Our History

Here we will tell the story of the beginnings of our church and how we became what we are today.

BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM

After the turbulence of the post-Reformation centuries, a Catholic mission was finally, firmly established in Chipping Sodbury through the generosity of one woman, and thus, in 1838, began the one hundred and fifty years of worship we now celebrate in 1988. Some years earlier, two local ladies, Sarah Lunn and her sister, had made marriages, but of quite different natures. Sarah Lunn married the Reverend Egerton Neve, a minister of the Established Church and Vicar of Old Sodbury. Her sister, however, married Philip St Martin Comte de Front, Sardinian Minister to the Court of St James, and became, in consequence, a lady of some wealth. he good lady died, and her sister Sarah fell heir to a considerable fortune. Sarah had, meantime, become a Catholic, and with her newly-acquired wealth, purchased for the sum of £1,300, the largest Inn in Sodbury, which was to form the basis of the new mission. The Inn was a late Elizabethan house with outbuildings called The Swan. The main building became the presbytery and the largest outbuilding was converted into a chapel, dedicated to Saint Lawrence, and handed into the care of the priests of the Order of Saint Benedict. As the Benedictine Abbey at Ampleforth is dedicated to St. Laurence, it may reasonably be assumed that it was this Benedictine connection which caused the dedication of the Church to this particular saint.

n 1838, Reverend Thomas Austin Rolling OSB arrived from Downside - the first parish priest of the new church of Saint Lawrence. In the following year, on 15th October 1839, the church was certified as a place of worship, and for almost 90 years, until 1927, the church remained in the care of Benedictine priests.

THE BENEDICTINE ERA

1838 - Reverend Thomas Austin Rolling OSB (Downside) The first recorded baptism in Saint Lawrence was on 2nd November 1838 - Mary Ann Lane, daughter of James and Fanny Lane, and the first recorded death was that of Mr. Lowe, on 1st April 1839. 1840 - 1841 - Rev. John Jerome Jenkins OSB (Downside) 1841 - Rev. Edward Bernard Paillet OSB (Downside.) 1842 - 1845 - Rev. Henry Ignatius Sutton OSB (Ampleforth) 1845 - 1846 - Rev. James Ambrose Duck OSB (Downside) 1846- 1869 - Rev. Ralph Maurus Cooper OSB (Ampleforth) After invaluable service in Bath, Rev. Ralph Cooper was ‘allowed to retire to this comparatively easy mission’ where he remained for some 21 years, to 1869, doing excellent work in consolidating the mission. During his custody of the parish, various improvements were recorded 1852 - Sanctuary side wall at end of chapel wainscoted and benches painted, for the sum of £12. 6s. Od. 1855 - December 28th - Font put in church. This was sculpted of Caen stone, at a cost of £7. 5s Od. 1856- May 3rd - Six gilt altar candlesticks bought at a sale at Prior Park for the sum of £8. 8s. Od. 1862 - Purchase of the Market Cross. 1863 - The presbytery was thoroughly repaired and the chapel renovated. The work took three months and cost £103. 5s. Od. Rev. Ralph Cooper died in 1869, whilst still parish priest of Chipping Sodbury. 1869 -

1890 - Rev. Michael Placid Sinnott OSB (Downside) 1889-1890 - Rev. Thomas Edmund Caidwell OSB (Douai) 1890-1891- Rev. John Ignatius Stuart. In the years 1892 and 1893 there was no resident priest in Chipping Sodbury. The Parish was served from Cheltenham, and the parish priest there was Rev. Anselm O’Gorman OSB (Douai).

From 1894 to 1896 the Parish was served from Great Malvern under the supervision of Rev. James Bernard Caidwell OSB (Douai). 1897 - 1898 - The Church of Saint Lawrence again had its own priest, Rev. John Bernard Sanders OSB (Douai). 1898 - 1905 - Rev. John Ignatius Stuart OSB (Douai) Reverend John Stuart, who had previously been in charge of the parish in 1890 for a short time, returned to Chipping Sodbury in 1898, and remained there until his death in 1905.

