Church in Preston, Lancashire, England
Church in Lancashire, United Kingdom
Saint Wilfrid's Church is a Roman Catholic church run by the Society of Jesus , in the city centre of Preston , Lancashire , England. It was built in 1793 and is situated between Fishergate and Winckley Square on Chapel Street.[ 3]
The church is dedicated to Wilfrid (c.633–c.709), an English bishop and saint. He founded a monastic community in Ripon and was Bishop of Northumbria from 664–668 and 714–732.
Saint Wilfrid must have had a particular devotion in Preston, because the original parish church, the present-day St. John's Minster , was originally called St Wilfrid's. However, it changed its dedication to St. John the Baptist in 1581, and again to St. John the Evangelist in 1770, meaning that when St. Wilfrid's church was built in 1793, there was no confusion between the two.[ 4]
The first post-reformation Catholic church in Preston was established by Jesuits in 1761, St Mary's in Friargate.
This church, now demolished, soon became too small and was replaced by St Wilfrid's which was begun in April 1792 and finished 14 months later and cost £4,000.[ 5]
The church was built before the Restoration of the English Catholic hierarchy , which probably explains why such a large church is relatively discreet in the landscape of Preston city centre. Instead of being at right-angles to the street, it is parallel and does not have a surrounding green space or a spire to make it more distinctive.
The driving force behind the building of the church was Father Joseph 'Daddy' Dunn, a Jesuit who continued ministering as a Catholic priest during the suppression of the Society of Jesus .[ 6]
The first stage of building the church was to have plain brick edifice with a balcony around the three sides facing the altar inside. However, soon the congregation outgrew the church and it was decided not only that the church needed expanding, but it needed to be grander.
Church interior
In 1878 a new 'sodality ' chapel and confessionals were added and the inside of the church was remodelled. One of the architects of this remodelling was in fact a Jesuit priest, Fr. Ignatius Scoles SJ , son of the architect Joseph John Scoles , who designed the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street in London , St Ignatius Church in Preston and the Church of St Francis Xavier in Liverpool . This new stage of building work was finished in 1880.
Ten years later, stone cladding and terracotta and stone carvings were added to the exterior and elaborate marbles from all over Europe were fixed to the interior walls and columns. The final church, after renovations of 1996, still looks fresh and bright.
Unusually for a Catholic church today, St Wilfrid's was never really re-ordered for the post-Vatican II liturgy. It retains the altar rails and high altar with very little modification.[ 5]
The church is still administered by the Society of Jesus whose community is next door on Winckley Square , and who ran the nearby Preston Catholic College until its closure in 1978. The church itself is open daily during shopping hours and is a place of quiet and prayer for young and old alike.
The adjacent parish centre hosts various activity groups, such as the local Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and Christian Life Community .[ 7] It also houses a sanctuary bookshop which sells religious items such as rosaries , missals and crucifixes .
Entrance to the church
Side chapel in church
Grade I
Grade II*
Grade II
Unlisted
Derelict or demolished Lists
Grade I
St Michael, Aughton
St Mary, Barnoldswick
St Peter and St Paul, Bolton-by-Bowland
St Michael, Bracewell
St Helen, Churchtown
St Bartholomew, Colne
All Hallows, Great Mitton
St John, Gressingham
St Cuthbert, Halsall
St Patrick, Heysham
St Peter, Heysham
St Margaret, Hornby
Lancaster Priory
Old St Leonard, Langho
St Wilfrid, Melling
Pleasington Priory
St Walburge, Preston
St Wilfrid, Ribchester
St Michael, St Michael's on Wyre
St Leonard, Samlesbury
St Andrew, Slaidburn
St Peter, Stonyhurst
St Saviour, Stydd
St John, Tunstall
St Thomas, Upholland
St Mary and All Saints, Whalley
Grade II*
St Michael and All Angels, Altcar
St James, Altham
St John, Arkholme
St Michael and All Angels, Ashton-on-Ribble
Blackburn Cathedral
St Mark, Blackburn
St Silas, Blackburn
Sacred Heart, Blackpool
Holy Trinity, Bolton-le-Sands
St Paul, Brookhouse
St John the Baptist, Broughton
St Peter, Burnley
St John the Baptist, Burscough
St Bartholomew, Chipping
St George, Chorley
St James, Church
St Laurence, Chorley
St Mary Magdalene, Clitheroe
St John the Evangelist, Crawshawbooth
St Peter, Darwen
St Leonard, Downham
Euxton Parish Church
St Mary, Goosnargh
St Bartholomew, Great Harwood
St Michael, Kirkham
Lancaster Cathedral
St John, Lancaster
St Andrew, Leyland
St Cuthbert, Lytham
St John, Lytham
St Helen, Overton
St Nicholas, Newchurch
St Mary, Newchurch in Pendle
St Peter and St Paul, Ormskirk
St Cuthbert, Over Kellet
St Mary, Penwortham
St John, Pilling
St Chad, Poulton-le-Fylde
St George, Preston
St John, Preston
St Mark, Preston
St Peter, Preston
St Wilfrid, Preston
