St Mary's Church or St Mary Immaculate 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 ...

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

, England, United Kingdom. It was built from 1868 to 1869 and 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 ''Building (magazine), The Builder'' i ...

. The architecture of the church, according to

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 ...

is a blend of "Gothic and Burgundian Romanesque styles". It is located on the corner of Kimberley Place and Killigrew Street. It was extended by Hansom's son

Joseph Stanislaus Hansom Joseph Stanislaus Hansom FRIBA (1845–1931) was a British architect. He was the son and partner of the better-known Joseph Aloysius Hansom, inventor of the Hansom cab. He trained with his father, becoming his partner in 1869, and taking over ...

in 1881 and it is a Grade II listed building.

Church of St Mary Immaculate
retrieved 31 May 2022

History

Foundation

By 1800, a Catholic oratory existed in Falmouth, inside a warehouse, by the port. In 1803, the oratory was replaced by a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

after it was burnt down. Next to the chapel was a house for the priest. The priest that served the

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 * ...

in Falmouth was a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

, Fr Ignatius Casemore. In 1814, a new customs house was built and the chapel and the house had to move. In 1818, the priest was French, Abbé Jean Baptiste de la Grésille. He received funds for a new church from French aristocrats. On 24 October 1821, the new church was opened. It could accommodate 150 people and it was built to be indiscreet, resembling two

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...

houses.

Falmouth - St Mary Immaculate
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 31 May 2022

Construction

By the 1860s, with the local Catholic population increasing, a new larger church needed to be built. The site for the current church was bought from

John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (7 January 18268 April 1902), known as the Lord Wodehouse from 1846 to 1866, was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. He held office in every Liberal administration from 1852 to 1895, notably ...

. The priest at the time was Canon William Casey. He commissioned

to design the church. Building work started in 1868. On 26 August 1869, the church was opened in a ceremony presided by William Vaughan, Bishop of Plymouth, with

William 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 o ...

Bishop of Birmingham The Bishop of Birmingham heads the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The diocese covers the North West of the historical county of Warwickshire and has its see in the City of Birmingham, Wes ...

. In 1881, the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

and tower and spire were completed by

. In 1886, a parish hall was built. A school room was established in the hall. It has previously been in the church crypt.

Developments

In 1908, the

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

and

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

were added, according to the original design of the church by Joseph Hansom. They were added by the priest at the time, Canon James Burns. He did it in the memory of Canon Casey. Around this time, an organ was also installed. In 1926, a Lourdes grotto was built off the north aisle. During World War II, Falmouth was a target of bombing. One bomb fell close to the church, damaging the roof and windows. In 1946 Canon George Cantell prepared the church for its

consecration 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 ( ...

. On 8 September 1948, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Plymouth

Francis Grimshaw Francis Edward Joseph Grimshaw (6 October 1901 – 22 March 1965) was a British Roman Catholic bishop, who served as Archbishop of Birmingham from 1954 until his death. Early life Born in Bridgwater, Somerset on 6 October 1901, the eldest of th ...

Parish

The

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 ...

of St Mary Immaculate Church also includes St Edward’s Church in

Mawnan Smith Mawnan Smith () is a village in the civil parish of Mawnan in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles south of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 1020. The St Mawnan ...

. The priest at St Mary Immaculate Church is also the parish priest of St Mary's Church in

Heston Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing C ...

that also serves St Michael the Archangel Church in

Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

. St Mary Immaculate Church has two Sunday Masses at 6:00pm on Saturday and at 10:30am on Sunday. St Edward’s Church in Mawnan Smith has one Sunday Mass at 9:00am.Churches
from

Diocese of Plymouth The Diocese of Plymouth () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England. The episcopal see is in the city of Plymouth, Devon, where the bishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface. Histo ...

, retrieved 31 May 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Immaculate Church, Falmouth Buildings and structures in Falmouth, Cornwall Buildings by Joseph Hansom Roman Catholic churches in Cornwall Grade II listed churches in Cornwall Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1869 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Gothic Revival architecture in Cornwall Gothic Revival church buildings in England Romanesque Revival church buildings in England 1868 establishments in England Religious organizations established in 1803