ST AUSTIN'S R.C CHURCH

Wentworth Terrace, Wakefield, WF1 3QN

Contact: Brian Hamill - 01924 365779 Email: brianhamilluk@yahoo.co.uk

St Austin’s church is dedicated to Saint Augustine who brought Christianity back to England in 597 and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the following year.

History

The church itself was built in the latter half of the 1820s according to the design of Joseph Ireland, one of the leading architects of the day and is a fine example of his classical Grecian style, with Corinthian capitals in the sanctuary and decorated plasterwork in the ceiling, some of the original of which still remains. The church was opened on March 4^th 1828 and was therefore prior to the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 and is one of few Roman Catholic churches from the Georgian era which is still in regular use for worship. It originally extended from the arch in front of the altar to the inner edge of the present balcony. The priest’s house (presbytery), was built in the space now occupied by the altar area (sanctuary), beyond the two large Corinthian pillars.

There was considerable extension work later in the 19^th century, especially in the 1870s under Joseph Hanson (of Hanson cab fame), which produced the structural outline of the present church. The presbytery was transferred from the eastern end of the church to the western when the pre-existing houses (about 1790), were purchased. The church hall or theatre was built in the 1930s at a time when both the religious and the social life of the local Catholic community centred on the church. A stone calvary at street level is a memorial to the parishioners who died in the two World Wars. This is supplemented by a memorial plaque within the church itself.

Famous Connections

Charles Waterton, famous explorer and conservationist, contributed to the cost of the church and his brother, a Jesuit priest, was involved in the initial planning of the parish. Squire Waterton remained a parishioner all his life and used his social position to defend Catholic life in Wakefield.

The watercolour artist Thomas Cromek became a parishioner after settling in Wakefield in 1854. His three daughters were a great asset to the church choir for almost twenty years.

Interior Features

Within the exterior porch, over the holy water stoop, is a memorial to the church’s Rectors and Parish Priests. Beyond the porch is the general notice area (narthex) which was taken out of the church area as recently as the 1990s when the church was reordered in accordance with the norms of the Second Vatican Council. Here will be found a statue to St Therese of Lisieux, a popular French 19^th century saint. Within the congregational area itself there are fourteen stations of the cross around the wall which depict various episodes from the passion of Jesus, starting with his condemnation by Pilate to his being placed in the tomb after his crucifixion.

The two statues in the niches high up on either side of the sanctuary arch are of Ss. Joseph and Patrick. The wooden statue in the south-eastern corner of the church by the sacristy door is of St Anne, who is holding in her arms her daughter Mary, who in her turn is holding her son, Jesus. The threefold form of the stature was popular in Germany and the Netherlands in the 15^th and 16^th century, and large numbers of the statues (known as Anna-te-Drieen), were imported into Britain around 1500. The statue is believed to have been hidden during the years of the Reformation, when religious images were often being destroyed.

Within the Lady Chapel in the north-eastern corner of the church is an altar picture of Mary and the infant Jesus. This was painted in 1922 by Mr A Jarvis of Ipswich who used Agnes Rayner, the daughter of a local painter as his model for the figure of Mary. There is still a Rayner family presence in Wakefield. High up in the west wall of the chapel is a memorial to Mgr Henry Thompson, parish priest from 1944-86. Here there is also a memorial to Blessed John Anne, a Roman Catholic martyr from Reformation times who lived and worked in Wakefield.

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