Chard Somerset

The Church of the English Martyrs, Chard

‍Foundation and Opening

‍Canon Lee laid the foundation stone on 24 September 1925. Bishop Burton opened and blessed the completed church on 22 June 1926, the Feast of St Alban.‍ ‍

Chard then became a parish in its own right, having previously belonged to St George’s, Taunton. A High Mass marked the occasion, celebrated by Canon Cashman with Provost Iles as Deacon and Canon McEnery as Sub-Deacon.‍ ‍

St Joseph’s, Ilminster, and St Peter’s, Crewkerne, are daughter churches of Chard. St Peter’s opened in 1935; in 2006 its congregation moved to the Methodist Church in Crewkerne.

‍ Architecture and Construction

‍Built by W. J. Harris of Chard to the design of Sir Frank Wills of Bristol, the church is Victorian Gothic, with local flint stone, freestone dressings and Oregon pine beams. The nave and choir loft remain original.

‍The church and presbytery cost £4,537, about £352,898.48 in 2023; only £919 remained as parish debt, the rest being covered by one major donation.

‍ Dedication and Statue

‍ A statue of Blessed Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, stands above the main door. Martyred with two monks in the sixteenth century, he is among the English Martyrs to whom the church is dedicated.

‍The Sanctuary and 1966 Reordering

‍ The original sanctuary had a carved oak altar beneath an arched window. In 1966, a Portland stone altar was installed for Mass facing the people, and the tabernacle was moved to the former confessional site.

‍The altar canopy was made of ash and afrormosia with brass details; the sanctuary furniture and 1966 altar rail were oak.

‍Church Hall and Earlier Buildings

‍ A church hall, opened in 1993, stands in the grounds. It cost £15,000, about £357,516.85 in 2023, including a debt to the Diocese of Clifton.

‍The hall comprises two classrooms brought from Langport and occupies the site of the former tin hut church, itself relocated from St Joseph’s, Fishponds.

‍Consecration

‍ The post-Vatican II reordering was carried out by C. Turner and Son of Chard, to Peter Ware’s design, at a cost of £1,473, about £35,108.15 in 2023.

‍The church was consecrated on 27 September 1966 by the Rt Rev Joseph Rudderham, Bishop of Clifton.

‍Memorial Features

‍ As consecration normally required the building debt to be cleared, the remaining debt was likely paid off quickly.

‍The wall crosses and candle holders commemorate the consecration, marked annually with a special Mass. The east window depicts the Adoration and commemorates Canon James O’Brien’s diamond anniversary in 2004.‍ ‍

Renovation of Parish Hall

Between 2013 - 2016, extensive restoration work was carried out under the direction of Fr Basil Postlethwaite

click here to see before, during and after pictures of our Parish Hall.