St Mary's Church or St Mary's the Mount 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, ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, West Midlands, England. It was built from 1825 to 1827 and designed by

Joseph Ireland Joseph Ireland (c.1780–1841) was an English architect who designed Roman Catholic Church buildings in the early nineteenth century. He specialized in Romanesque revival architecture and worked with Joseph John Scoles. Life Ireland was born i ...

in the

Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

. It is located between Glebe Street and Vicarage Place, backing on to Vicarage Walk in the centre of the town. Since 2012, it has been served by the

Vocationist Fathers The Society of Divine Vocations ( la, Societas Divinarum Vocationum) abbreviated S.D.V., also commonly known as the Vocationists, is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (Priests and Brothers) founded by ...

and it is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Foundation

In 1794,

Oscott College St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, often called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of the three seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Purpose Oscott Coll ...

was founded in

Old Oscott Old Oscott (originally Oscott) is an area of Great Barr, Birmingham, England (previously in the parish of Handsworth, Staffordshire). The suburb forms a triangle bounded to the north by Pheasey, to the west by Perry Beeches, and to the east ...

. From Oscott a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

was started in

. In 1807, Fr Francis Martyn began serving the Walsall mission. He was the first Catholic priest since the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

to have his entire training done in England. With the local Catholic population growing a larger space was needed 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 ...

. On 19 December 1819, Assembly Rooms at the Green Dragon Inn were hired as a place to celebrate a

Catholic Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Walsall - St Mary
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 6 June 2022

Construction

With the population still increasing, a larger permanent church needed to be built. On 16 August 1825, the foundation stone of the present church was laid. The church was designed by

who also designed

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Wolverhampton St Peter and St Paul Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It was built from 1826 to 1828, with extensions being built in 1901 and 1928. It was designed by Joseph Ireland and the architect for the exte ...

. On 10 May 1827, the church was opened. In 1833, the presbytery next to the church was built.A P Baggs, G C Baugh, C R J Currie and Johnson D A, 'Walsall: Roman Catholicism', in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 17, Offlow Hundred (Part), ed. M W Greenslade (London, 1976), pp. 239-241. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/staffs/vol17/pp239-241, retrieved 6 June 2022

Developments

In 1872, an

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 paga ...

made of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

was installed in the church. In 1879, the church was renovated. In 1887, new altar rails were added. In 1897, a new

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

was bought for the church. In 1909, stained glasses windows made by Hardman & Co. was installed in the church. Some of the reordering of the church done in the 1960s was undone in the 1970s, by the priest Fr Peter Taylor. On 31 July 1986, the church building was given Grade II* listed status.Church of St Mary and attached presbytery
''British Listed Buildings'', retrieved 6 June 2022

Parish

From St Mary's Church, other

s were started to serve other parts of Walsall. Some of those missions grew and became churches and

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 ...

es in their own right. In 1856, the mission on the corner of Blue Lane and Green Lane became St Patrick's Church. A new church was built there in 1967. From 1958 to 1960, St Thomas of Canterbury Church was built in

Coal Pool Coal Pool is a housing estate in Walsall, West Midlands, England. Most of the homes in area were built by the local council during the 1930s, with a smaller development taking place in the late 1940s which marked the resumption of council house bu ...

. In 2012, the

came to serve the

of St Mary's Church and also serve St Thomas of Canterbury Church and St Patrick's Church. St Mary's Church has three Sunday Masses at 5:30pm on Saturday and at 9:00am and 11:00am on Sunday. Both St Patrick's Church and St Thomas' Church have Sunday Masses at 6:30pm on Saturday and at 10:00am on Sunday, with St Patrick's having another Sunday Mass at 7:00pm.

References

External links

* * {{Archdiocese of Birmingham Buildings and structures in Walsall Roman Catholic churches in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England Grade II* listed churches in the West Midlands (county) Neoclassical church buildings in England 1825 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1827 Religious organizations established in 1825 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Vocationist churches in the United Kingdom