St Gregory the Great Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in 1809 and rebuilt from 1854 to 1857. It is situated on the corner of St James' Square and Clarence Street. It was designed by Charles Hansom and is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The organ in St Gregory's Church, Cheltenham

Foundation

In 1809, a chapel was built on the site of the present church. It was built with the guidance of its first priest, Fr Augustine Birdsall OSB from Douai Abbey.

Construction

In the spring of 1854, the monks from Douai Abbey were still serving the church when building work started on the church. The church was designed by Charles Hansom, brother of

Joseph Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, ''The Builder'', in 1843. Career Ha ...

and father of

Edward Joseph Hansom Edward Joseph Hansom (22 October 1842 – 27 May 1900) was an English Victorian architect who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings in Gothic Revival style, including many Roman Catholic churches. He was the son of Charles Francis Hansom an ...

. He also designed

Plymouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface in Plymouth, England, is the seat of the Bishop of Plymouth and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth, which covers the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. The Diocese ...

and St Osburg's Church in Coventry. He designed it to be a Gothic Revival church. In May 1857, the chancel was completed and the church was opened. That year, work on the tower and spire had started, but was of course not complete. In 1876, the tower and spire were completed. The next year, on 6 November 1877, 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 ...

. Inside of the church, the stained glass windows was designed by Hardman & Co. The altar and

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

were made by

Farmer & Brindley Farmer & Brindley was a firm of architectural sculptors and ornamentalists based in London, founded by William Farmer (1825–1879) and William Brindley (1832–1919) The firm, located on Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth, south London, flour ...

. The majority of the carving was done by Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons of Cheltenham; a firm who also worked on

Cheltenham Town Hall Cheltenham Town Hall is an early-20th century assembly rooms in Cheltenham, England. Unlike most town halls, it is a public venue and not the seat of the borough council, which is housed in the nearby Municipal Offices. It is a Grade II liste ...

, St John's Church in Poulton-le-Fylde, St Mary's Church and St Alban's Church in Warrington and St Cuthbert's in Earls Court.

Parish

St Thomas More Catholic Church - geograph

The church is in the parish of St Gregory the Great with St Thomas More. It serves the St Thomas More Catholic Centre on Princess Elizabeth Way in Cheltenham. On 30 November 2011, St Thomas More Church was demolished and the church hall was developed to accommodate a

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 ...

, a chapel and use by community groups.Demolition of Hester's Way church marks start of new era
from '' Gloucestershire Echo'', 1 December 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2016 The church has four Sunday Masses: 8:00 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am and 6:00 pm. St Thomas More Catholic Centre has one Sunday Mass at 5:00 pm on Saturday. The church is currently undergoing a restoration to the roof and the walls . Also replacing the lighting inside the church. This should be finished by the end of November 2018. See the parish website for a weekly blog of how the work is going.

References

External links

St Gregory the Great with St Thomas More Parish site

St Thomas More Catholic Centre site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheltenham, Saint Greogry Roman Catholic churches in Gloucestershire

Saint Gregory Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...