The first chapel was in a converted cottage. The second church was opened on November 12, 1833, a contemporary sketch of which is shown on the right. | DOUAI ABBEY |
The first chapel was in a converted cottage. The second church was opened on November 12, 1833, a contemporary sketch of which is shown on the right.
This church rapidly became too small for the growing congregation and the pupils of St Mary's College which had also been established at the site.
The present church was built also through the efforts of Canon Dambrine, Parish Priest from 1829 till his death in 1855. He lies buried beneath the Holy Angels Chapel, now also the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, to the north of the chancel, where there is a memorial tablet to him.
This drawing shows the buildings in 1848, St Mary's church is on the left; the small building next to it is the sacristy. The rest are the buildings of St Mary's College. The previous church can be identified by the two short towers.
The architect was George Jonas Wigley (1825-66). Wigley was a friend of Bl Frederick Ozanam and a founder member of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. He was very 'Roman' in his outlook. and he translated St Charles Borromeo's 'Instructions for Ecclesiastical Buildings' into English in 1857. This influence may explain the lack of contemporary 'ecclesiogical' influences on St Mary's and the absence of rood screen and reredos, both of which were features of many chuches built at that time. It was a deliberate study from the remains of the chapel erected by Cardinal Pole at Croydon, which Wigley reckoned to be the last ecclesiastical work of Catholic England. Unlike many Gothic churches of the period which tended to be long and narrow, St Mary's is beautifully proportioned and is surprisingly wide for its length, which makes it highly suitable for liturgical celebration today.
The exterior brickwork is highly unusual. It uses a form of header bond, rather than English of Flemish bond. The bricks were made on the property, and many have become vitrified, having been burned in the oven. The stone dressings came from Prior Park, Bath.
At the west end is a bellcote containing the Angelus bell, which is rung also for Sunday Mass. Catholic Churches had only been allowed such ornaments since the Emmancipation Act of 1829. The sketch on the right by Fr Aloysius Bloor OSB, shows the west end of the church with its bellcote, and the quadrangle gateway to the south of the church.
The interior of the church has had several changes during the past 150 years. When the monastic community arrived in 1903, it had to serve as monastic Church until 1933. So choir stalls were installed which are now in the Abbey Church. New high and side altars were introduced temporally in 1913. They were designed for an abbey church which was projected, but never built. They were too large for St Mary's and were removed in 1974 and 1995.
In 1995 major structural work had to be carried out and the church was re-ordered, to the design of David John. It was consecrated on June 21, 1995 by Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth. The present arrangement is closer to Wigley's original design than the 1913 or 1974 arrangements.
The east window is by Wailes, a well known stained glass artist in the mid-nineteenth century. It depicts the crucifixion with Our Lady and St John. Above Our Lady a scroll in Lombardic lettering reads 'Son, behold thy mother' and above St John another says 'Mother, behold thy son'. In the lower panels there is frieze also showing the instruments of the Passion and the pelican, a symbol of Christ. At the very bottom left of the windows is an initial 'W' for Wailes
Click image of painting, glass or organ for more details.
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revised 26/07/01 by WS & 13/02/07
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