St Catherine's 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 ...

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south south-west of London, west of Brighton and ...

, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1862, built in stages afterwards and designed by

Matthew Ellison Hadfield Matthew Ellison Hadfield (8 September 1812 – 9 March 1885) was an English architect of the Victorian Gothic revival. He is chiefly known for his work on Roman Catholic churches, including the cathedral churches of Salford and Sheffield. Trai ...

. It is situated on Beach Road backing on to St Catherine's Road 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

In 1862, Augusta Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, paid for a church to be built in

. She was also behind the building of St John the Evangelist Church in Heron's Ghyll. She paid

to design a set of buildings in Littlehampton comprising a church, presbytery and school. However, the plans were changed and in the end, a presbytery and church were built. The church simply consisted of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

.Littlehampton - St Catherine
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 22 March 2016

Construction

From 1883 to 1884, further construction was done on the church. Again, this was designed by Hadfield. A further aisle was added expanding the capacity of the church and a gallery was built.

Extension

In 1904, the church was extended. The architectural firm was

Pugin & Pugin Pugin & Pugin (Floruit, fl. c.1873–c.1958) was a London-based family firm of Church architecture, church architects. History The origins of the Pugin & Pugin firm lay with the practice of Edward Welby Pugin (1834–1875); he had worked in the ...

. The building was expanded eastwards by the enlarging of the

. A chapel, St Joseph's Chapel, was added to the north side of the church and a separate entrance for it was made. In addition, two

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall where the priest from some Christian denominations sits to hear the confessions of a penitent's sins. It is the traditional venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Luther ...

s were built as well as a new

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

. The

was made by Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons from

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

and cost £340. The stained glass windows that were installed were made by

Cox & Barnard Cox & Barnard Ltd was a stained glass designer and manufacturer based in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The company was founded in Hove in 1919 and specialised in stained glass for churches and Studio glass, decorative glass ...

from

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 ...

Parish

Within St Catherine's

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

is St Joseph's Church in

Rustington Rustington is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex. Rustington is approximately at the midpoint of the West Sussex coast and midway between Chichester and Brighton. The A259 runs along the north of Rustington, west ...

. It was built from 1949 to 1950 and designed by John D. Hicks.Rustington - St Joseph
from

, retrieved 22 March 2016 St Catherine's Church has three Sunday Masses at 6:30pm on Saturday and at 9:00am (in Portuguese) and 11:00am on Sunday. St Joseph's Church has one Sunday Mass at 9:00am.

References

External links

St Catherine's Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine's Church, Littlehampton Saint Catherine Arun District 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 1862 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1904 Matthew Ellison Hadfield buildings