St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Monmouth
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church | |
---|---|
Roman Catholic | |
Website | monmouthandrosscatholicchurches |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | including Benjamin Bucknall |
Years built | 1778 |
Clergy | |
Priest(s) | Fr Nicholas James |
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, in St Mary's Street near the centre of
History and architecture
After the sixteenth century, Monmouth was a centre for
The original building forms the area of the present
From 1835 to 1851 the Roman Catholic priest in Monmouth was Thomas Burgess who went on to be the Bishop of Clifton.[8]
Internal features
The church includes many features, but of especial note is its association with Saint John Kemble, who was a missionary in Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. He was martyred for his faith at Hereford on 22 August 1679 and lies buried at nearby Welsh Newton.[9] The Marches were an area where the old faith continued long after the Reformation, and many of the local big houses gave sanctuary to Catholic services conducted clandestinely by priests who could suffer extreme penalties if they were discovered. The parish of St Mary's organises a pilgrimage to St John Kemble's tomb on the Sunday nearest to the date of his martyrdom.[10] The church also includes an altar dedicated to the saint's memory, which was used for the celebration of Mass during penal times at Pembridge Castle: this consists of two benches that could be separated to disguise its purpose.[11] These historic buildings were refurbished in 2009/2010.[6]
The church possesses a fourteenth-century processional cross; an embroidered red chasuble dating from about 1502; and a hinged cross, possibly of Spanish origin, dating from the seventeenth century.[5][7]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-14-071053-1, p.398
- ^ Church of St. Mary R C, Monmouth, Listed Buildings, accessed January 2012
- ^ a b Keith Kissack, Nonconformity in Monmouth, Capel: The Chapels Heritage Society Newsletter, no.29, 1997
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-77155-9.
- ^ ISBN 1-904396-01-1, p.79
- ^ a b c d Monmouth Civic Society, Monmouth Heritage Blue Plaque Trail, n.d., p.18
- ^ a b St Mary's Catholic Church, Monmouth: A Short History 1793–2009[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 16 January 2012
- ^ Thompson Cooper, ‘Burgess, Thomas (1791–1854)’, rev. John Cashman, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 31 Jan 2012
- ^ "Saint John Kemble". sqpn.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ "John Kemble pilgrimage". monmouth-catholic.org. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ St Mary's Catholic Church, Monmouth: St John Kemble. Retrieved 16 January 2012