St Columba's Church, Chester

St Columba's is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Newton, Chester. It was built from 1964 to 1965. It is situated on the corner of Plas Newton Lane and Newhall Road in the suburbs, north of the city centre. The 'Taking Stock' project, a partnership between the Patrimony Committee of the Bishops’ Conference, English Heritage and individual catholic dioceses, described the church as 'a strikingly modern church in a distinctive style'.[2]

St Columba's Church
Church entrance
LocationNewton, Chester
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationRoman Catholic
WebsiteStColumbaChester.WordPress.com
History
StatusActive
Founder(s)Canon Francis Murphy
DedicationSaint Columba
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Architect(s)Francis Prichard
Groundbreaking6 September 1964
Completed19 February 1966
Administration
DeaneryNorth Cheshire[1]
DioceseShrewsbury
ProvinceBirmingham

History

Construction

In the late 1950s, a priest from St Werburgh's Church in Chester, Canon Francis Murphy, came to Newton and started raising funds to build a new church for the local Catholic population. On 6 September 1964, he laid the foundation stone for the church. It was designed by Francis Prichard (1919 – 2008).[2][3] He was an ecclesiastical architect and was also the Mayor of Crosby.[4] The first Mass was said in the church on 19 December 1965. On 19 February 1966, the church was officially opened by William Grasar, Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury.[2]

Parish Hall

In 1978, the parish hall was also opened by Bishop Glaser. It was built by the Manpower Services Commission. In 2012, it hosted the Annual General Meeting of the British Heart Foundation.[5]

See also

References
  1. Directory from Diocese of Shrewsbury, retrieved 13 February 2015
  2. St Columba Church - Chester, accessed 2 February 2017
  3. History from StColumbaChester.WordPress.com, retrieved 13 February 2015
  4. Tributes paid to former Mayor of Crosby Francis Prichard who has died from Liverpool Echo, 31 December 2008, retrieved 13 February 2015
  5. British Heart Foundation to hold AGM in St Columbas Church Hall, Chester from Chester Chronicle, 3 May 2012, retrieved 13 February 2015
  • "St Columba's Catholic Church, Chester". www.stcolumbachester.org.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
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