St Catherine's Church, West Drayton

Last updated
St Catherine's Church
St Catherine of Alexandria Church
Roman Catholic Church of St Catherine, West Drayton (01).jpg
St Catherine's Church, West Drayton
51°30′15″N0°28′35″W / 51.5043°N 0.4763°W / 51.5043; -0.4763
OS grid reference TQ058794
Location West Drayton
CountryEngland
Denomination Catholic
Website Official website
History
Status Parish church
Dedication Catherine of Alexandria
Consecrated 29 September 1893 [1]
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade II listed
Designated12 May 2016 [2]
Architect(s) Thomas John Willson
Samuel Joseph Nicholl
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 26 October 1868
Completed29 September 1869 [3]
Administration
Province Westminster
Archdiocese Westminster
Deanery Hillingdon [4]
Parish West Drayton and Yiewsley

St Catherine's Church or St Catherine of Alexandria Church is a Catholic parish church in West Drayton, Borough of Hillingdon, London. It was built from 1868 to 1869 and designed by Thomas John Willson [5] and Samuel Joseph Nicholl. It is architecturally in the Gothic Revival style. It is situated on The Green near the town centre. On 12 May 2016, it was designated a Grade II listed building. It is the only Catholic Church that is a listed building by Historic England in the Borough of Hillingdon. [3]

Contents

History

Foundation

After the English Reformation, during the time of recusancy, until the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, some Catholics in West Drayton, particularly the Paget family, descendants of William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, were recorded as papists by the authorities. Anne Paget (died 1587), William's wife, was suspected of hiding Anthony Tyrrell after he escaped from prison. In 1676 and 1706, no one wrote that they were Catholic in those years' censuses. For the rest of the 18th century, there were no recorded instances of Catholic public worship. [6]

The number of Catholics in West Drayton began to increase with the arrival of Irish migrants to work in the market-gardens situated around the village. [7] [8] In 1867, West Drayton had its own Catholic parish and a resident priest, Fr Michael Wren. The priest lived at White Cottage on Money Lane. In 1868, stables and an old coachhouse were turned into a temporary chapel. It could fit 400 people, and there was a space there for 80 schoolchildren too. The Catholic congregation used these temporary premises while the current church was being built. [6]

Construction

On 26 October 1868 the foundation stone of the church was laid by the Archbishop of Westminster, Henry Manning. [9] The architects were Thomas John Willson and Samuel Joseph Nicholl. The two of them had worked on other notable Catholic churches such as St Charles Borromeo Church, Westminster and St Alban and St Stephen's Church, St Albans. The church is in the Gothic Revival style and it opened on 29 September (Michaelmas) 1869 with Henry Manning preaching its first sermon. [10] [11]

In 1886, a new high altar was installed in the church. In 1985, the organ was restored, the altar rails removed and the high altar was brought forward. That year, efforts were made to build a spire on top of the tower according to the original plan of the church. However, as not enough money was raised, a small concrete block was added to the top of the tower. [10]

Parish

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School is to the west of the church. The church has four Sunday Masses at 7:00 pm on Saturday and at 9:00 am, 11:00 am and 6:00 pm on Sunday. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowley, London</span> Suburban village in the United Kingdom

Cowley is a village contiguous with the town of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon. A largely suburban village with 16 listed buildings, Cowley is 15.4 miles (24.8 km) west of Charing Cross, bordered to the west by Uxbridge Moor in the Green Belt and the River Colne, forming the border with Buckinghamshire. Cowley was an ancient parish in the historic county of Middlesex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmondsworth</span> Human settlement in England

Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto London Heathrow Airport and close to the Berkshire county border. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and the A4 road. Harmondsworth was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965. It is an ancient parish that once included the large hamlets of Heathrow, Longford and Sipson. Longford and Sipson have modern signposts and facilities as separate villages, remaining to a degree interdependent such as for schooling. The Great Barn and parish church are medieval buildings in the village. The largest proportion of land in commercial use is related to air transport and hospitality. The village includes public parkland with footpaths and abuts the River Colne and biodiverse land in its Regional Park to the west, once the grazing meadows and woodlands used for hogs of Colnbrook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uxbridge</span> Town in the west of Greater London, England

Uxbridge is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, 15.4 miles (24.8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century it expanded and increased in population, becoming a municipal borough in 1955, and part of Greater London in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yiewsley</span> Suburban village in the United Kingdom

Yiewsley is a large suburban village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, 2 miles (3 km) south of Uxbridge, the borough's commercial and administrative centre. Yiewsley was a chapelry in the ancient parish of Hillingdon, Middlesex. The population of the ward was 12,979 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Hillingdon</span> London borough in United Kingdom

