St Mary and St Modwen 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, ...

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...

, Staffordshire, England. It was built from 1878 to 1879, to designs by John Edgar Young 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 Guild Street in the town centre. 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

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 ...

, a notable recusant in Burton was

Thomas Paget, 3rd Baron Paget Thomas Paget, 3rd Baron Paget (c. 1544 – 1590) was an English peer, the second son of William Paget, 1st Baron Paget. He succeeded to the barony in 1568 at the death of his elder brother, Henry Paget, 2nd Baron Paget. Family Thomas Paget, born ...

who died in 1590. Over the following two centuries a number of Catholics in Burton were fined. In 1794, St Francis de Sales Chapel was built in

Yoxall Yoxall is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Swarbourn on the A515 road north of Lichfield and south west of Burton upon Trent. South of the village, Yoxall Bridge crosses the River Trent. The ...

and Catholics travelled there from Burton 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 the 1830s, 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 Burton from Yoxall by the priest Fr James Jeffries. Initially, the mission was in a

malt house A malt house, malt barn, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain food ...

behind the Crown pub on the High Street. Later it was in a cottage behind the Old White Lion on the corner of Lichfield Street and Fleet Street. Fr Jeffries' successor, Fr Patrick O'Sullivan bought the current site of the church. On the site, a

Gothic Revival 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 ...

building that combined a school and a chapel was built. In June 1852, the chapel was opened.

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 ...

Burton-on-Trent - St Mary and St Modwen
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 11 June 2022

Construction

With the increasing local Catholic population of Burton, a new larger church needed to be built. The priest, Fr C. McCabe commissioned a Mr Young of London to plan a new church. According to

, he probably was John Edgar Young, the son of

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

Archibald Matthias Dunn Archibald Matthias Dunn Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA, Justice of the Peace, JP, (1832 – 17 January 1917) was a British architect. He was, along with his partner Edward Joseph Hansom, among the foremost Roman Catholic Church ...

was consulted about building the church, but his design was rejected for being too expensive. Instead, J. Knight Morley, who previously worked with

E. W. Pugin Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was ...

, was asked about the church and he modified Young's plans. On 16 May 1878, the foundation stone was laid by the

Bishop of Birmingham A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

William Bernard Ullathorne William Bernard Ullathorne (7 May 180621 March 1889) was an English prelate who held high offices in the Roman Catholic Church during the nineteenth century. Early life Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest of ...

. Construction of the church was done by Messrs Lowe and Sons and was delayed by the late delivery of columns made of

Connemara marble Connemara marble or "Irish green" is a rare variety of marble found in Connemara, Ireland with a distinct green colour. It is commonly used as a gemstone and for decorations. Due to its colouration, it is commonly associated with the Irish identi ...

. On 27 August 1879, the church was opened in a ceremony where

Cardinal Henry Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but conv ...

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 ...

, preached. The church cost £4,000 and was partially funded by a Mr F. M. Spilsbury from Willington. The

high 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 paganis ...

was carved by John Roddis of Birmingham. In 1898, the altar in the Sacred Heart chapel was installed. In 1901, the altar in the Lady Chapel was added. Both altars were built by

Richard Lockwood Boulton Richard Lockwood Boulton (c. 1832–1905) was an English sculptor who founded the firm Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons. It was centred in Cheltenham, England, and built monuments made of iron and stone in the United Kingdom.

. In 1902, the chapel windows were installed. They were built by

Franz Mayer of Munich Franz Mayer of Munich is a German stained glass design and manufacturing company, based in Munich, Germany and a major exponent of the Munich style of stained glass, that has been active throughout most of the world for over 170 years. The fir ...

. In 1910, the original school-chapel was replaced by a new school that later became the current parish centre.

Parish

St Mary and St Modwen Church has its own

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 ...

. The church has three Sunday Masses at Mass 9:00am, 11:00am and 6:00pm.

References

External links