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Our
Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church
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The
village of Bulkington, Warwickshire originally consisted of three distinct
and separate communities - Bulkington village, Ryton and Weston-in-Arden.
Nowadays all of this area is referred to as Bulkington. What is now the Roman Catholic Parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, situated in Mill Lane, Weston-in-Arden, began in 1842 when the owner of Weston Hall, Richard Brome de Bary, became a Roman Catholic together with his wife and three children. Click HERE for a short history of the de Bary family. Weston Hall was, for many centuries, the centre of life in Weston-in-Arden and the de Bary family became very prominent in the area. Very soon after his conversion to Catholicism, Richard Brome de Bary established a mission at his home consisting of an upstairs chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Bethlehem. The Dominican Fathers from nearby Hinckley served the mission at Weston Hall. Soon afterwards, the great hall was converted into a school to educate the poor children of the village.
The Church, built in 1869, is a simple Gothic building in brick and stone capable of seating about 150 people. Inside, the Romanesque High Altar is made of stone and alabaster with a rosary window above. This window is regarded by experts as one of the best examples of its kind in the country. To the left of the High Altar stands St Joseph's Chapel. In recent times a porch has been erected on the front of the church, the sacristy has been extended and a parish hall has been built on the church grounds. In 1990, a grotto to Our Lady was erected outside of the Church and to the left of St Joseph's Chapel.
Mr and Mrs de Bary did not live to see a permanent church built on the estate. Mrs de Bary died in 1853 at the age of 36 and her husband died five years later at the age of 45. It was their son, Richard Lerins de Bary, who sponsored the building of the present church in Mill Lane in 1869. During the years 1869 to 1929 the church had a full-time priest for only 8 or 9 years. The first priests to serve the new parish were Fr. Anselm Gurdon (1869 - 1870), Fr. William Hilton (1870 - 1877) and Fr. Louis Weldon O.P. (1877 - 1880). (Source: - ‘A Catholic History of Weston-in-Arden’ by Fr. J.B. Hickson) Since 1869 many fine priests have served the Catholic community in Bulkington and the present incumbent, Father Michael Gamble S.T.B., arrived in Weston in 1998. The Parish forms part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and now serves all of Bulkington plus the nearby village of Wolvey. Since 1990, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart has become well-known in the area for its bi-annual Flower Festival. Each festival has a particular Christian theme that is delivered in the form of a series of flower tableaux, lovingly created by the many volunteers from the parish and the wider community in Bulkington. |
