Overview

Roman Catholic Church, formerly Anglican, of 1875-6 in the Gothic Revival style by Benjamin Ferrey. Read the official list entry to find out more

Heritage Category : Listed Building

Grade : II

List Entry Number : 1119072

Date first listed : 08-May-1975

List Entry Name : Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity

Statutory Address : High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset

Holy Trinity has origins as far back as the 11th Century and the present building is a beautiful 19th Century Grade II listed church that is a constant source of inspiration for both visitors and regular worshippers. The parish is part of the Dorset Deanery pastoral area of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth, and it serves the town of Dorchester and the surrounding area.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is celebrated twice on the Sabbath and on most weekdays, is the source and summit of all Catholic life and ministry. We hope that in exploring our website, you will be encouraged to become part of our parish life and worship The mission of the Catholic Church, and therefore of our parish, is to profess our belief in the Triune God, Father Son and Holy Spirit and to proclaim our faith in word and deed and to make Jesus Christ known as the Son of God and Saviour of the world to people of all ages. We attempt to accomplish this through worship, prayer, catechesis, sacramental preparation and participation, education, social activities, and care of those in need. We have a Catholic First School, St. Mary’s, and we minister to the local prison, Dorset County, and other hospitals. We also have a number of Catholic Groups that minister within the parish to enhance its spiritual and community life and to care for the poor and those in need

Our parish is here to assist all who wish to know, to love and to serve God with their lives. We are interested in helping you, your family and friends come to know Jesus Christ through the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith. If you are visiting the Church for the first time please feel free to make yourself known either to one of our team of welcomers or to Father Babu, Deacon Nicholas, or Deacon Jonathan. Times of Holy Masses and parish news can be found on our Newsletter online, at the Church or on our Facebook Page.

May the love of Christ which is the source of our faith fill you with joy.Father Babu Francis CM(Priest in Charge)

The Story of Holy Trinity Church

A traveller entering Dorchester from the west faces a pleasant prospect. From the top of the long straight street which traverses the town the vista embraces a 15th Century church tower, a steeple standing close beside it, the Town Hall clock turret between them and in the far distance trees and green fields to complete the picture.

Historic Foundation

The tower rises from the ancient church of St Peter, the spire from the church of All Saints. Nearby stands a third church bearing the title of the Holy Trinity, a Gothic revival edifice just over a hundred years old but with its origins reaching far back into history. It is probable that Christian worship has been offered on the site for nine centuries, for Dorchester was an important town in Anglo-Saxon England and traces its descent back to the days of Roman Britain. Its three ancient parishes of Holy Trinity, St Peter and All Saints are all of pre-medieval origin. Holy Trinity is named in the 11th Century Domesday Book which was compiled following the Norman conquest in the 11th Century. Carved upon wooden panelling at the west end of the church is a list of clergies who have served it since the year 1302. There has been a succession of buildings on the site, the present one having been completed in 1876 to the design of Benjamin Ferrey, an eminent architect who also designed the present church of All Saints and the Town Hall. The churches and the Town Hall, together with the County Museum, form a distinctive and harmonious ensemble in the heart of Dorchester.

A New Chapter

A fresh chapter in the history of Holy Trinity opened in 1976 when it passed out of the hands of the Church of England and became the Roman Catholic parish church of the town. Closed as redundant two years earlier, it was out of use when the local Catholics, who were in pressing need of more accommodation than they had in their own church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Michael, made an approach to the Anglican authorities. Begun locally, the inquiries were carried through to the diocese of Salisbury and the Church Commissioners. Eventually, after all the necessary procedures had been gone through, Her Majesty the Queen in Privy Council initialled the document authorising the transfer. The terms were framed by the Anglicans in most generous form and at every level they gave encouragement and co-operation. In May 1976, the new owners took possession. They retained the historic dedication of the Holy Trinity and added the title of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs as secondary patron in memory of their old church.

A substantial stone edifice, Holy Trinity has a broad nave, flanked by aisles on the north and south, the latter terminating in a Lady Chapel. A lofty and beautiful reredos of carved and gilded woodwork is the dominant feature of the interior at the east end. Carved at Oberammergau, it was installed in the church in 1897. Its glowing colouring in blue, red, and gold enriches the sanctuary in an impressive manner. Depicted in the centre panel is the Crucifixion, with buildings in the background representing the city of Jerusalem. On the left is a panel showing the appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene in the garden – Our Lord holding the flag as the symbol of his triumph over death. In the right-hand panel is the appearance of the risen Lord at Emmaus as he reveals his identity in the breaking of bread.

