A brief History of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Wanstead.
Difficult as it may be to realise that Wanstead remained a village into the 1920’s and it was from the building of the railways, the population of the Walthamstow and Leytonstone areas increased. There was no Diocese of Brentwood as the area came under the auspices of the Arch-Diocese of Westminster.
Difficult as it may be to realise that Wanstead remained a village into the 1920’s and it was from the building of the railways, the population of the Walthamstow and Leytonstone areas increased. There was no Diocese of Brentwood as the area came under the auspices of the Arch-Diocese of Westminster.
A Mission was established at Wanstead in 1849 and its territory then extended as far as Barkingside and Romford. In 1909 Fr William O’Grady, the Parish Priest of St George’s Walthamstow, (later the first Vicar General of the Brentwood Diocese), opened a Mission in Wanstead when he bought a small brick building in Hall Road, the present Gardner Close Estate, which is situated just down from the George public house. This building started life as a Methodist Church, and ended up as a greengrocer’s store until its demolition in 1966. A parishioner attended Mass as a child with her father in this first building and indeed lives at present in Gardner Close. In December 1917, at the invitation of Fr O’Grady, the Sisters of Mercy, opened their convent in Cambridge Park, the stables being converted into a temporary Church. This ‘little mission’ developed into the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The first Parish Priest, Fr Basil Booker was appointed on the 4th August 1919 and his first concern was to find a site for a permanent Church and he purchased a market garden in Cambridge Park for this purpose.
The foundation stone was blessed by Arthur Doubleday, the then Bishop of Brentwood, in July 1927 and the centre aisle was soon completed and the Church opened on the 13th October 1928. Some months later the altar was consecrated and the Stations of the Cross, painted by the father of Fr Booker, were blessed.
The side aisles had to wait, but to secure the building, the east aisle was opened in 1934 and the west aisle was opened on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1940. On his first arrival in the parish, Fr Booker lived with a local family but he bought a house in Wellesley Road in 1922.
The permanent presbytery was erected next to the Church in 1931. Attention now shifted to the opening of a parish school, and the first school was opened in the server’s Sacristy where lessons continued until the opening of Our Lady of Lourdes School in 1961.
The second Parish priest, Fr James Hemming, was appointed in 1952. A Hall had already been planned, and Fr Hemming raised a considerable sum for it. However by 1957 it was clear that there was a greater need for a proper school, and so this was built instead. It opened its doors in January 1961, though not formally opened until September 1962. The other primary school in the parish, the fee-paying St Joseph’s Independent School for Girls had opened in 1918 and initially many boys received their infant education there.
In 1970, a new Parish Priest was appointed, Mgr. Christopher Creede, who was also Vicar General to Bishop Patrick Casey. In accordance with the Postconciliar liturgy, he rearranged the Sanctuary, with a new altar and ambo and in time for the Golden Jubilee in 1978, he redecorated the Church.
After 30 years as Parish Priest, Mgr Creede retired on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes 11th February 2000 and Fr Patrick Sammon was appointed to become the fourth Parish Priest.
An important stage in the growth of the parish was the opening of the new Pastoral Centre at Our Lady of Lourdes Wanstead in September 2002. This completed a key element in the life of the Parish enabling not only social gatherings but primarily providing rooms for sacramental preparation programmes and for all the various and numerous pastoral groups and the many social activities that take place.
The 19 July 2018 marked a significant celebration for Our Lady of Lourdes parish, at a Mass of Thanksgiving held to mark the 90th anniversary of the church, Bishop Alan Williams ordained Gary Dench, who has been in training for the priesthood, to the Diaconate.
Canon Patrick Sammon, said during the mass: “The 90th anniversary of our church is an important occasion and significant milestone for the Catholic Community here. The Church was sustained, and has been sustained, by the people of God here in Wanstead for 100 years. Long may the faith continue to grow and thrive here. I congratulate the community, remembering with gratitude Fr O’Grady, Fr Booker, Fr Hemming and Fr Creede, those great pioneers of Wanstead Parish, under whose spiritual leadership it has blossomed. May they rest in peace and all the people, thousands of them, who played a part.”
Canon Patrick Sammon passed away on 16th September 2022 after 22 years as parish priest in Our Lady of Lourdes Wanstead. and his funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Alan Williams in the our parish church on the 29th September 2022 before Mass and burial in his home parish of St. Patrick’s Church, Louisburg Co Mayo. In September 2022 Fr Adrian Lowe was appointed priest in charge of the parish and in September 2023 Fr Martin Boland was appointed as parish priest.
In December 1917, at the invitation of Fr O’Grady, the Sisters of Mercy, opened their convent in Cambridge Park, the stables being converted into a temporary Church.
Later, the foundation stone of Our Lady of Lourdes Wanstead was blessed by Arthur Doubleday, the then Bishop of Brentwood, in July 1927.
The Church has been sustained by the people of God here in Wanstead for 100 years. Long may the faith continue to grow and thrive here.
Photos used are copyright and property of Our Lady of Lourdes Wanstead and Greg Gumbrell
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