St James the Great Church Downley High Wycombe

BJHN

Blessed John Henry Newman Parish Archive

ST. JAMES THE GREAT

Plomer Hill, Downley, High Wycombe. HP13 5NB

ABOUT ST JAMES THE GREAT

The Final Mass took place at St James The Great on Sunday 13th May 2012

HISTORY

The Catholic community in Downley was first associated with St James’ the Great Anglican Church in 1970 when they negotiated the use of their church hall (then an old corrugated iron hut) as a Mass Centre, served from St Augustine’s in High Wycombe. The cost of the hire was £1 per week.

The first Anglican church of St James the Great in Downley had been built in 1873. This was a corrugated iron building on Commonside at the junction with Narrow Lane. The second St James’ was built on the present site in 1939, on land given to the church by Sir John Dashwood. Initial plans for a large building were curtailed by lack of funding and the start of the Second World War, which led to a shortage of building materials. Only the sanctuary and transepts were completed at this time, with the open end of the building blocked off with a wooden wall. This state of affairs lasted for approximately thirty years, and it was known near and far as the Half Built Church.

By 1970 however, this building had to be demolished and the plan was to build a church and community centre on the site. This is when a joint Steering Committee was formed between Anglicans and Catholics to investigate the possibility of building a shared church. The plans were finally agreed for the construction of a multi purpose building that functioned as both a church and a centre available for hire to local community groups.

The new building was opened officially in July 1975 by Bishop Simon Burrows and our own Bishop Charles Grant. The Foundation Stone can be seen outside the entrance to the main door.

The Final Mass took place at St James The Great on Sunday 13th May 2012. The ownership of St James the Great now rests solely with the Anglican Church.

ST. Edmund Campion

Cedar Avenue, Hazlemere, HP15 7DW

ABOUT ST EDMUND CAMPION

The Final Mass took place at St Edmund Campion on Sunday 13th May 2012

HISTORY OF ST EDMUND CAMPION CHURCH COMMUNITY

The Catholic population in the Hazlemere area was served by the Sacred Heart Fathers from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Great Missenden. Mass was celebrated in the village hall at Holmer Green from February 1958. Ten years later a piece of land was purchased in Hazlemere, but lay unused for the next fourteen years.

In 1973 following the development of a relationship between our community and that of the local Anglicans, Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Widmer End.

In 1981, Bishop Grant asked Fr George Foley to oversee the building of a church. This was designed to be dual purpose: a church holding one hundred and eighty people on Sundays (plus another twenty in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel) and available for hire to the local community during the week. A fundraising committee was formed and parishioners in the area set about raising the necessary funds. This would have taken many years without the Godsend of a very generous legacy of £159,000 from Olive Kennedy, who is commemorated by an engraved brick in the chapel and an annual memorial Mass. With £24,000 from the sale of some of the land, the eventual cost of £ 243,000 became a realistic total and a covenant drive was launched in October 1981.

The church was opened on 23 July 1982 and blessed by Canon Diamond (Vicar General) as Bishop Grant had by then retired. The church was dedicated to the most local of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales: St Edmund Campion.

Fr George became the first priest until 1987 when, on his return to Ireland, the community was handed over to the care of St Augustine’s parish in High Wycombe. Over the years we have all worked together to create a friendly and supportive church.

The Final Mass took place at St Edmund Campion on Sunday 13th May 2012. This was followed by Benediction and formal ceremony of deconsecration, which included the final removal of the Blessed Sacrament from the church. However, the building is being retained, for the moment, as a parish resource and local Community Centre. It is still available for hire both for regular events and one off bookings.