Saints Of England

Figures of St Peter and St Paul stand on either side of the reredos, Peter bearing the keys of the Kingdom and Paul the sword of his martyrdom and the scroll of his Epistles. A line of saints runs below the panels for their full span. They include St Augustine of Canterbury wearing the pallium; St Aldhelm, first Bishop of Sherborne, carrying his pastoral staff; St Osmond of Salisbury displaying a volume of the Sarum liturgical use, Ritus Sancti Osmundi; St Edward, King of England; St Alban, the first Christian martyr of our country; and St George, England’s patron saint.

Free standing in front of the reredos is an altar of onyx marble which used to be in the church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. An organ and a sacristy are located to the north of the chancel and immediately adjacent to the hall. Pulpit and font stand opposite each other on either side of the entrance to the sanctuary and beside the font is the Paschal candle which is solemnly blessed each year at the Easter vigil service to symbolise the risen Lord. Stations of the Cross brought from the old church line the walls. The lectern from which the Scriptures are read came from the Anglicans. There is some good stained glass by Kempe in the south aisle.

United Effort

The restoration of the building when it was acquired for Roman Catholic use was carried out by an impressive, united effort. Many people came forward with loans and gifts to affect the purchase or laboured long hours at cleaning and redecorating the interior. Architect for the restoration scheme was Mr A. Jaggard of John Stark and Partners, Dorchester. The building alterations were carried out by Dorchester Building Guild.

On the evening of 28th May 1976, a large congregation assembled in the restored church and Mass was celebrated by Father M. Joseph O’Brien, the parish priest whose vision and leadership had inspired the whole enterprise. On 8th October, the Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Rev. Cyril Restieaux, came to Dorchester to celebrate a votive Mass of the Holy Trinity in thanksgiving. This was a significant ecumenical occasion for a number of Church of England clergy attended the service together with clergy of other denominations. The Anglican Bishop of Ramsbury, who represented the Bishop of Salisbury, occupied a seat in the sanctuary and delivered a moving address on the theme of Christian unity. In the congregation were the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Sir Joseph Weld and Lady Weld, with the Mayor of Dorchester.

Link With America

In the 17th Century Holy Trinity and St Peter’s had an eminent rector in the person of the Rev. John White. An influential Puritan divine, he organised a party of Dorset emigrants who sailed to America in 1630 and took part in the founding of the State of Massachussetts. The town of Dorchester, Massachussetts, perpetuates their memory. John White’s tomb is beneath the south porch of St Peter’s church and an old house in nearby Colliton Street is identified as having been his residence. In the Middle Ages the Franciscan friars minor had a friary in Dorchester. It would seem to have been one of the earliest Franciscan foundations to be made in England.

Source Of Inspiration

Holy Trinity is one of the most beautiful churches of the diocese of Plymouth to which it now belongs, a distinctive feature of the county town of Dorset and by reason of its venerable history a constant source of inspiration for those who worship there.

Acknowledgements

The Story of Holy Trinity Church: Bridging The Centuries was written by James Pellow, published by Holy Trinity Parish, Dorchester, and printed by Wm. Pitfield & Co.

DORCHESTER MARTYRS

“Chronicle of Courage, Faith, and Sacrifice”

An unusual story attaches to the old church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. It stood originally at Wareham, 17 miles away, having been built there in 1890 for a small monastery of the Congregation of the Passion. The monastic foundation did not prosper and in 1906 the community left Dorset. Their church at Wareham was moved stone by stone to Dorchester. As it was dismantled its stones were numbered and then carried by horse and cart to be assembled again in the country town in High West Street under the title of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Michael. The title commemorates three priests and four laymen who were martyred at Dorchester in the 16th – 17th Centuries. Each of the priests had in turn been chaplain to the Catholic family of Arundell at Chideock Castle in West Dorset. Living at the Castle, they had travelled the country, ministering to scattered groups of their co-religionists in secret because of the penal laws.

