Sacred Heart Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

Petworth Petworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex, Heat ...

, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1896 and designed by

Frederick Walters Frederick Arthur Walters (5 February 1849–3 December 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, Lond ...

. It is situated on Angel Street to the north of

Petworth Cottage Museum thumb thumb Petworth Cottage Museum, at 346 High Street, Petworth, West Sussex is a Leconfield Estate worker's cottage. It has been restored and furnished as it might have been in about 1910 when the occupier was a Mrs. Mary Cummings, an Irish ...

in the centre of the town. It is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

church and a Grade II listed building.

History

Foundation

Before the church was built, the local Catholic population of Petworth worshiped at St Richard's Church in

Burton Park Burton Park is a 19th-century country house in the civil parish of Duncton in West Sussex, and is situated 1/2 a mile to the east of the village of Duncton, within its own estate. It is a listed building, Grade I listed building, now converted i ...

. Three years after St Richard's was built, a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

was established at Petworth. A priest would travel out to Petworth from Burton Park to say

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

there. After the presbytery, Duncton Cottage, in Burton Park deteriorated to become unliveable, the priest moved house to Petworth. from SacredHeartPetworth.org.uk, retrieved 5 March 2016

Construction

In 1893, Charles Willock Dawes from Burton Hill bought the site of the church. In 1894, the foundation stone was laid. Charles Dawes commissioned

to design the church. Dawes preferred the church to be modelled on Sacred Heart Church in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

. Construction of the church cost £15,000. The house for the priest was designed in consultation with the first parish priest, Canon Lalor. In 1896, the church was opened. The stained-glass windows of the church were designed by Lavers & Westlake and the brass by Hardman & Co. The first

in the church was the funeral of Charles Dawes' wife. On 25 December 1899, Dawes also died and the two are buried in the church crypt. Dawes left Burton Hill to the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

as a retirement community for the order.Petworth – The Sacred Heart
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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, retrieved 5 March 2016

Parish

The parish also includes the Church of the Divine Motherhood and St Francis of Assisi in

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester District in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother (Western), River Rother, inland from the English Channel and north of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first reco ...

and St Anthony and St George Church in

Duncton Duncton is a village and civil parish in the Chichester (district), District of Chichester in West Sussex, England. The village is in the South Downs south of Petworth on the A285 road. The civil parish is about long north – south and less ...

. They are both Grade II listed buildings.Roman Catholic Church of Divine Motherhood, Midhurst
from British Listed Buildings, retrieved 5 March 2016Church of St Anthony and St George
from

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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

, retrieved 5 March 2016

Church of the Divine Motherhood and St Francis of Assisi

During the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

period the local Catholic community worshiped at

Cowdray House Cowdray House consists of the ruins of one of England's great Tudor houses, architecturally comparable to many of the great palaces and country houses of that time. It is situated in the parish of Easebourne, just east of Midhurst, West Sussex ...

. In 1767,

Viscount Montagu Viscount Montagu was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 2 September 1554 for Anthony Browne of the Noble House of Montagu. It became extinct on the death of the ninth Viscount in 1797. The title Viscount Montagu was chose ...

paid for a Catholic

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

. In 1858, the mission stopped with the ending of the lease on the place of worship. The Church of the Divine Motherhood and St Francis of Assisi replaced another church, St Francis of Assisi Church, which was built from 1868 to 1869. It still exists and was designed by Charles Alban Buckler who also designed St Richard of Chichester Church in Slindon. When the present Church of the Divine Motherhood and St Francis of Assisi was opened, the old church became a restaurant. In 1888, the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

opened St Margaret's School in the area. In 1891, with the local Catholic population increasing in number, the site for the present church was bought. In 1957, construction on the Church of the Divine Motherhood and St Francis of Assisi began. In 1962, the church was opened. In 1965, a sculpture of

Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

Richard Guyatt Professor Richard Guyatt (1914–2007) was a British designer and academic who has been described as "one of the 20th century's most seminal figures in the world of graphic design". He was the youngest ever professor at the Royal College of Art on ...

was installed above the main entrance. In May 1966, the church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

. The church, without its tower, cost £35,000. The furniture and interior decoration was not done by the architect, Guy Morgan, and he complained that his "design has been murdered … the terrible seats, ghastly altar and the awful side chapels … all this has nearly broken my heart." Yet, the church was listed as a Grade II building, because of its fittings, design and sculpture. Inside the church there is chapel dedicated to the

Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

and altars dedicated to

St Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he ...

St Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba ...

, and Blessed Margaret Pole. A sculptor from Sussex, Michael Clark, designed the crucifix in the church.

St Anthony and St George Church

Catholic church of St Anthonys and St George - geograph

St Anthony and St George Church was founded by Anthony Wright Biddulph, the owner of

. In 1868, the foundation stone of the church was laid a few hundred metres from St Richard's Church in Burton Park, by the Bishop of Southwark, Thomas Grant. Construction of the church came to a total cost of £5,000, the architect was Gilbert Blount and the builders were John Ellis of Chichester. The church was consecrated by Cardinal Manning. In 1895, Biddulph died and was buried in the church crypt. It became a Grade II listed building on 27 April 2015.

Times

Sacred Heart Church has two Sunday Masses at: 5:30pm on Saturday and at 11:00am on Sunday. The Church of the Divine Motherhood and St Francis of Assisi also has two Masses at: 6:00pm on Saturday and at 9:30am on Sunday. St Anthony and St George Church has one Sunday Mass at 8:00am.Parish of Petworth & Midhurst with Duncton
from

Diocese of Arundel and Brighton The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton () is a diocese in southern England covering the counties of Sussex and Surrey (excluding Spelthorne, which is part of the Diocese of Westminster). The diocese was erected on 28 May 1965 by Pop ...

, retrieved 7 March 2016

References

External links

* {{Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Roman Catholic churches in West Sussex Grade II listed churches in West Sussex Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in West Sussex 1894 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1896 Frederick Walters buildings

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...