Sacred Heart 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 let ...
church that serves as the parish church of
St Ives, Cambridgeshire. It was originally designed and built by
Augustus Pugin
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...
in Cambridge as St Andrew's Church, but was dismantled in 1902 and transported by barge to St Ives.
History
By the end of the 19th century, enough Catholics had begun to return to St Ives to warrant the creation of a parish church. Initially, the parish was served by a small wooden building in East Street, but in 1902 a local businessman George Pauling purchased St Andrew's Church in Cambridge for £1000 and had it moved to St Ives. St Andrew's had been built in 1843 by Pugin to serve as Cambridge's parish church, but was superseded in 1890 by
Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church
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 parish church located at the junction of Hills Road and Lensfield Road in southeas ...
. St Andrew's was dismantled, transported by barge and rebuilt in St Ives in less than five months. The new church was dedicated to the
Sacred Heart.
Architecture
Pugin was reportedly dissatisfied with the church, saying he "wished the earth would open and swallow that building". The church remains almost identical to its original construction, apart from reconstruction of the porch, and the repositioning of the
font. Additional windows and a
clerestory were added to give more light, and the
rood screen was also removed. Unusually, the church sanctuary faces north west, rather than east.
Pugin's
high altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...
is made from
Caen stone
Caen stone (french: Pierre de Caen) is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about ...
and depicts
the Lamb surrounded by the symbols of the
Four Evangelists, between
quarterfoils of winged angels. The altar was restored in 2002. The stained glass, also designed by Pugin, features the
Madonna 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 i ...
,
St Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...
and
St Felix, patron of the diocese. Further windows have been added, including some to replace those damaged in 1906.
Parish priests
* Rev.
John Arendzen (1900–1903)
* Rev. Constantine Ketterer (1903–1909)
* Rev. James Purcell (1909–1942)
* Rev. Ethelbert Payne (1942–1950)
* Rev. Stephen Doupe (1950–1970)
* Rev. Bernard Nesden (1970–1977)
* Rev. John Drury (1977–1981)
* Rev. Raymond Kerby (1981–2001)
* Rev. Paul Maddison (2001–2010)
* Rev. Edward Trędota M.S. (2010-2015)
* Rev. Dr. Karol Porczak M.S. (2015–2019)
* Rev. Thomas Walton (2019–present)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ives, Sacred Heart
Roman Catholic churches in Cambridgeshire
1902 establishments in England
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1843
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom
Churches in Huntingdonshire
Augustus Pugin buildings
Sacred Heart