The Old St Winefride's Chapel - Pick Street - Shepshed, Leicestershire - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

"Roman Catholicism was not tolerated in England for around 300 years. This was because it had tried to murder Queen Elizabeth I and some members of it had supported foreigners who had planned to invade, such as Spain and France. In 1829, however, the laws against Catholics were lifted, but 'Popery' was still hated and feared by many English people. Some people converted to Roman Catholicism, and they started to build small chapels. The local squire of Garendon became a Catholic so a Catholic community was therefore established in Shepshed. Augustus Welby Pugin, a Roman Catholic convert and a famous Victorian architect, designed the old chapel, which still stands in Pick Street. He also designed a little chapel at Grace Dieu and helped to design the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

The previous Roman Catholic church was built for £500 in 1841 on the site of a blacksmith's shop. It is fairly small, so there cannot have been many Catholics in Shepshed at that time. The Roman Catholic church grew strongly in the 19th century, usually where there were large numbers of Irish immigrants. However, by the 20th century, the chapel in Pick Street was considered too small for use, so a larger one was built in the 1920s, which still stands today. The old St. Winefride's then became derelict until it was bought for use as a private home."

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Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1841 Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Catholic Street address of Church: Old St. Winefride's Chapel Pick Street Shepshed, Leicestershire England LE12 9BB Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: Not Listed

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