In 1899 the church was registered for the solemnisation of marriages and the first recorded marriage took place on 30th November 1899 between Henry Milsom and Ann Turner. In 1906 and 1907, the parish was served by priests from Douai Abbey, Woolhampton. In 1908, the parish was again served by the Benedictine priests from Cheltenham. From 1909 onwards, there is no record of a resident Benedictine priest at Saint Lawrence’s church. Instead, the needs of the parish was supplied by the parish priest from St Gerard Majella parish, Knowle, near Bristol. From 1909 to 1922, the parish priest of St. Gerard’s was Rev. John Benedict Horrigan OSB (Douai) and he was followed in 1923 by Rev. James John Murty OSB (Douai). It is interesting to note that, during this period, priests came to the parish from Benedictine Abbeys in all parts of the country, and we may easily imagine how hard a task must have faced the priests not resident in Chipping Sodbury who, without the aid of modern transport, made quite considerable journeys to supply the needs of the parish.

In 1927, the Benedictine community handed the parish of St Lawrence over to the Diocese of Clifton, and Bishop Burton of Clifton appointed the first parish priest, who was Fr. Bertrand Ellis - retired from the Parish in 1948 through ill health. Fr Edward McDonnell was the next parish priest appointed by Bishop Lee of Clifton and remained in charge until 1953. During this time, the tribune of the Church was extended and a stairway leading to the gallery was added. The old coke stove was removed and the present electric overhead heaters were installed. Fr Patrick Ryan was appointed in 1953 but due to ill health only remained for 2 months.

Fr John McReynolds arrived later in 1953 and stayed until 1961. The parish Hall at the back of the Church was built. He was the first Parish Priest of St Lawrence to possess a car! Fr Patrick McGovern was appointed in 1961. Under Fr McGovern, land was purchased in the early 1960’s for a Catholic School in the area due to an estimated growth in population in Yate / Chipping Sodbury from 5,000 to around 20,000 in 1975. In 1964 land was purchased for £2,631. 17s 6d. Also this growth meant that there would be a need for a Mass Centre in the Yate area and with the blessing of Bishop Rudderham, Fr McGovern opened a Mass Centre in Yate Parish Hall and the first Mass was celebrated there on 6th June 1965.

Fr McGovern was proud of the fact that he was responsible for the biggest parish in the world. He made this claim on the basis that his parish boundary stretched from Pennsylvania to Dunkirk! A study of the Ordnance Survey Map of the area shows that these are just two of the many small villages which make up the Parish of St Lawrence and St Paul. Other villages and towns in the parish include Badminton, Gatcombe Hill, Iron Acton, Frampton Cotterell, Dyrham, Hawkesbury Common, Old Sodbury, Acton Turville, Marshfield, Littleton Drew, Tormarton, Westerleigh, West Kington, Wickwar, Nettleton, Nibley, Rangeworthy, Burton, Chipping Sodbury, Coalpit Heath, Hawkesbury Upton, Horton, Little Sodbury, Yate, West Littleton, Dorrington, Wapley and Codrington.

ST PAUL'S CATHOLIC CHURCH YATE

Fr McGovern was appointed to St Dominic’s, Dursley in 1970 and was succeeded by Fr Edmond Murphy. In his early years he was assisted by Fr Eduard Peach, Fr Anthony Trafford, Fr Mervyn Harvard-Brown, Fr Michael Saunders. He opened another Mass Centre, this time in Rodford Junior School, Yate and the first Mass was celebrated there on 31st October 1972.

Fr Edmond Murphy, worked very hard to begin the building of a Parish School and it was put on the building programme for 1971/72. The school was completed in December 1973 and opened in January 1974 with 82 pupils on roll. St Paul’s School is in Sundridge Park, in the Stanshawes Estate, Yate. The building laid a debt on the parish of £30,250.00 which Fr Murphy and the parish cleared by 1979. The total price of the school and fitting was £143,857.97 the difference being paid by the D.E.S. and L.E.A. Having this building available meant that Mass could be transferred from Rodford School to St Paul’s School Hall. Two Masses were celebrated in St Paul’s School each Sunday from 3rd February 1974 until 1981.

In November 1979 the decision was taken to build a multi purpose Church in Yate, on the same site as the school. The work began in June 1980 and was completed in 44 weeks at a cost of £220,000.00 A sum of £6,825.00 was donated by Parishioners to purchase items for the new Church, tabernacle, vestments, organ, statues and furniture etc.

St Paul’s Church was opened and blessed by Bishop Mervyn Alexander on 30th September 1981.

Fr Murphy, now Canon Murphy retired 30 September 2000

Fr Eugene Campbell was Parish Priest from 2000 ~ 2007

Fr Jim Williams is the present Parish Priest.