The London Borough of Hillingdon is a London borough in Greater London, England. It forms part of outer London and West London, being the westernmost London borough. It was formed in 1965 from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton. The borough includes most of Heathrow Airport and Brunel University, and is the second largest of the 32 London boroughs by area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Drayton</span> Area of the London Borough of Hillingdon

West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and from 1929 was part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District, which became part of Greater London in 1965. The settlement is near the Colne Valley Regional Park and its centre lies 1.9 miles (3 km) north of Heathrow Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longford, London</span> Human settlement in England

Longford is a suburban village in the London borough of Hillingdon, England. It is immediately northwest of London Heathrow Airport, which is in the same borough. It is the westernmost settlement in Greater London, very close to the borders of both Berkshire and Surrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elthorne Hundred</span>

Elthorne was a hundred of the historic county of Middlesex, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uxbridge Rural District</span>

Uxbridge Rural District was, from 1894 to 1929, a local government district in Middlesex, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District</span>

Yiewsley and West Drayton was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1929 to 1965. Its area became the south-west of the London Borough of Hillingdon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockley Park</span> Pioneering suburban business and public park in the United Kingdom

Stockley Park is a business estate and public country park located between Hayes, Yiewsley, and West Drayton in the London Borough of Hillingdon. In August 2020, it was listed in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England as Grade II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frays River</span> River in England

Frays River is a semi-canalised short river in England that branches off the River Colne at Uxbridge Moor and rejoins it at West Drayton. It is believed to be a mainly man-made anabranch north of the confluence with the River Pinn to feed watermills in the Parish of Hillingdon. The river is believed to be named after John Fray who owned Cowley Hall in the fifteenth century. Other names for the river are the Uxbridge and Cowley Mill Stream, the Cowley Stream or the Colham Mill Stream. Two of the three mills in Hillingdon Parish recorded in the Domesday book are believed to have been located on the southern section of the river.

John Pritchett was an English churchman, bishop of Gloucester from 1672.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart Church, Petworth</span> Church in West Sussex, England

Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Petworth, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1896 and designed by Frederick Walters. It is situated on Angel Street to the north of Petworth Cottage Museum in the centre of the town. It is a Gothic Revival church and a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Charles Borromeo Church, Westminster</span>

The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Charles Borromeo is a Roman Catholic church on Ogle Street in the Diocese of Westminster, London. It is named after Charles Borromeo, a 16th-century Italian saint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Alban and St Stephen's Church, St Albans</span> Church in St Albans, United Kingdom

St Alban and St Stephen's Church or Ss Alban and Stephen Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Although it was built from 1903 to 1905, it was the third attempt to build a permanent local Catholic church in St Albans. It was designed by John Kelly of Kelly & Birchall in the Italian style. It is located on Beaconsfield Road next to the St Albans City railway station in the city centre.

References

  1. "News from the Dioceses, England, Westminster". London: The Tablet. 7 October 1893. p. 598.
  2. Roman Catholic Church of St Catherine from British Listed Buildings, retrieved 22 October 2024
  3. 1 2 "West Drayton - St Catherine". Taking Stock. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  4. 1 2 Directory from Archdiocese of Westminster, retrieved 21 October 2024
  5. Brodie A. (ed), (2001), Directory of British Architects, 1834–1914: 2 Vols, British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects, pg 1018.
  6. 1 2 "West Drayton: Roman catholicism and old catholics", in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington, ed. Susan Reynolds (London, 1962), British History Online, accessed 22 October 2024.
  7. The Reverend Peter Francis Elkins (8 June 1867). "The Catholic Church in Great Britain. Diocese of Westminster. St. Augustine, Apostle of England, West Drayton Middlesex - New Mission". London: The Weekly Register and Catholic Standard. p. 357.
  8. The Reverend Michael Wren (18 August 1876). "An Appeal. St. Catherine's Catholic Church, West Drayton, Uxbridge, Middlesex". Belfast: Ulster Examiner and Northern Star. p. 1.
  9. "West Drayton. Laying the Foundation Stone of the New Roman Catholic Chapel". Uxbridge: Broadwater's Buckinghamshire Advertiser, Uxbridge Journal. 2 November 1868. p. 4.
  10. 1 2 "Roman Catholic Church of St Catherine, Non Civil Parish - 1428695 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  11. "West Drayton". Windsor and Eton Express, Berks, Bucks and Middlesex Journal and West Surrey Gazette. 2 October 1869.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to St Catherine's Church, West Drayton at Wikimedia Commons