PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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CHURCH OF SAINT MARGARET MARY
The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Margaret Mary is situated in Quarry Park Road, Plymstock, Plymouth. The Catholic Sunday Mass was first held in Plymstock courtesy of the priest at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in Plymouth. He used a room in a bungalow by the name of "Beverley" in Quarry Park Road that belonged at the time to the Misses Collinge. As Plymstock grew and the congregation grew, it became inevitable that they would require a Church of their own. In 1932 they acquired a site adjacent to the bungalow and it was there, on Sunday March 26th 1933, that The Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth laid the foundation stone. The Church was completed quickly and was blessed by the Vicar-General, Monsignor Mahoney, on the morning of Sunday July 23rd 1933. Mr Mansfield was at the organ. It was at that time known as the Church of Saint Gregory Magnus and could accommodate about 200 worshippers. The building was erected by Mr Harvey and the work was supervised by Mr Thorning, who was described at the time, rather pointedly, as 'a non-Catholic'. A Mr Weekes created the altar and altar rails. In the evening a double christening took place, the babies being Freda Mary Howard and Ronald Paul Gregory Shrimpton. But it was not until October 1949 that it broke with Holy Cross and was created a separate Roman Catholic parish. A new Church was in time erected on a site adjacent to the old one and was opened and blessed in the name of Saint Margaret Mary on March 19th 1961. Sources:
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