discovered at Emmanuel College in 1850, and is supposedly the same statue that

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

ordered to be removed on 30 August 1538. A notice under the statue reads: "This ancient statue of Our Lady was formerly in the Dominican priory which occupied the site of Emmanuel College".

Music

The Choir of Our Lady and the English Martyrs is semi-professional and includes former university

choral scholar A choral scholar is a student either at a university or private school who receives a scholarship in exchange for singing in the school or university's choir. This is a common practice in the UK at schools attached to cathedrals where the choir ...

s. A second choir, the Schola Cantorum, sings almost exclusively in Latin, and sings

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...

and

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

in the weekly solemn Latin Mass. The organ was built in 1890 by

Abbott and Smith Abbott and Smith were a firm of organ builders based in Leeds, England from 1869 to 1964. History Isaac Abbott established the firm in Leeds in 1869. He had worked for William Hill in London for 20 years. Another Hill employee, William Stanwix ...

to a specification by the composer

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...

. The organ was renovated in 2002 by

Nicholson & Co Ltd Nicholson & Co. Ltd manufactures pipe organs. It was founded in 1841 by John Nicholson. Its work encompasses the creation of new instruments as well as historical restorations, rebuilds and renovations. In 2013, the firm completed the first whol ...

. The belfry houses a ring of eight bells hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

, with a ninth for the

Angelus The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation of Christ. As with many Catholic prayers, the name ''Angelus'' is derived from its incipit—the first few words of the text: ("The Angel of the Lord ...

. All the bells were cast in 1895 by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

. Each bell bears an inscription as follows: Treble B. Johannes Fisher o.p.n. (ora pro nobis) MDCCCXCV - Johannes Taylor fecit S Christophere o.p.n.; S. Felix o.p.n.; S. Gregori o.p.n.; S. Andrea o.p.n.; S. Petre o.p.n.; S. Joseph o.p.n.; Tenor Maria Immaculata Regina Angelorum o.p.n. MDCCCXCV Johannes Taylor fecit Angelus/Consecration Bell S. Thoma Cantuariensis o.p.n. The tenor bell weighs 1.6 tonne and is believed to be the largest in Cambridgeshire. The chimes heard at each quarter-hour of the clock, made by Potts of Leeds, are based upon the "Alleluia" chant for the Easter Vigil. Cambridge_Parkers_Piece_Catholic_Church.jpg, The church viewed from

Parker's Piece Parker's Piece is a flat and roughly square green common located near the centre of Cambridge, England, regarded by some as the birthplace of the rules of association football. The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, an ...

File:OLEM North window.jpg, The (liturgical) west window OLEM crossing.jpg, The

OLEM high altar.jpg, The high altar under the ciborium Statue of Our Lady, OLEM.jpg, 16th-century statue of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

File:OLEM from Hills Road A.jpg, The east side of the church, from Hills Road

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Roman Catholic churches completed in 1890 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic churches in Cambridge

Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridge