[The following text is reproduced from the original publication of 1976. New illustrations have been provided by St Marys, and I am indebted to Fr. Ken Bowen for permission to reproduce this work.]

The modern St Marys stands on Aspley Hill, but the Catholic Church has had other locations as well...

THE EARLY YEARS

I am indebted to the late Mr Charles Howard, one-time Manager of the Woburn Gas Works for the following account of the beginnings of the Catholic Mission at Woburn Sands. It given exactly as he wrote it, and is of absorbing interest. At the time of writing (October 1975), Tom Casey, one of the few present at the First Mass, is still with us, a very youthful 89, and still singing in the Choir! Please God, he will still be with us to celebrate our Golden Jubilee on 18th July 1976.

An account of the beginnings of the Woburn Sands Mission, written by Mr Charles Howard, of Gas Works Cottage, Woburn, June 1953

Charles Howard's account ends with the purchase of the site on Aspley Hill; so I must go back in time to chronicle the years from 1939 to 1955, when the present church was built.

At the time of my appointment to Woburn Sands by Bishop Lawrence Youens, I was Curate to Father Gray at St Ethelbert's, Slough. On the morning of 3rd February 1939 I found beside my plate at breakfast a letter from Bishop Youens, which read:

Bishop's House, Northampton.2.2.39
My dear Father Golston,
I write to appoint you to the Church and Mission of Woburn Sands in succession to Father Cyril Banham, who is going to Sheringham. The changes will probably take place towards the end of the month. In any case you had better write to Father Cyril Banham.
With my blessing,
Yours devotedly in Domino
Lawrence
Bishop of Northampton

My feelings on reading this letter were very mixed; I don't like change, and I had not even heard of Woburn Sands! However, I concluded that it must be by the sea, so I would like it! How wrong I was! The nearest seaside place is over 100 miles distant!

Eventually I arrived at Woburn Sands with my sister Ada, who had bravely offered to look after me, on 21st February, and my heart sank to my boots when I saw the church; a wooden hut, with what appeared to be a sagging roof! To my relief I found that the interior was better than the exterior, being devotional and well furnished. There were things such as the altar, and the heap of coke by the door, that I did not like; but with the help of a parishioner, Mr Samuel Moorat, a great character and a good carpenter, we soon had a more worthy altar, and a Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in place of the heap of coke!

My first Sunday here was the First Sunday of Lent; a good day on which to start what was to be a hard and difficult apostolate, though a very happy one. I was young and welcomed the challenge of a small, poor Mission. There were only 130 Catholics, good, bad and indifferent, and the collection on that first Sunday amounted to £2 5s. 4d. How did we manage?

Well, it meant, for one thing, a life of poverty; no luxuries, not even a chicken on Christmas Day! There were other sources of income: Miss Montagu of Wavendon Fields gave £100 a year; the Poor Mission Fund sent £60; the R.A.F. at Cranfield, to which I was officiating Chaplain, paid about £25. Even so, life was difficult; so, to make ends meet I cultivated the large garden, bred rabbits for food, and kept chickens!

The first Holy Week was a memorable one, in so far as we had to improvise on a large scale, as the ceremonies had never been carried out, and so a Paschal Candlestick, etc., were non-existent. Mr Lyons of Wavendon Fields came to the rescue by adapting a handsome fern stand into a Paschal Candlestick, which did duty for several years! Samuel Moorat made an excellent Repositorium; and a table at the back of the church was the 'Altar of Repose'. In spite of small numbers, we managed a sung Mass on Maundy Thursday and Holy Saturday, and continuous watching at the 'Altar of Repose'. The people showed their appreciation by coming in good numbers, though they could hardly have understood the intricate ceremonial! I must make mention here of Mr Cecil Wilton. He was a convert Church of England clergyman and with his wife lived in Weathercock Lane. When I suggested that he should read the Passion of Our Lord on Palm Sunday and Good Friday, he readily agreed, and never have I heard it read more beautifully. He regularly served Mass for me, but eventually had to move to Needham Market in Suffolk, where he died. His body is buried in Aspley Guise Churchyard, together with that of his wife.

So, our first Holy Week and Easter came and went. It had its lighter moments as when George Tomlin, one of the servers, stepped too near the Triple Candle, and as a result, went up in flames! And when Cyril Ingrouille walked straight into the Sanctuary Lamp, and was liberally covered with oil! Cyril continued to do this with unfailing regularity, and in spite of warnings, every Holy Week right up to the last one in the old Church. We came to expect it, and Holy Week would not have been the same without it!

There were other 'Firsts' in 1939, as for instance, when we had our first Outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament; going from the church to the presbytery garden, where a temporary altar had been erected. Father Rifflemann, S.C.J., of Bletchley, carried the Blessed Sacrament (he was later interned as an enemy alien on the Isle of Man). We continued to have our Outdoor Processions even after we had moved to the new church, until the volume of traffic made it impossible.

Then, on Sunday, 23rd July 1939, Mass was celebrated for the first time in Cranfield. The only building we could hire was 'Anstey's Cafe' at Wharley End. It was dubbed by the locals 'Dirty Dick's', and it most certainly lived up to its nickname. What a mopping up operation there had to be before the place was reasonably clean: empty beer bottles, litter of all kinds, and above all an aroma of stale beer, smoke and cats! However, the Papal Flag flew bravely over this makeshift church, and we sang, as lustily as we could, 'Faith of Our Fathers', Mrs Gordon, Headmistress of Moulsoe School, and one of the few who had heard Mass in the 'Fir Tree' at Woburn Sands, was present, and made all the arrangements. From that time on, Mass continued to be celebrated in Cranfield in various odd places; for one period we used the Dance Hall in Court Road, now Dagnell's Electronics; then, when we had to leave that, the home of Frank and Kathleen Keany, Harter Avenue. The Keanys were a wonderful family, and did more than anyone to ensure that the Mass continued to be said in the Village. We even for a time used a poultry house, having first to eject the chickens who complained noisily! Eventually the R.A.F. erected a Nissen-hut church, first in Prince Philip Avenue, and then another larger one on the airfield, when the original one had to be dismantled. This was in use every Sunday until 1975, when we began to share a permanent building with other Denominations.

THE WAR YEARS

Did any group of people hear the Declaration of War as we did? I very much doubt it. On that fateful Sunday, 3rd September 1939, the 10.30a.m. Mass was being celebrated, and we had got to the Consecration when, because of the very thin walls of our wooden-hut church, we heard from the radio of our good neighbours, Mr and Mrs Arthur Cooke, the voice of Mr Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, telling us that England was at war with Germany. There was a strained silence for the rest of the Mass, and I am sure we all expected bombs to be dropped at any moment! However, nothing like that was to happen for some time, and life went on as usual, except for the arrival of children from the Catholic School of St Joseph, Highgate, who were evacuated to Woburn Sands. We did our best to make them feel at home, but they did not stay long, returning to London as there was no immediate danger from bombing.

Bishop Youens, who had ordained me, and appointed me to Woburn Sands, died suddenly at Northampton on 14th November 1939. We were all saddened by his death, and felt it as an almost personal Ioss, for he was a very lovable man, a real Pastoral Bishop.

'One of the few churches at which Midnight Mass was celebrated in England was the Church of Our Lady, Woburn Sands, Bucks. The little church was packed to the doors.' So said the Universe in its edition for 29th December 1939. Those who do not remember the 1939-1945 War will doubtless wonder why our church was one of the few to have Midnight Mass that Christmas. It was because of the government order that all windows had to be effectively 'blacked out' after dark, so that no light would show to guide enemy aircraft if they were around. As our church windows were small, we obtained heavy curtain material which prevented any light from showing. Of course, no air could enter either, so the atmosphere in that small packed church can be imagined!

