St Marys 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, ...

in Worksop,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, England. It was built from 1838 to 1840 by Weightman and Hadfield in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It is located on Park Street to the south of the town centre. It was paid for by

Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk Bernard Edward Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk, (21 November 1765 – 16 March 1842) was a British peer. Early life Howard was the son of Henry Howard (1713–1787) by his wife Juliana Molyneux, daughter of Sir William Molyneux, 6th Baronet (die ...

after the sale of Worksop Manor and was once visited by

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...

. It is a Grade II listed building.Church of St Mary
Historic England, retrieved 5 May 2022

History

Foundation

After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, in the early eighteenth century, local Catholics in Worksop had to go a chapel in Worksop Manor to celebrate

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 1743, it was recorded that the total number of Catholics in Worksop was 23. In 1748, a priest was resident there at Worksop Manor. Around 1780,

Charles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk Charles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal (1 December 172031 August 1786), was an English peer and politician. He was the son of Henry Charles Howard (d. 10 June 1720)Surrey, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 15 ...

paid for a Catholic chapel and a presbytery in Sandhill Dyke. The building survives today as Park Farm. Historic England
Worksop - St Mary
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 5 May 2022

Construction

In 1838,

sold Worksop Manor to

Henry Pelham-Clinton, 6th Duke of Newcastle Henry Pelham Alexander Pelham-Clinton, 6th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (25 January 1834 – 22 February 1879) was an English nobleman, styled Lord Clinton until 1851 and Earl of Lincoln until he inherited the dukedom in 1864. Pelham-Clinton was ...

for £375,000. That year he paid for the construction of the current church and presbytery. On 29 October 1838, the foundation stone was laid by Michael Ellison, the duke's agent and uncle of Matthew Ellison Hadfield, one the church's architect, the other being John Grey Weightman. On 26 February 1840, the church was opened by Bishop Thomas Walsh, the

Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District The Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by an apostolic vicar (or vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. Th ...

. The church was designed in the

Developments

In 1870, Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk paid for the church to be improved and added a new

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 ...

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but sim ...

and heating system. The architect of the improvements was again Matthew Ellison Hadfield. In late 1913, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (; cs, Žofie Marie Josefína Albína hraběnka Chotková z Chotkova a Vojnína 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assas ...

were invited to stay at nearby

Welbeck Abbey Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is one ...

for a week by William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland and attended Mass in the church. On 24 March 1926, 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 ...

. In 2012, the National Lottery Heritage Fund gave £110,000 to the church for repairs.

Parish

In 2007, 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 ...

was merged with nearby St Joseph's Church in Worksop. It is now the parish of St Jude and includes St Mary's Church, St Joseph's Church and St Helen's Church in

Oldcotes Oldcotes is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Styrrup with Oldcotes (where the population is shown). The village is centred on the crossroads of the A60 and A634 roads, five miles south east of Maltby. The h ...

. St Mary's Church has one Sunday

at 11:00am. St Joseph's Church has one Sunday Mass at 6:00pm on Saturday and St Helen's Church in Oldcotes has one Sunday Mass at 9:00am.

Exterior

File:St Mary's Church front, Worksop by Alan Murray Rust geograph 4691379.jpg, Front of church File:St Mary's Church Hall, Worksop by Alan Murray Rust geograph 4691398.jpg, Church hall

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Worksop Worksop Grade II listed churches in Nottinghamshire Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival architecture in Nottinghamshire Gothic Revival church buildings in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 1840 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1840 Roman Catholic Diocese of Hallam Roman Catholic churches in Nottinghamshire