The Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholicism is one of the main divisions of the Christian religion, separate from the Eastern Orthodox Church since 1054, and headed by the pope. Membership is reckoned to be about 600 million worldwide, but concentrated mainly in the poorer regions of Southern Europe, Latin America and the Philippines. The Protestant churches separated from the Catholic with the Reformation in the 16th century and in order to perpetuate the newly established religion, an act of 1559 prescribed a fine of one shilling for every absence from church on a Sunday without lawful or reasonable cause with failure to pay fines followed by committal to prison.

Despite such draconian laws, the Roman Catholics continued to flourish in certain areas and the influence of the gentry was particularly strong and they soon comprised the largest group of persistent non-attenders in the Kesteven area of South Lincolnshire, along with Quakers, Ana Baptists, Presbyterians and independents. The centre was at Irnham where 56 recusants were recorded in 1676 and others at Corby Glen, Lound, Haconby and Stainfield. It was estimated that over 40% of the population of Irnham were Roman Catholic at this time and that John Leyburn, a bishop of that church who visited in 1687, found no fewer than 105 persons to confirm.

In 1911, Mary Ann Duffy, born at Montrose, Scotland, moved to Bourne, and married a non-Catholic, Mr W H Scotney. She became the only Catholic in the town but there was no priest, no church and their two children, Bernard and Oliver, were baptised into the faith at Spalding. By the 1920s, the number had increased to ten worshippers and mass was being said at one of their homes in Albion Terrace, a row of small cottages in North Street, Bourne. The meetings later moved to a studio at the rear of a newspaper shop at No 13 West Street but this became too small and the congregation then rented the long room at the Angel Hotel. Services lapsed for two years because there was no visiting priest and a hired bus was subsequently arranged to take worshippers to the Church of Our Lady at Mount Carmel at Corby Glen. 

Services then began in the chapel at the Ministry of Labour's Instructional Centre off West Road and afterwards in the social room of the Co-operative Society premises at No 17 North Street, rented for 2s. 6d. a week (12½p) with services being conducted by Father James Power who travelled over by taxi every Sunday from Deeping St James, where he had recently been appointed chaplain, at a cost of 2s. 6d which included waiting time.

More space was needed during the Second World War of 1939-45 because of the influx of servicemen into the area and so the Corn Exchange was hired for services, and the first Roman Catholic centre for Bourne was established in 1950 on a site in Exeter Street bought for £100 provided by Ernest Orbell and where a wooden hut was erected for a further £100 (later to be used as a scout hut). The temporary church was officially opened in January 1950 as the Church of the Sacred Heart.

The church had an expected life span of ten years although it was subsequently used until the present building was completed in the autumn of 1976, the first permanent Roman Catholic centre in the town since the Reformation. The circular shape excited great interest and even surprise when the design was announced and Father Patrick Peppard, priest for Bourne, the Deepings and Corby Glen, commissioned a model of the building from Mr Thomas Wilson of Oakham which went on public display in the church at Deeping St James. "It will be a dual purpose church", explained Father Peppard. "We will be able to close off the sanctuary at one end and use the rest of the building as a hall with the usual ancillary facilities provided."

Much of the credit for this development was due to an organisation known as the Altar Society, formed in 1949 by the early pioneers of the faith in Bourne who were confident that a building of this stature would eventually be realised. It is interesting to note that the committee behind this organisation consisted entirely of ladies who were married to non-Catholic husbands, a total of twelve members in all.

In January 1957, the Catholics of Deeping, Bourne and Corby Glen became a parish that existed until 1984 when the district was re-organised. Corby Glen was transferred to Grantham and a new parish known as Bourne and Deeping was formed with Father James O'Hanlon as the first parish priest. The new arrangements were celebrated with a mass at the Church of Our Lady and St Guthlac at Deeping St James when thanks were offered for the work done in the previous 29 years.

Today, the Catholics do not have a significant presence in Bourne where the living is still shared with that at Deeping St James. St Gilbert's Church, named after St Gilbert of Sempringham, is therefore a modest buildings and one of the first to be completed as part of the St Gilbert's Road development. It stands immediately next to the bus station that was built at the same time, an unfortunate position for despite being separated by a low wall, by virtue of its shape and size it has been known to be mistaken as a cafeteria by visiting bus passengers.

The church, or centre as it was known, can seat 200 worshippers. It was designed for a dual purpose function under one sweep of roof, the sanctuary being at one end that can be closed off while the rest of the floor space is used as a hall for social purposes. The building was dedicated in December 1976 by the Bishop of Nottingham, the Rt Rev James McGuinness. It had cost £70,000 although more than half of that had been raised by the time it was opened and the bishop appealed for further funds towards the project.

"The people in the parish have made sacrifices and have worked hard so that the centre could be built", he said. "They have been helped by the parishes of Corby Glen and the Deepings and now the centre has become a focal point where people can look to for happiness and where Christians of various denominations can meet and enjoy themselves. I hope that this building will really do good things for the community in general".

REVISED JULY 2009