St Mary's Church is a Roman Catholic church in

Madeley, Shropshire Madeley is a constituent town and civil parish in Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 17,935 at the 2001 census. Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8th century. Histo ...

, England. It was built from 1852 to 1853 and was designed by

Joseph Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, ''The Builder'', in 1843. Career Ha ...

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 the corner of the High Street and Hanover Close. From 1769, the

church congregation A church (or local church) is a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations wher ...

went to the presbytery next to the church, where

Catholic Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

was celebrated in secret in a chapel. According to Historic England, it "is a very rare survivor of a house," and a Grade II listed building.

History

Massing House

After the Reformation, Madeley continued having a local Catholic community. In 1676, it was recorded that there were 51 adult " papists" living in Madeley. This number was the highest amount of Catholics in Shropshire. The Catholic community was supported by the Brooke family, the descendents of

Robert Broke Sir Robert Broke SL (died 5 or 6 September 1558) was an English judge, politician and legal writer. Although a landowner in rural Shropshire, he made his fortune through more than 20 years' service to the City of London. MP for the City in fi ...

. There was a secret school and a chapel at the Brooke home,

Madeley Court Madeley Court is a 16th-century country house in Madeley, Shropshire, England which was originally built as a grange to the medieval Wenlock Priory. It has since been restored as a hotel. The house is ashlar built in two storeys to an L-sha ...

. Madeley became a Catholic centre from which other Catholic missions were started in the surrounding area, and became known as "the Mother mission of Shropshire". In 1760, the Giffard family donated the current site of the church. They were descendants of

John Giffard John Giffard may refer to: *John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard (1232–1299), English nobleman *John Giffard (died 1556) (c. 1465–1556), Tudor courtier, soldier, MP and landowner, of Chillington Hall, Staffordshire *John Giffard (died 1613) (1534–1 ...

, and relatives of the Giffards who were behind the construction of St Peter and St Paul's Church, Wolverhampton. In 1769, the current house was built on the site, which had a chapel at the back. The house chapel was used to celebrate Mass and became known as the Massing House. The house chapel cost £500 to build and some of the cost was paid for by the Duke of Norfolk. Historic England
Telford - St Mary
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 17 June 2022

St Mary's Church

In 1849, Fr W. Molloy began serving the mission. The chapel initially had a capacity of 200 people. However, by 1851, attendance for Sunday Mass was closer to 500, so a larger church needed to be built. On 21 April 1852, the foundation stone was laid. The church was designed by

and was situated behind the house. On 18 August 1853, the church was opened. In September 1882,

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; la, Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis; french: Missionnaires du Sacré-Coeur) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Servant of God Jules Chevalier (182 ...

moved into the house and served the church. In 1889, while the church was served by the priest at St Mary's Church in Shifnal, the house became a girls' boarding school. In 1969, the house again became a presbytery and later used by the parish.

Parish

St Mary's Church is part of the parish of the Good Shepherd with St Paul's Church in Dawley. St Mary's Church has two Sunday Masses at 5:00pm on Saturday and at 11:00am on Sunday. St Paul's Church has one Sunday Mass at 9:00am.Directory
from Diocese of Shrewsbury, retrieved 17 June 2022

References

External links