St Alban and St Stephen's Church or Ss Alban and Stephen 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, ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, Hertfordshire, England. Although it was built from 1903 to 1905, it was the third attempt to build a permanent local Catholic church in St Albans. It was designed by John Kelly of

Kelly & Birchall Kelly & Birchall, a partnership between Edward Birchall (1839 – 6 March 1903) and John Kelly (1840–1904), was an architectural practice based in Leeds, England, from 1886 to 1904 and specialising in churches in the Italianate and Gothic Rev ...

in the Italian style. It is located on Beaconsfield Road next to the St Albans City railway station in the city centre.

History

Old Church

In 1840, a mission was started by Fr William Crook, who travelled to the city from St Edmund's College, Ware. He hired a room at the White Hart Inn on Holywell Hill. In 1847, plans were made to build a church in the city by

Alexander Raphael Alexander Raphael (died 1850) was the first British-Armenian to serve in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was returned as a Whig MP from the Irish constituency of County Carlow, at a by-election in June 1835. However the election w ...

. He commissioned Charles Parker to design the church, who also designed St Raphael's Church, Surbiton and was a pupil of

Jeffry Wyatville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatville ...

. Raphael bought the site next to Verulam House for the church, but Raphael died in 1850 and did not complete payment for the church. The site was then sold to Isabelle Worley of Sopwell House. She paid for the church to be completed according to the original plan, however, as an Anglican church. In 1859, the church was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

. The church later became

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

, before later becoming private offices. It is a Grade II listed building.The Old Church
from British Listed Buildings, retrieved 25 May 2022

London Road church

When the Old Church became Anglican, the original mission ended. In the 1860s, a mission was restarted, led by a former Anglican, Fr George Bampfield, who came from

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

to St Albans. He celebrated

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

in a cottage on London Road. On 22 June 1877, the foundation stone of a new church was laid by Cardinal Henry Manning, 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 ...

. It was funded by a Major James Gape and designed by the architects T. J. Willson and Samuel Joseph Nicholl. Nicholl also designed

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Wellingborough Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. It was built from 1884 to 1886 by Samuel Joseph Nicholl in the Gothic Revival style. It is located on Raneleigh Road, between Knox R ...

and

St Charles Borromeo Church, Westminster The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Charles Borromeo is a Roman Catholic church on Ogle Street in the Diocese of Westminster, London. Named after Charles Borromeo, a 16th-century Italian saint. On the outside it is Gothic Revival style; the arc ...

. On 22 June 1878, the church was opened by Cardinal Manning. It had a capacity of 80 people and cost a total of £1,100. Historic England
St Albans - St Alban and St Stephen
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 25 May 2022

Current church

Since 1899, the Catholic community in St Albans was served by the

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; la, Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis; french: Missionnaires du Sacré-Coeur) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Servant of God Jules Chevalier (182 ...

. By 1900, the church was no longer large enough to accommodate the increasing

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 ...

and there was no space around the church to build an extension. The priest at the time was Fr Michael Tierney. He received permission from

Cardinal Herbert Vaughan Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan, MHM (15 April 1832 – 19 June 1903) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1892 until his death in 1903, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893. He was t ...

, the

to build the current church and sell the church on London Road. On 22 July 1903, Bishop Algernon Stanley, auxiliary bishop of Westminster laid the foundation stone. The architect was

John Kelly John or Jack Kelly may refer to: People Academics and scientists * John Kelly (engineer), Irish professor, former Registrar of University College Dublin *John Kelly (scholar) (1750–1809), at Douglas, Isle of Man *John Forrest Kelly (1859–1922) ...

. The construction was done by local builders, Christopher Miskin & Sons. On 1 January 1905, the church was opened by Francis Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster. From 1965 to 1967, the church was enlarged. The architectural firm of Broadbent, Hastings, Reid & Todd designed the extensions and the total cost came to £70,000. 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 extended, the old

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 saf ...

was demolished and replaced with a larger one with side chapels. Side

aisles Aisles is a six-piece progressive rock band originally from Santiago, Chile. The group was formed in 2001 by brothers Germán (guitar) and Luis Vergara (keyboards), and childhood friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar). Later on, it expanded to incl ...

, a bell tower, a choir gallery and a larger

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

were added. There was an old school to the back of the church that was demolished and replaced with a parish hall and

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 located ...

. In 1974, a new presbytery was built. With the extensions, the church's capacity went from 400 people to 600 people. On 4 May 1977, the church was

Parish

In June 2019, the

handed 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 ...

back to the

Diocese of Westminster Diocese of Westminster may refer to: * Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, since 1850, with seat at Westminster Cathedral * Diocese of Westminster (Church of England) The Diocese of Westminster was a short-lived diocese of the Church of Engl ...

, who continue to serve the church. The church has four Sunday Masses at 6:00pm on Saturday and at 9:30am, 11:30am and 6:00pm on Sunday. One Sunday Mass is celebrated at nearby St John Fisher School in

Marshalswick Marshalswick is an area of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England, located around 1.5 miles northeast of the city centre. The whole area historically fell within the bounds of Sandridge civil parish, but it is now divided with the northern part in Sa ...

at 9:00am.St Albans
from

, retrieved 25 May 2022

Interior

Interior of the Church of SS Alban and Stephen 03.jpg, Interior Interior of the Church of SS Alban and Stephen 04.jpg,

Organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

Interior of the Church of SS Alban and Stephen 05.jpg,

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 saf ...

References

External links

* * {{Diocese of Westminster Buildings and structures in St Albans Roman Catholic churches in Hertfordshire 1877 establishments in England History of St Albans Roman Catholic churches completed in 1905 Italianate architecture in England 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Italianate church buildings in the United Kingdom