St Dunstan's Church, Woking
| St Dunstan's Church | |
|---|---|
Arundel and Brighton | |
| Deanery | Woking[1] |
St Dunstan's Church is a
History
Percy Street
In 1850, there was the
In 1899, a Fr W. D. Allanson built an iron church in Percy street, Woking, dedicated to
Heathside Crescent
In 1923, a Fr. Plummer replaced a Fr. John Peall as parish priest and wanted a new church to be built in the
The church congregation grew during the 20th-century so that other Catholic churches had to be established in the surrounding area. St Hugh's Church in Knaphill was opened in 1907, Our Lady Help of Christians Church in West Byfleet in 1954 and Our Lady Mother of God Church in the Kingfield area of Woking in 1962.[2]
After the
Shaftesbury Road
When St Francis School was closed, its site on Shaftesbury Road was not sold, but retained. In 2003, the decision was made to develop the site to build a new church that would replace the Our Lady Mother of God church and St Dunstan's on Heathside Crescent.[2]
In 2006, construction work began. In March 2006, Our Lady Mother of God Church was closed in anticipation of the new church being built. On 13 July 2006, as part of the redevelopment of parish facilities, Bishop Kieran Conry moved the remains of Fr Plummer to St Edward the Confessor Church in Sutton Green.[2]
On 8 August 2008, the building was completed and the first Mass was celebrated the next day. The new church was dedicated on 22 October 2008 by the
Parish
The church has a close relationship with St. Dunstan's Primary School.
The church has five Sunday Masses every week, 6:00pm on Saturday evening (for Sunday), 9:00am, 10:30am Sunday morning, an Italian Mass at 12 noon and a Sunday evening Mass at 5:30pm. There are weekday Masses from Monday to Saturday at 10:00am[4]
In September 2013, John Lillis, a former choirmaster and organist at the church, was jailed for six years after being found guilty of attempted buggery and two counts of indecent assault against boys under the age of 16. In November 2013 his sentence was increased to eight years. Lillis had previously pleaded guilty to four other counts of indecent assault committed between 1973 and 1982. He had been a music teacher at St. Dunstan's School during those years.[5][6][7]
See also
- Woking
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- St Peter's Church, Old Woking
References
- ^ Diocese of Arundel and Brightonretrieved 16 September 2013
- ^ a b c d e f g "St Dunstan's Catholic Church, Woking: Parish History". St Dunstan's Catholic Church, Woking. 29 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ Woking from British History Online retrieved 16 September 2013
- ^ "Home". st-dunstans.org.
- ^ Russell, Benjamin (15 August 2013). "Church paedophile persuaded not to resign by priest finally faces just". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "Former choirmaster John Lillis jailed for indecent assault". BBC News. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ Stanton, Jenny (13 November 2013). "Increased jail term for teacher and choirmaster who abused boys". SurreyLive. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
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