PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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CHURCH OF SAINT PETER
The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Peter is situated in Tavistock Road, Crownhill, Plymouth. The first Roman Catholic Church of St Peter was on the corner of Saint Peter's Road and Crownhill Road, at Crownhill. This was a simple building of red brick with Portland stone dressings and a copper roof and was constructed for the benefit of men stationed at Plumer and Seaton Barracks and the few civilians then living in the vicinity. The foundation stone was laid by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Reverend Monseigneur Mahoney, on Sunday September 5th 1937. When completed by Mr E B Wheatley, the builder, the new building would seat 200 worshippers. [1] The first Mass was held in the Church of Saint Peter on Sunday December 19th 1937, when the Church was blessed by the Right Reverend John Patrick Barrett, DD, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth. A golden onyx adorned the altar. [2] Saint Peter's was originally served from the Church of Saint Edward the Confessor but was established as a separate parish by the Right Reverend Francis Joseph Grimshaw, the then Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, in 1948. The second Roman catholic Church of Saint Peter Following the rapid expansion of housing in the area after the Second World War, the present Roman Catholic Church of Saint Peter was erected in Tavistock Road, at Crownhill. Mr John Evans and Mr I N West of Messrs Evans, Powell Associates, of Torbay, designed this building, inspired, it is thought, by Liverpool Cathedral. It is in the shape of a 16-sided polygon, allowing for chapels, vestries and confessionals to fit behind the main area. The white concrete and brick building is surmounted by a lantern. It cost over £50,000. [3] A feature of the Church is a stained glass window by Father Charles Norris of Buckfast Abbey, Devon, who sadly died in Torbay Hospital on Wednesday May 12th 2004. He was 94-years-old and had joined the Buckfast Community in 1930. He served as an army chaplain in Africa and Italy during the Second World War and was awarded the MBE in 1943. In 2003 his last major work was given to the New York Fire Department as a tribute to their work and losses in the aftermath of the September 11th 2001 atrocities. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Reverend Monsignor Cyril Restieaux laid the foundation stone on Saturday August 2nd 1969 [3] and the Church was blessed and the first Mass held on Thursday September 3rd 1970. A congregation of about 350 filled the Church that day and two former priests of Saint Peter's, Father Michael MacSweeney and Father Joseph O'Brien, assisted the Bishop. [4] It was not consecrated until June 29th 1987, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Sources:
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