First to die, in 1587, was Father Thomas Pilchard, a native of Battle in Sussex, and he was followed by a layman, William Pike, who lived at Moordown in the east of the county. In July 1594 one priest and three laymen suffered the same fate after being arrested when a raid was made upon Chideock Castle. They were Father Barry Cornelius, Thomas Bosgrave (a nephew of Sir Thomas Arundell) and two servants, John Carey, and Patrick Salmon. A native of Bodmin in Cornwall, John Cornelius had studied at Oxford and been ordained in Rome. Nearly half a century later Father Hugh Green died at Dorchester after being arrested at Lyme Regis. The death sentences were carried out at the gallows which then stood on the south-east side of the town. In the village of Chideock the Roman Catholic church next to the Manor is now the shrine of the Dorset martyrs. It was built in 1870-72 by Charles Weld, the Welds having acquired the Manor from the Arundells in 1802. For almost 70 years the church, which had been brought stone by stone from Wareham, served the parish in Dorchester. On Ascension Day 1976 Mass was celebrated under its roof for the last time before the transfer to Holy Trinity took place. Later it passed into the ownership of an antiquarian bookseller.

Martyrs Memorial Dorchester -Southwalks Road

Extracts Taken from Historical Details For The Use Of Parish Guides.

By Act of Parliament ordination to the Priesthood constituted treason – all priests, and those associated with them (by aiding them or concealing them) risked being discovered, arrested, and then interrogated for the names of other secret Catholics. Trials were usually brief, as all that had to be established was that the accused was a priest, at which point conviction was a certainty. Before the trial, suspects were questioned as to their theology on various subjects – the royal supremacy of the Church of England, the Real Presence of Christ in the Mass, the sacrificial character of the Mass, devotion to Our Lady and so on.

Martyrs Remembered – Short History

St. Richard Reynolds: Born in Devon, England, in 1492 and educated at Cambridge. Later a monk of Syon House he was martyred in 1535. Bl. John Slade: Born near Marnhull, he was a school teacher and apparently regarded as a significant force for converting the local populace, since his name came before the QueenPrivy Council in London who issued a warrant for the apprehending and sending up of one Slade, a very dangerous Papist lurking in the county of Dorset. He was martyred in 1583.

Bl. John Adams: Born in Martinstown, just outside Dorchester, and at one time was an Anglican vicar. He was later ordained as a Catholic priest. Martyred in 1586. V. John Hambly: Born at St. Mabyn Cornwall, brought up a Protestant and converted to Catholicism. After training for the priesthood at Rheims he returned to England in 1585 and settled to work near Beaminster. Later worked as a priest in Wiltshire and was finally convicted of treason and executed at Salisbury, 1587. Bl. Thomas Pilchard (or Pilcher): A fellow and tutor at Balliol College, Oxford, reported to the college authorities at Oxford as beinggrievously suspected of religion. He converted Bl. William Pyke and was martyred in Dorchester with several other Catholics on 21 March 1587.

Bl. William Way: Born in Exeter and arrested after only a couple of months in London. Martyred in 1588, the year of the Armada. Bl. William Pyke: A layman and joiner or wheelwright by trade, married and with a family. He lived in or near West Moors in Dorset and was converted by Bl. Thomas Pilchard. Pyke was somewhat outspoken: he was arrested because of his rather indiscrete and public comments in defence of the Catholic faith. He was interrogated in the prison at Dorchester and finally executed on 22 Dec 1591.

Bl. John Cornelius: A priest acting as chaplain to Lady Arundel, he was arrested on 24 April 1594, at Chideock Castle, by the sheriff of Dorsetshire. Martyred on 4 July 1594 in Dorchester.

Bl. John Carey & Bl. Patrick Salmon: They were servants in the Arundel house at Chideock and arrested with Bl. John Cornelius. Martyred 1594 in Dorchester.

Bl. Thomas Bosgrave: He was related to the Arundels by marriage (so of knightly class) and arrested at the same time as Cornelius, Carey and Salmon: he betrayed his faith by objecting to the rough and tumble rude manner in which Bl. John Cornelius, was handled by the pursuivants when caught. Martyred with Cornelius, Carey and Salmon in Dorchester, 1594.

Ven. Thomas Bullaker O.F.M.: Born in Sussex in the early 1600s. He became a Franciscan whilst studying for the Priesthood at Valladolid in Spain. He was sent on the English mission and for 11 years he worked in rural England before moving to London. Eventually found guilty of treason and executed at Tyburn, 1642. Bl. Hugh Green: He had lived with the Arundel family at Chideock for thirty years but decided to obey a Parliament issued edict that all priests leave the country immediately, with a limited number of days in which to comply before they would be arrested. Green made his way to Lyme Regis, there to sail for the continent to safety. Unfortunately, he arrived in the town two days after the end of the period of grace and was arrested at once, taken to Dorchester and martyred on 19 August 1642.

More information about Catholic Martyrs in the UK can be found on these websites:
Canonization of 40 English and Welsh Martyrs
The Chideock Martyrs