Sacred Heart Church or formally the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic parish church in Caterham,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England designed by

Ingress Bell Edward Ingress Bell (1837–1914) was an English architect of the late 19th century, and early 20th century, who worked for many years with Sir Aston Webb. Bell was born in Ingress Park, Greenhithe, Kent, and had already undertaken commissi ...

and built in 1881. It is situated between Essendene Road and Whyteleafe Road off the High Street. The building is Grade II listed.Caterham The Sacred Heart of Jesus
from English Heritage, retrieved 26 January 2015

Construction

In 1879, after a request from Francis Parson, a local Catholic, the Bishop of Southwark, James Danell, sent Fr Francis Roe to Caterham to serve as priest there. Hs first Mass was on 24 August 1879 in a local depot,Church History
from Sacred-Heart.co.uk, retrieved 26 January 2015 where army officers built a temporary chapel. Before this, a priest from Croydon travelled to Caterham to celebrate Mass for soldiers and local Catholics. On 24 June 1880, the foundation stone of the church was laid by Bishop Danell. Most of the construction was paid for by Fr Roe's father, Captain William Harriott Roe. The architect for the church was

, who also designed St Joseph Church in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

(demolished in the 1980s) in 1881. He adopted the Early English

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 a cruciform plan. On 11 August 1881 the church was opened. The first Mass was celebrated by the

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 ...

, Cardinal Manning.

Interior

Joseph Aloysius Pippet designed murals; they were painted around the apse, and windows built, by Hardman & Co. The murals, which illustrate the life of Jesus, are not contemporary with the church: it was stated in 1907 that " e sanctuary has been recently adorned with elegant mosaic pictures".

Parish

The parish covers the Catholic population of Caterham, Whyteleafe and Godstone. The church celebrates a Mass every day, and three on Sundays. Services are livestreamed and recorded. The Pippet murals were badly damaged by water ingress and attempts at repair; they were conserved and restored from 2015. The church is a member of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. Updated as required.

References

Bibliography

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External links