The History of the Catholic Parish of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs

roystonmuseum
Nov 13
6 min read

Guest article by Fr Philip Knights, Parish Priest for St Thomas of Canterbury & The English Martyrs

We could trace our origins to the establishment of a small Augustinian Priory by Eustace de Merc in honour of St Thomas in around 1182, which was confirmed by a Bull of Pope Celestine in 1192. Indeed, this original dedication of the Priory influenced the choice of our present Patron Saint. However, it seems wiser for this short piece to skip the medieval and early modern periods.

Mass would have been said secretly in the Royston area after the Reformation in the 16th Century. However, public Catholic worship didn't become visible until the early Twentieth Century, when visiting priests of the so-called ‘Motor Mission’ of the Catholic Missionary Society sought to provide sacraments and teaching for local Catholics.

In the summer months of 1910, Masses were offered in the yard of the Bull Hotel, and in 1911 Fr Henry Barton-Brown was sent to be the first resident Catholic priest in Royston since the Reformation. Mass was said at his house at 70 Old North Road, which has seen been demolished. A stable cum garage was rented in Serby Avenue. £257 17s and 6d were spent to furnish it as a new Church, under the dedication of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs. The new church was opened on the 21st December 1911.

On Passion Sunday 1912, Cardinal Bourne visited the church and celebrated Confirmation. This was the first Cardinal to visit Royston since Cardinal Wolseley stayed at Royston Priory in 1530 during his final journey north.

At Christmas 1912, three Sisters of Providence and the Immaculate Conception came to Royston. Then, at the end of 1915, the Sisters of the Adoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (the Tyburn Sisters) purchased a large house and garden in Melbourn Street. They established St Benedict’s Priory where the present Royston Police Station is now located. Between them, these two religious congregations held some 14 acres of land in the town.

It was decided to bring together all the various elements of Catholic life in Royston into one place and to build a new Church and Presbytery.

Work on the new Church began in 1916, with Cardinal Bourne blessing the foundation stone on 26th August. The Church was designed by Fr Benedict Williamson C.SS.S and was based on the Church of St Bridget on the Piazza Farnese in Rome; although it was constructed without the marble of that building! The original design included a Campanile (bell tower) which was never built. It also had a flat roof which was replaced by the present pitched roof in 1939. The new church was dedicated on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1919. The Church has gone through periods of redecoration and re-ordering following the liturgical renewals of the Second Vatican Council, but remains in continuity with the original plans of Fr Williamson.

There was hostility towards Catholics from some Roystonians in those early days. Fr Barton-Brown was shouted at in the street, and taunts were directed at Catholic school children. Folk memory among Parishioners recalls that the nuns were sometimes spat at.

Fr Williamson covered for Fr Barton-Brown whilst the latter was unwell in 1921, before becoming Parish Priest 1922-1924. Fr Williamson had been a Chaplain during the First World War, nicknamed “Happy Days” for his optimistic outlook. He was an outgoing and high-profile priest frequently giving public lectures, which included support for Mussolini and Fascism.

The characters and interests of the priests of Royston have varied: some have been quiet, some extrovert; some scholarly, some affable; some very down to earth, and one has been described as snobbish. And yet in their particular ways, they have all strived to do their best for the people of God in Royston and to respond to the needs of the times. As the present Parish Priest, I honour them and thank God for the ministry of:

Fr Henry Barton-Brown
Fr Benedict Williamson
Fr John George McGrath
Fr Cuthbert Bassano Boddy
Fr Albert Bertrand Purdie
Fr Andrew Arthur
Fr Peter Needham
Fr Samuel (Sammy) Steer
Fr John Miller
Fr Bernard Lavin
Fr Norman Wrigley
Fr Alan Ashton
Fr Seamus McGeoghan

After the First World War, some soldiers brought back to Royston devotion to St Therese of Lisieux and a shrine to St Therese was set up in the parish. This included a large statue of the Saint. The shrine was later dismantled but a smaller statue was installed in the Church in 2017.

The Tyburn Sisters were a major feature of Catholic life in Royston for 49 years until 1964, when they moved from St Benedict’s Priory. Their charism was contemplative prayer, which although unseen is an immense gift to the Church and the world. Although an enclosed order, parishioners remember buying honey produced by the sisters’ beehives.

The Sisters of Providence contributed greatly to the Catholic life of Royston, particularly in the field of education. They established an elementary school in St Mary’s Park in 1912. In 1916, this was moved to a wooden hut with two classrooms, still just about standing behind the Church, which was in use until 1950. In 1914, a private boarding school was also established. Then, in the 1960s, the Sisters of Providence were leaders in the move to establish a Catholic Primary School. They donated both land and funds. The new school, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School was opened on September 9th 1970 with Sr Veronica McGuire as the first Headmistress. Regrettably Covid prevented the planned celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the School in 2020. In 2023, the remaining sisters moved to their mother house in Belgium and are sorely missed in the parish.

Our parish school remains an essential component of our Catholic community. We have been blessed by a series of well respected and well-liked head teachers: from Sr Veronica through Tony Carrol, Robert Dunbar, Julia Pearce and beginning this academic year, Louise Cooke. It is a testament to the character of the school that many teachers have stayed for their entire careers. Indeed some, including Mrs Cooke, were once pupils at the school.

The true parish must be the people. It would be invidious to name too many names, but while respecting those still active, it may be worth mentioning a few from previous generations.

The Royston Crow referred to Mrs Wilkinson (no Christian name given) as the “first Catholic to come to Royston since about the year 1540”. She was an Irish woman, and the first of many from Irish background to come to Royston and support the Catholic Church here.
Sir Humphrey de Trafford who moved to Newsell’s Park in 1926 and was a generous benefactor to the Church.
Richard Cook contributed greatly to the town, especially in care for the elderly. He founded the Society of St Vincent de Paul in the Parish in 1952.
Chloe Coleman, as the parish sacristan made sure all the liturgical preparations were done just right.

Many more could and should be honoured for their contributions both to the Church and our town and villages.

The parish has been marked by a wide demographic mix: as well as the expected English cradle Catholics and converts we have been blessed by many cultural and linguistic groups: from Belgian refugees in the First World War to Irish labourers; Polish refugees in the Second World War; Italians, and Catholics from all over Europe; and at the present time we are enriched by African parishioners, parishioners from the Indian subcontinent and many other places. One of our recent practices has been to have a multi-lingual “International Mass” in which nearly all seven continents are represented, however we struggle to find anyone from Antarctica.

The Church remains very active today. In 1910, it was estimated there were 4 Catholics in Royston. In the the official yearly count from September - October 2025, there was an average of 354 at mass each Sunday. In this Jubilee Year: we have a school and parish mission; there have been several children’s events organised by parish families; we have had quiz nights; we continue to contribute to Churches Together in Royston and District as well as-other ecumenical and community bodies; prayer groups and faith sharing groups have met; and we have had a Parish Pilgrimage to Rome.

Bibliography

Fr John Miller Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs, privately printed 1976
Paul C. Harding Our Parish 100 Years of Catholicism in Royston 1910-2010, privately printed 2011

Royston Museum is very grateful to Fr Philip for contributing this guest article to our online exhibitions.

You can find out more about the church, including mass times on their website: https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/royston/

All images are copyright of the Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs, unless stated otherwise.