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In 1881 Mass was first offered at
Sittingbourne by Fr Moynihan, priest at Sheerness, in a house
near the railway station. In 1892 Bishop Butt secured a site on
the Rock Estate which was then being developed for a mission in
Sittingbourne, on which a school building with chapel and a
presbytery were to be erected. An anonymous Irish army pensioner
had donated £50 for the establishing of a mission in the area
between Chatham and Gravesend. With this sum, a loan could be
raised. R. A. Boase drew up plans for the present presbytery and
a school-cum-chapel behind. The latter was a large hall with a
gallery and a screened-off sanctuary. It cost £700 and Mass was
first said on 20 November 1892. The parish school, St Peter’s,
was opened shortly afterwards. (The building survives as the
O’Sullivan Centre.)
As the congregation continued to grow, the first mission priest,
Fr Eugene O’Sullivan, launched a building fund for a new church
in 1899. The congregation was poor and so he made numerous
international appeals. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop
Bourne on 26 June 1901 who put the church under the patronage of
Blessed (St) John Fisher. In March 1902 Fr O’Sullivan placed the
cross on top of the tower. The church was opened and consecrated
on 27 August 1902, after Fr O’Sullivan had requested a delay
which would allow him to clear the outstanding debt. The
architect was William Leonard Grant and the builder Mr E.
Bishop, both of Sittingbourne. The stonework was by Messrs
Millen & Christfield. Grant consulted Dr Francis Grayling, a
local physician and expert on Gothic architecture, about the
design. The west front was based on that of the medieval church
of St Mary at Nun Monkton, North Yorkshire. The organ was built
by Mr H. Fagg of Canterbury.
In 1905 a chime of eight bells was installed, cast by Felix
Aerschodt of Louvain. During the First World War, the mechanical
ringing device was abandoned and the chime converted to manual
ringing. From 1926 to 1976 the parish was in the care of the
Calced Carmelite Friars. In 1933 Mrs Steadfast presented the
church with a hanging rood, probably made in Oberammergau. In
1938 the Carmel Hall was built for £3,000 on a site to the rear
of the church. The architect was R. W. Waite and the builders
were Messrs G. Bowes & Son of Milton.
During the 1940s, Fr Bonaventure Fitzgerald installed a new
organ, the side altars and two stained glass windows. In 1958
the land between the Carmel Hall and the O’Sullivan Centre was
purchased (it is now used for car parking). A new infant school
was built on a new site in 1964, followed by the junior school
completed in 1976. Since then, the old chapel and school
building has been used as a second parish hall. In 1976 the
Carmelites returned the care of the parish to the Diocese. In
the 1970s, chairs in the church were replaced by benches, in an
attempt to make the best use of the small nave. Around the same
time, the font was moved towards the sanctuary. (It has since
been moved again to the west.)
Between 1976 and 1982, the church was restored by Anthony Swaine
FSA FRIBA. This included the removal of the chimney of the old
heating system, the re-hanging of the bells, and the replacement
of the old confessional below the gallery by a new open
confessional. In 2010, the narthex and the gallery were
reconfigured with a new glazed screen, and a new reconciliation
room created at the southwest. The work was done by Green Tea
Architects.
Description
The church is facing southwest; however, this description uses
the conventional liturgical orientation.
The church was built in 1901-02, from designs by William Leonard
Grant of Sittingbourne. The materials are local bricks laid in
English bond, with dressings of Bath and Caen stone. The plan is
longitudinal with a west tower and a polygonal apse. There is an
additional entrance via a small porch at the south. The design
of the west facade is based on that for St Mary, Nun Monkton in
Yorkshire. It has a recessed doorway under a gable, with three
stepped lancets above. The doorway’s gable has a small statue of
Christ, with two statues of bishops on either side. The short
bell tower crowns the main roof gable.
The narthex below the west gallery has a reconciliation room at
the southwest corner, the original octagonal font of stone and
marble, and a timber spiral stair at the northwest. The glazed
screen of the reconciliation room awkwardly abuts the west wall
and the holy water stoup is now inside the room. The nave is of
six bays, of which the westernmost is taken up by the organ
gallery and narthex. Two massive buttresses support the tower
above. Set against them are statues of St John Fisher (given by
the Viscountess Southwell) and St Thomas More (given by the
Fitzgerald family). The Stations are framed paintings.
The north side has niches with statues of St Joseph and St
Theresa, as well as three stained glass windows. These depict
from the west: the Baptism of Christ (1999, by John Corley,
commemorating the parish centenary); St Joseph (1940s); and Our
Lady of Mount Carmel (1940s). The northeast side altar is
dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel (1940s); altar and reredos
are of stone and marble and have a statue of the Virgin in the
central niche.
The sanctuary has stone altar rails whose Breche Sanguine marble
top was added later. Above is the hanging rood (1933,
Oberammergau). The five-sided apse has three stained glass
windows by Hardman depicting the Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart,
and St Margaret Mary. The Caen stone high altar was a gift of
Miss Murphy of Cork. Its outer niches have statues of St Anthony
and St Thomas of Canterbury, with relief scenes of the
Resurrection and the Agony in the Garden between them and the
central monstrance throne. The frontal depicts the presentation
of the keys to St Peter, the Last Supper and the Washing of the
Disciples’ Feet. On either side are the aumbry and piscina. The
forward altar and font are modern and of timber; the former was
a gift from the Sisters of the Nativity whose convent was nearby
until 1993.
The southeast corner has a stone and marble altar and reredos
dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Next to it is the sacristy door
and the south porch with a small stained glass window of the
Good Shepherd. Between is the pulpit of stone and Breche
Sanguine marble, incorporating material allegedly from the tomb
of Pope Cornelius (died AD253) The two easternmost south windows
are circular and depict Our Lady as Mother of Consolation and
Jesus in His Passion.
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