Catholic worship in Bourne was re-established in the mid-20th century. In 1950, a temporary wooden hut on Exeter Street was acquired to serve as the town's first post-Reformation Catholic centre. The congregation remained small, but steady growth during the following decades led to plans for a permanent church building.[1]
The current church on St. Gilbert's Road was constructed in 1976 to designs by the architect Thomas E. Wilson. It was one of the earliest completed buildings in the new residential development on St. Gilbert's Road and cost approximately £70,000 to complete.[2]
St. Gilbert's is a modern circular building designed with a dual-purpose layout: one side of the interior serves as the sanctuary and worship area, while the other functions as a parish hall for community and social events.[1]
The building seats around 200 people. It has a plain brick exterior and is built low to the ground, mimicking 20th-century Catholic architecture trends in England. The church's proximity to Bourne's town bus station has occasionally led to its being mistaken for a public hall or café, a reflection of its unassuming exterior form.[1]
Dedication
The church is named after St. Gilbert of Sempringham (c.1085– c.1189), founder of the Gilbertine Order and native of Lincolnshire. The dedication links the parish directly with a figure of local and historical significance to English monasticism.[3]
Parish and community
St. Gilbert's forms part of the Sacred Heart & St. Gilbert’s, Bourne and Our Lady of Lincoln & St. Guthlac, Deeping St. James Parish, within the Diocese of Nottingham. The parish provides regular Sunday and weekday Masses, sacramental preparation, catechesis, and community activities. The building includes accessibility features such as wheelchair access, a loop system for the hearing impaired, and adapted facilities.[4]
Significance
It is the first permanent Catholic church in Bourne since the Reformation.[1] It remains in service as a combined religious centre and social hall for people in Bourne.[5]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