Syro-Malabar Cathedral, Preston (former St Ignatius)
St John, Silverdale
St Mary, Tarleton
St James, Tatham
St Helen, Waddington
St Leonard, Walton-le-Dale
St Michael, Whittington
St Anne, Woodplumpton
Grade II
St Andrew, Accrington
St James, Accrington
Christ Church, Adlington
St Paul, Adlington
St Andrew, Ashton-on-Ribble
St Leonard, Balderstone
All Saints, Barnacre
St Lawrence, Barton
Holy Trinity, Blackburn
Holy Trinity, Blackpool
St John, Blackpool
St Mary and St Michael, Bonds
St Mary, Borwick
St John, Bretherton
St James, Briercliffe
St James, Brindle
All Saints with St John Baptist, Burnley
St Andrew, Burnley
St Mary, Burnley
St Stephen, Burnley
Capernwray Chapel
Christ Church, Bacup
Christ Church, Chatburn
St Chad, Claughton
St Andrew, Cleveleys
St Paul, Constable Lee
St Saviour, Cuerden
St Cuthbert, Darwen
St Mark, Dolphinholme
St John, Ellel
St Paul, Farington
Immanuel, Feniscowles
St Mary, Fleetwood
St Peter, Fleetwood
St Thomas, Garstang
Christ Church, Glasson
St Michael, Grimsargh
St Ambrose's Church, Grindleton
St Wilfrid, Halton-on-Lune
St James, Haslingden
All Saints, Higher Walton
Holy Trinity, Hoghton
St John the Divine, Holme Chapel
Christ Church, Lancaster
St Thomas, Lancaster
St Peter, Leck
St Paul, Longridge
St Peter, Mawdesley
St Mary's Church, Mellor
Holy Trinity, Morecambe
St John the Divine, Morecambe
St Laurence, Morecambe
St Paul, Nelson
Immanuel, Oswaldtwistle
St Leonard, Padiham
Nazareth Unitarian, Padiham
St John, Poulton-le-Fylde
St Oswald, Preesall
Carey Baptist Church, Preston
City Church, Preston
Emmanuel, Preston
Fishergate Baptist Church, Preston
Moor Park Methodist Church , Preston
Preston Central Methodist Church
All Saints, Preston
St Joseph, Preston
St Luke, Preston
St Mary, Preston
St Paul, Preston
St Thomas, Preston
St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs Church, Preston
St Peter, Quernmore
St John, Rawtenstall
St Anne, St Anne's-on-the-Sea
St Thomas, St Anne's-on-the-Sea
St Peter, Scorton
St Paul, Scotforth
St Anne, Singleton
St Paul, Skelmersdale
St Luke, Slyne with Hest
Church of the Good Shepherd, Tatham
St Oswald, Warton
St Michael, Weeton
Christ Church, Wesham
St Michael, Whitewell
St Luke, Winmarleigh
St John the Evangelist, Worsthorne
St Nicholas, Wrea Green
St James, Wrightington Bar
St John the Evangelist, Yealand Conyers
St Mary, Yealand Conyers
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster
Churches
Lancaster Cathedral - Cathedral Church of St Peter
St Mary of Furness Church, Barrow-in-Furness
Sacred Heart Church, Blackpool
Church of St Mary and St Michael, Bonds
Our Lady and St Joseph's Church, Carlisle
St Mary's Church, Fernyhalgh
St Mary's Church, Fleetwood
Church of Holy Trinity and St George, Kendal
St John the Evangelist's Church, Kirkham
St Mary's Church, Morecambe
Church of St John the Evangelist, Poulton-le-Fylde
Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs, Preston
Church of St Walburge, Preston
St Joseph's Church, Preston
St Wilfrid's Church, Preston
Our Lady and St Wilfrid's Church, Warwick Bridge
St Begh's Church, Whitehaven
Our Lady and St Michael's Church, Workington
St Mary's Church, Yealand Conyers
Schools Institutes Churches
Parishes
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street
St Ignatius Church, Stamford Hill
St Anselm's Church, Southall
St Dominic's Church, Newcastle
St Wilfrid's Church, Preston
St Aloysius Church, Glasgow
Sacred Heart Church, Edinburgh
St Peter's Church, Stonyhurst
Chaplaincies
Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Manchester
Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy
Former
Sacred Heart Church, Accrington
Sacred Heart Church, Blackpool
Corpus Christi Church, Boscombe
Sacred Heart Church, Bournemouth
St Mary on the Quay, Bristol
Corpus Christi Church, Brixton
St Edmund's Church, Bury St Edmunds
Annunciation Church, Chesterfield
Holy Trinity Church, Chipping Norton
St Mary Church, Clayton-le-Moors
St Michael and St John Church, Clitheroe
St David's Church, Dalkeith
St Mary's Church, Great Yarmouth
St Francis Xavier Church, Hereford
St Winefride's Church, Holywell
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Leeds
Sacred Heart Church, Leeds
St Joseph's Church, Leigh
Our Lady of Ransom and the Holy Souls Church, Llandrindod Wells
Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Lowestoft
St Aloysius Gonzaga Church, Oxford
Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Portico
Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph Church, Prescot
St Ignatius Church, Preston
St Walburge's Church, Preston
St Joseph and St Francis Xavier Church, Richmond
Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Rhyl
St Joseph Church, Roehampton
Holy Cross Church, St Helens
Church of St Mary, Lowe House, St Helens
St Stephen's Church, Skipton
St Ignatius Church, South Ossett
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Spinkhill
St Austin's Church, Wakefield
St John's Church, Wigan
Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon
Christ the King Church, Wimbledon Park
St Winefride Church, South Wimbledon
St George's Church, Worcester
Spirituality See also