Church of St Mary, Lowe House

Last updated

Church of St Mary, Lowe House
St Mary's Lowe House, St Helens - geograph.org.uk - 511032.jpg
South side of the church
Church of St Mary, Lowe House
53°27′26″N2°44′25″W / 53.4571°N 2.7404°W / 53.4571; -2.7404
OS grid reference SJ5093595844
Location St Helens, Merseyside
CountryUnited Kingdom
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website https://www.stmaryslowehouse.org
History
StatusActive
Founded1924 (1924)
Architecture
Functional status Parish church
Heritage designationGrade II listed
Designated11 September 1951
Architect(s) Charles B. Powell [1]
Administration
Province Liverpool (aka Northern)
Archdiocese Liverpool
Deanery St Helens – St Monica Pastoral Area
Parish St Mary's and St. Thomas of Canterbury
Clergy
Archbishop Most Rev. Malcolm McMahon O.P.
Priest(s) Rev.Michael Harwood

The Church of St Mary, Lowe House is a Roman Catholic Parish church situated on North Road in St Helens, Merseyside. The present church was founded in 1924 and staffed by the Society of Jesus until 1981. It is a Grade II listed building with Romanesque and Gothic features. [2]

Contents

History

Foundation stone Commemorative stone of St Mary's Church, Lowe House, St Helens.JPG
Foundation stone

Origin

The church is named St Mary's Lowe House because it was built on a piece of land gifted by Winefred Eccleston, née Lowe, near to her home on Cowley Hill. [3] Winefred was the widow of John Gorsuch Eccleston, a former owner of Eccleston Hall that had previously provided for a Roman Catholic Chapel until later owners closed it. [4] [3] The first chapel was constructed and opened in 1793 and was known as Lowe House. It was enlarged three times, the final time being in 1857. [5] [6] [3]

Foundation

To accommodate the growing Catholic population in the town, construction of a new church was started in 1924 by the side of the original church (which was eventually demolished in 1930). The foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Liverpool, Frederick Keating on 11 May 1924. The scale was decided on by Fr Reginald Riley SJ, who wanted a larger size church for the local Catholic community. He was parish priest at the church from 1912 to 1946. [4] The church was opened in 1929, and was designed by Charles B. Powell, [1] an Irish architect who did other architectural work for the Jesuits in Dublin. It is colloquially referred to as 'The Basilica of St Helens' and 'The Poor Man's Cathedral' by people in St Helens, because construction of the church was funded by donations from the local population during a time of economic struggle. [4]

The dome, designed in a Romanesque crossed with Gothic style, is on the point where the nave, sanctuary and transepts meet, sitting on a castellated octagonal tower. There is a copper cross on the dome that is 16 feet high. It was given to the church by the family of a local builder, James Yearsley whose company helped lay the foundations. [4] The clock face on the 130 ft tall tower is set in gold mosaic.

Carillon

A major feature of the clock tower is the historic Carillon (bells playable in musical notation by a keyboard, rather than in sequences by ropes). [4] Cast and built by renowned bellfounders John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough, it is the largest in the North West of England housing 47 bells. [7] The Carillon is regularly played and there are also occasional recitals by visiting Carillonneurs.

Parish

Every week, the church has Mass every Sunday, at 11:00 am.

On 27 July 1980, the head of the Jesuits in Britain announced to the congregation that, as of Easter 1981, the church would no longer be staffed by Jesuits and would be handed over to the Archdiocese of Liverpool. [8]

In 2010, the parish was merged with the nearby Holy Cross and St Helen parish in the centre of St Helens to become the parish of Holy Cross and St Mary. However in 2014, following changes in the archdiocese, St Mary's Lowe House was paired with the parish of St Thomas of Canterbury, Dentons Green. The church of Holy Cross & St. Helen reverted to a single parish under a new parish priest.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of cathedrals and great churches</span>

Cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monastic churches like those of abbeys and priories, often have certain complex structural forms that are found less often in parish churches. They also tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of regional pride. Many are among the world's most renowned works of architecture. These include St Peter's Basilica, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cologne Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Antwerp Cathedral, Prague Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of San Vitale, St Mark's Basilica, Westminster Abbey, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Antoni Gaudí's incomplete Sagrada Família and the ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, now a mosque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Helens, Merseyside</span> Town in Merseyside, England

St Helens is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 102,629. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, which had a population of 183,200 at the 2021 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Francis Xavier Church, Liverpool</span> Church in Liverpool, England

St Francis Xavier's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Salisbury Street, Everton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active parish church in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Pastoral Area of Liverpool North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula</span> Cathedral in Brussels, Belgium

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula or St. Gudula by locals, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in central Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">São Paulo Cathedral</span> Cathedral in Brazil

