St James the Less and St Helen 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, ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, Essex, England. It was built in 1837 and designed by

Joseph John Scoles Joseph John Scoles (1798–1863) was an English Gothic Revival architect, who designed many Roman Catholic churches. Early life and education Scoles was born in London on 27 June 1798, the son of Roman Catholic parents Matthew Scoles, a joiner, ...

. It is situated on Priory Street between the junction with East Hill and St Thomas More Catholic Primary School in the city centre. Next to it is the church hall which was built in 1911 and designed by

Alexander Scoles Alexander Joseph Cory Scoles (30 November 1844 – 29 December 1920) was an architect and Roman Catholic priest.Directory of British Architects, 1834–1914: Vol. 2 (L-Z)' ed. Brodie, Antonia (London, 2001), p. 552 He designed many lancet style ...

.Colchester - St James the Less and St Helen
from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, retrieved 23 January 2016

History

Foundation

At the end of the eighteenth century, the Roman Catholic community in Colchester consisted of exiles from the French Revolution. In the early nineteenth century Irish Catholic soldiers were stationed in the town. In 1814, a French priest, Fr Amand Benard, served the community and the local garrison. In 1831, a building was provided for the local Catholic community near North Hill. It was given by William Dearn, a former soldier and local tradesman. A priest would come from

Witham Witham () is a town in the county of Essex in the East of England, with a population ( 2011 census) of 25,353. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the city of Che ...

to say

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 ...

there.

Construction

The site for the present church was donated by James Hoy, a farmer from Stoke-by-Nayland. The church mission there was funded by

Alfred Stourton, 23rd Baron Mowbray Alfred Joseph Stourton, 20th Baron Stourton, 24th Baron Segrave, 23rd Baron Mowbray (28 February 1829 – 18 April 1893) was the son of the nineteenth Baron Stourton and Mary Lucy Clifford, daughter of the 6th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh and his ...

. On 3 March 1837, the foundation stone for the church was laid by the

Vicar Apostolic of the London District The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1688 and was dis ...

, Thomas Griffiths. Construction of the church cost £2,750 in total. The architect was

. He designed the church in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style reminiscent of the nearby ruins of St Botolph's Priory. Scoles later used a similar plan when he designed St John the Evangelist Church in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

four years later. The church was originally dedicated to

Saint James the Greater James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

. Also it had no external statues or images, to lessen any hostility from the local non-Catholic community.

Developments

In 1900, the church was renamed as St James the Less so as to avoid confusion with the nearby Anglican St James the Great Church on East Hill. Two years later, in 1902, the church name was again changed, to St James the Less and St Helen. Saint Helen was reported to have been born in Colchester by local historical accounts.Roman Catholicism
in ''A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9, the Borough of Colchester'' from ''

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universi ...

'' (London: Victoria County History, 1994), 338-339. In the 1850s, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

the civilians in the congregation were outnumbered by the locally garrisoned Catholic soldiers. In 1865, a separate

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

was appointed to Colchester. In 1867 the chaplain used the camp chapel in Military Road. In 1904, St James' Church again became the garrison's centre for worship. In 1954, a garrison church was built in the

Colchester Garrison Colchester Garrison is a major garrison located in Colchester in the county of Essex, Eastern England. It has been an important military base since the Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was established by Legio XX ...

. This closed in the 1980s. Since then, Masses for the army families have been said at St John the Baptist Church in the Shrub End part of the town, which is served from St Teresa of Lisieux Church in

Lexden Lexden is a suburb of Colchester and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Colchester, in the Colchester district, in the county of Essex, England. It was formerly a village, and has previously been called Lessendon, Lassendene and ...

.St Teresa of Lisieux Parish
retrieved 23 January 2016 In 1891, a community

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

moved into the parish from Brentwood. In 1896, they built a school next door.

Extensions

Church hall, Priory Street, Colchester - geograph

In 1861, to make more space for the soldiers in the increasing number in the congregation, the church organ was removed from the church gallery. From 1902 to 1932, the

parish priest 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 ...

was a Canon Bloomfield, who oversaw the enlargement of the church. In 1904 the north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

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 ...

were added. In 1907 the south aisle was added. The architect for these additions to the church was Charles Edward Butcher. They cost £2,000 and were paid for by Dean Lucas. In 1911 the church hall was built next door, with the architect being Canon Alexander Scoles, the son of Joseph John Scoles. It was opened 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 Francis Bourne. It was renamed as the Cardinal Bourne Institute. In 1975, the church was reordered. In 1987, stained-glass windows were added to the Blessed Sacrament chapel in the church. They were taken from a redundant church and were originally designed 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 ...

St Theodore of Canterbury Church, Monkwick, Colchester by Peter Stack Geograph 2184035

Parish

The nearby churches in and around Colchester are served from St James' Church: St Cedd and St Gregory's Church in

West Mersea West Mersea is a town and electoral ward in Essex, England. It is the larger (in terms of population) of two settlements on Mersea Island, south of Colchester. History Roman buildings and tesselated pavements close to the quayside have led to ...

, St Joseph's Church in Mile End and St Theodore of Canterbury Church in Monkwick. Each of these churches has one Sunday Mass: St Cedd and St Gregory Church at 8:30am, St Joseph's Church at 9:15am and St Theodore of Canterbury's Church at 10:15am. St James' Church has five Sunday Masses: 6:15pm on Saturday, as well as 8:00am, 10:30am, 2:00pm (in Polish) and 6:30pm on Sunday.

References

External links

*
St James the Less and St Helen Parish site

ColchesterChurches.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester, Saints James the Less and Helen Roman Catholic churches in Essex Romanesque Revival church buildings in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1837 Churches in Colchester (town) 1837 establishments in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom