The Church Building

The foundation stone of the present church was laid on 3rd March 1962 and the church was first used for worship in 1964. Of simple design the structure is supported by exposed laminated timber beams with large window openings.

 The Baptistery was originally part of the entrance complex and the font, of an old English pattern, is made of stone from the ruins of the old Stanley Abbey. The font was moved to the main body of the church and the entrance porch enlarged in September 1990.

In the early 1980s, the altar was moved to the centre of the sanctuary, when it was fitted with a new marble frontal stone embellished with a bronze winged chalice and ears of wheat sculpture made by Seán Crampton.

The first of the Stations of the Cross by Seán Crampton was installed in 1983 and the remaining Stations made and installed from that date to 1986.

In 1986 new benches were installed in the church.

In October 1987 the altar rails on the sanctuary were removed and the height of the ambo lowered.

The Annuncation statue by Seán Crampton was installed in 2000.

In 2010 the church interior was re-decorated, a new ceiling and new carpets installed.

The leaded Christus Rex stained glass window panel and new oak entrance doors were installed in March 2012 to commemorate the golden anniversary of the laying of the church foundation stone.

The cast glass and resin stained glass window panels from Saint Joseph’s Church at RAF Lyneham were installed in the sanctuary in September 2012.

They mark out a place where the stranger
Will begin their encounter of the Church at prayer
And the place where the Church will formally welcome the stranger
Who seeks admission not just to the building,
but to the community of the Church.

These doors are a place of welcome and greeting.

It is at these doors that those seeking membership of the Christian community through baptism are welcomed,
Newly married husbands and wives leave to face the world together for the first time,
And the mortal remains of the deceased are sprinkled with holy water
Before their journey to their final resting place.