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Assumption and Saint Paul, also known as the See Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo, Brazil. Its current and seventh metropolitan archbishop is Dom Odilo Pedro Cardinal Scherer, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on March 21, 2007, and installed on April 29 of the same year. The existing cathedral's construction, in a Gothic revival style, began in 1913 and ended four decades later. It was ready for its dedication on the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the then humble villa of São Paulo by Chief or Cacique Tibiriçá and the Jesuit priests Manuel da Nóbrega and José de Anchieta. Despite its Renaissance-style dome, the São Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral is considered by some to be the fourth largest neo-Gothic cathedral in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girona Cathedral</span>

Girona Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona, is a Roman Catholic church located in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Girona. The cathedral's interior includes the widest Gothic nave in the world, with a width of 23 metres (75 ft), and the second-widest of any church after that of St. Peter's Basilica. Its construction was begun in the 11th century in the Romanesque architectural style, and continued in the 13th century in the Gothic style. Of the original Romanesque edifice only the 12th-century cloister and a bell tower remain. The second bell tower was completed in the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Basilica (Phoenix)</span> Historic Catholic church in Arizona, United States

St. Mary's Basilica – officially The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary – is a church of the Diocese of Phoenix located at 231 North 3rd Street at the corner of East Monroe Street in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It was previously known as St. Mary's Church. It was built from 1902 to 1914 in a combination of the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, and was dedicated in 1915. It replaced an earlier adobe church built in 1881 when the parish was founded. From 1895 the parish was staffed by the Franciscan Friars, but it is currently staffed and operated by clergy of the Diocese of Phoenix. The current church was elevated to a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James's Cathedral, Riga</span> Church in Riga, Latvia

St James's Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Riga in Latvia. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint James the Greater. The building is part of the Old Riga UNESCO World Heritage Site and lies directly opposite the House of the Livonian Noble Corporation, the meeting place of Latvia's parliament the Saeima.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (Mobile, Alabama)</span> Historic church in Alabama, United States

Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church was a historic Roman Catholic church building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It served as the parish church for St. Joseph's Parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Cross Church (Manhattan)</span> Church in New York City, US

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (Maria Stein, Ohio)</span> Church in Ohio, United States

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio, United States. Located in the unincorporated community of Maria Stein, it is the home of an active congregation and has been recognized as a historic site because of its well-preserved late nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Remy's Catholic Church</span> United States historic place

St. Remy's Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Russia, Ohio, United States. Built in 1890, it continues to house an active parish, and it has been recognized as a historic site because of its architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarragona Cathedral</span>

The Primatial Cathedral of Tarragona is a Roman Catholic church in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The edifice is located in a site previously occupied by a Roman temple dating to the time of Tiberius, a Visigothic cathedral, and a Moorish mosque. It was declared a national monument in 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (Celina, Ohio)</span> United States historic place

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Celina, Ohio, United States. Founded later than many other Catholic parishes in the heavily Catholic region of western Ohio, it owns a complex of buildings constructed in the early 20th century that have been designated historic sites because of their architecture. Leading among them is its massive church, built in the Romanesque Revival style just 43 years after the first Catholic moved into the city: it has been called northwestern Ohio's grandest church building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Name Church (West Roxbury, Massachusetts)</span> Church in Massachusetts, United States

Holy Name Church in West Roxbury is a Roman Catholic church of the Archdiocese of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Catholic Church (Dayton, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

St. Mary's Catholic Church is a historic Catholic church building in an eastern neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, United States. Constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century, it remains home to an active parish. Its grand architecture has made it an aviator's landmark, and it has been named a historic site by the federal government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Cross Church, St Helens</span> Church in Merseyside, United Kingdom

Holy Cross and St Helen Church is a Roman Catholic church in St Helens, Merseyside. The church was built in 1860 by the Society of Jesus. It was designed by Joseph John Scoles and is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph Church, Prescot</span> Church in Merseyside, United Kingdom

Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Prescot, Merseyside. It was built in 1856-57 by the Society of Jesus, and is now in the Knowsley deanery of the Archdiocese of Liverpool. It is a Grade II listed building, designed by Joseph Aloysius Hansom, and is next to the Church of St Mary on Vicarage Place in the centre of Prescot.

References

  1. 1 2 Dictionary of Irish Architects. Retrieved 15 August 2013
  2. British listed buildings. Retrieved 14 August 2013
  3. 1 2 3 Farrer, William & Brownbill, J (1907). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Victoria County History. pp. 371–377. The Section dedicated to Eccleston.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "History".
  5. St. Mary's, Lowe House Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Brochure 1989 p.3
  6. "100 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (18th - 24th February 1919)".
  7. "St Mary's Lowe House Carillon". British Carillon Society.
  8. Society of Jesus (December 1980). "Province News". Letters and Notices. 84: 133.