Our Lady of Ransom 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, ...

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, East Sussex. It was founded as 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 ...

in 1869, built from 1900 to 1903, and had extensions completed in 1926. It is situated on the corner of Meads Road and Grange Road, opposite

Eastbourne Town F.C. Eastbourne Town Football Club is an English football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, and are currently members of the and play at The Saffrons. Founded on 19 October 1881 as Devonshire Park F.C., they are founding members of the Sus ...

in the centre of the town. It was designed by

Frederick Walters Frederick Arthur Walters (1849–1931) was a Scottish architect working in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, notable for his Roman Catholic churches. Life Walters was born on 5 February 1849 at 6 South Terrace, Brompton, London, the son of the ar ...

and is a Grade II listed building.

History

Foundation

On 29 May 1867, a

started in the town to serve the local Roman Catholic population. It was in 42 Ceylon Place in the town. The first priest was Fr Charles P. King. In less than a year after the mission began, Fr King paid for a chapel, made of brick, to be built on Junction Road. On 1 April 1869, it was opened. It was dedicated to Stella Maris.Eastbourne - Our Lady of Ransom
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 16 February 2016 On 14 April 1890, the old Our Lady of Ransom Church was opened by Fr Charles Stapley. It was a temporary church close to Grove Road. It was previously the market hall and it became a garage for the police station. For the next ten years attempts were made to build a permanent church in the town. In February 1893, Fr King left Eastbourne. On 23 September 1895, St Joseph's Catholic School was opened.

Construction

Before 1900, the site of the present church was bought. On 11 December 1900, the foundation stone of the church was laid. The architect was

and he designed the church 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 ...

. The total cost of the construction of the church came to £11,000. On 15 December 1901, the church was opened by the Bishop of Southwark,

Francis Bourne Francis Alphonsus Bourne (1861–1935) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the fourth Archbishop of Westminster from 1903 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911. Biography Early life Francis Bo ...

, who went on to become a cardinal and Archbishop of Westminster. In 1903, the church was completed, with the exception of the tower. By that time, the priest of the church was Fr Paul Lynch. In 1912, the church's tower and spire were completed. On 11 February 1926, various church extensions, such as the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

and sacristy, were completed and the church was reopened. On 8 July 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 1995, further work on the church was completed after a new

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 ...

was installed and the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

refurbished.

Parish

Our Lady of Ransom Church is part of the same Eastbourne

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 ...

as St Agnes Church on Whitley Road in Roselands, Eastbourne, and St Gregory's Church on Victoria Drive in Downside, Eastbourne. St Agnes Church was founded in 1895 as a mission in St Joseph’s School. In 1906,

Agnes Zimmermann Agnes Zimmermann (5 July 184714 November 1925) was a German concert pianist and composer who lived in England. Biography Agnes Marie Jacobina Zimmermann was born in Cologne, Germany. Her family moved to England, and she was enrolled at the Royal ...

gave £1,500 to build the church. On 28 September 1906, the foundation stone was laid. On 6 March 1907, the church was opened. The architect was Percy Dulvey Stonham (1877-1942). With the opening of St Richard's Catholic College in

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...

in 1959 and St Thomas a Becket infant and junior schools from 1973 to 1974, St Joseph's School closed and became a centre for St Agnes' church. St Gregory's Church was originally built in 1934 as a timber church at a cost of £1,000. In 1965, building work on the present church started. Construction cost £43,000. It was designed by Gordon Robins of the architectural firm B. Stevens & Partners, headed by A. J. M. McDonough, and the builders were C. Bainbridge & Sons Ltd. On 8 December 1966, the church was opened. The old timber church still exists to the north of the present church. Our Lady of Ransom Church has three Sunday Masses at 6:00pm on Saturday and 10:15am and 5:30pm on Sunday. St Agnes Church has one Sunday Mass at 11:30am. St Gregory's Church has one Sunday Mass at 9:00am.Mass times
from OurLadyofRansom.org.uk, retrieved 07 October 2022 File:St Agnes RC Church, Eastbourne.JPG, St Agnes Church, Eastbourne File:St Gregory's RC Church (Present Building), Victoria Drive, Downside, Eastbourne (October 2012).JPG, St Gregory's Church, Eastbourne

References

External links