St Gregory's Church, Cheltenham

St Gregory the Great Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in 1809 and rebuilt from 1854 to 1857. It is situated on the corner of St James' Square and Clarence Street. It was designed by Charles Hansom and is a Grade II* listed building.

For the Churches with same name, see Saint Gregory the Great Parish Church (disambiguation).

St Gregory's Church
Church of St Gregory the Great
OS grid referenceSO9457022558
LocationCheltenham
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationRoman Catholic
WebsiteStGregorys.org.uk
History
StatusParish Church
Founded1809
DedicationPope Gregory I
Consecrated6 November 1877
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade II* listed[1]
Designated5 May 1972
Architect(s)Charles Hansom
StyleGothic Revival
Years built1854 to May 1857
Completed1876
Administration
ParishSt Gregory the Great with St Thomas More
DeaneryCheltenham[2]
DioceseClifton
ProvinceBirmingham

History
Church organ

Foundation

In 1809, a chapel was built on the site of the present church. It was built with the guidance of its first priest, Fr Augustine Birdsall OSB from Douai Abbey.[3][4]

Construction

In the spring of 1854, the monks from Douai Abbey were still serving the church when building work started on the church. The church was designed by Charles Hansom, brother of Joseph Hansom and father of Edward Joseph Hansom. He also designed Plymouth Cathedral and St Osburg's Church in Coventry. He designed it to be a Gothic Revival church.[1]

In May 1857, the chancel was completed and the church was opened. That year, work on the tower and spire had started, but was of course not complete. In 1876, the tower and spire were completed. The next year, on 6 November 1877, the church was consecrated.[1]

Inside of the church, the stained glass windows was designed by Hardman & Co. The altar and reredos were made by Farmer & Brindley. The majority of the carving was done by Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons of Cheltenham; a firm who also worked on Cheltenham Town Hall, St John's Church in Poulton-le-Fylde, St Mary's Church and St Alban's Church in Warrington and St Cuthbert's in Earls Court.[1]

Parish
St Thomas More Church, before its demolition in 2011; the Catholic Centre is behind and to the right of the church.

The church is in the parish of St Gregory the Great with St Thomas More. It serves the St Thomas More Catholic Centre on Princess Elizabeth Way in Cheltenham. On 30 November 2011, St Thomas More Church was demolished and the church hall was developed to accommodate a sacristy, a chapel and use by community groups.[5]

The church has four Sunday Masses: 8am ,9:30 am, 11:15 am and 6:00 pm. St Thomas More Catholic Centre has one Sunday Mass at 5:00 pm on Saturday.[2]

The church is currently undergoing a restoration to the roof and the walls . Also replacing the lighting inside the church. This should be finished by the end of November 2018. See the parish website for a weekly blog of how the work is going.

See also

References
  1. Church of St Gregory, Gloucestershire from British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 9 January 2016
  2. Deanery directory Archived 11 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine from Diocese of Clifton. Retrieved 17 March 2015
  3. Gordon Beattie, Gregory's Angels: A History of the Abbeys, Priories, Parishes and Schools of the Monks and Nuns Following the Rule of Saint Benedict in Great Britain, Ireland and Their Overseas Foundations : to Commemorate the Arrival of Saint Augustine in Kent in 597 AD (Gracewing, 1997), 254.
  4. History from StGregorys.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2015
  5. Demolition of Hester's Way church marks start of new era from Gloucestershire Echo, 1 December 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2016
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