As 1939 drew to its close, the fact that there was a war on was brought home to us by the arrival in the village of a company of the Pioneer Corps, contingents of Wrens (Womens Royal Naval Service) at Woburn Abbey, Wavendon House and Crawley Grange, and a lot of civilians of all nationalities who were working for the government in Woburn Abbey (which had been requisitioned) and other large houses in the district. No one knew what work was being done; it was all very 'hush-hush', but after the war ended, it was revealed that Sefton Delmar, one-time Editor of the Daily Express was operating from Milton Bryan what was known as the 'Black Radio' - broadcasts to enemy-occupied countries, by people who were native to those countries. One of these was Father Elmar James Eisenberger, an Austrian from Gratz, who belonged to the Order of the Knights of Malta. He arrived on my doorstep one Saturday afternoon, and asked if he could say Mass the following day. When I discovered that he would be here for the duration of the war, I had to get him vetted by our new Bishop, Mgr Leo Parker. Evidently the Bishop was satisfied with his credentials, because he gave him permission to say Mass, and faculties to preach and hear Confessions. So, Father James, as he became known, acted, when he was free to do so, as my Curate, and I must put on record here my gratitude to him for all the help he so readily gave, especially at weekends.

Besides acting as Officiating Chaplain to the Royal Air Force at Cranfield, I now became a Chaplain to the Royal Navy and the Army. The Pioneer Corps being stationed in the village could easily get to Mass, but the Wrens, who were quartered in other villages, were not so fortunate. By far the largest contingent was at Woburn Abbey (known as H.M.S. Pembroke III); I tried therefore to celebrate Mass for them whenever I could; and so, because of the war, the Mass returned to Woburn Abbey after a lapse of 400 years, on 21st March 1944. I also said Mass occasionally for the Wrens at Wavendon House and Crawley Grange, a country house, built originally by Cardinal Wolsey but never occupied by him.

Looking back at the statistics for 1939, I feel sure that the following items will be of interest to present-day parishioners and others.

Number of Catholics in the Parish           182
Baptisms                                              9
Marriages                                              7
Collected for the Building Fund                £349.2.1
Total in hand for the Building Fund          £591.2.1
Collected in 'Bun' coins                           £1.18.2
('Bun' coins were copper coins, showing the head of Queen Victoria with her hair done in a 'Bun')
Christmas offering                                  £6.12.1¾

The weekly collections seldom reached £3, and remained at that level until well after the war ended; so, what with rationing and such a small income, life was austere.

I have already mentioned our new Bishop, Mgr Leo Parker, who was appointed to succeed Bishop Youens. He came to Northampton Diocese from Salford, where he had been for many years Bishop's Secretary. On 8th March 1941 he came to Woburn Sands and administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to nine children and four adults, and it is a matter of interest that this was the first time that he had administered Confirmation in the Diocese.

At the end of 1939, the Building Fund stood, as we have seen, at £591.2.1, but this was only a very small percentage of what would be needed to build a permanent church; and so, as all building was suspended for the duration of the war, we therefore concentrated all our efforts on raising money to swell the Fund. I had wonderful people, as indeed I have always had, and they worked so hard organising dances, jumble sales, bazaars, Christmas draws, etc. Some of our bazaars were outstanding successes, one of them making over £200, which in those days was a good sum of money. Then, just as had really got into our stride with all these money-making events, Bishop Parker dropped a bombshell! He wrote to say that he hoped I realised that I owed the Diocese £625.2.6! This shook me, as I had never at any time borrowed money from the Diocese. On making enquiries as to how I had incurred such a debt, I was told that it was owing from the purchase of the presbytery (40 Wood Street). My predecessor, Father Banham, had told me that the Diocese had given the necessary money to buy the house. When I told Bishop Parker that, his reply was typical - 'We never give money!' So here was an added and unexpected burden, but we repaid that debt plus interest by 1943.

The spiritual life of the parish was not neglected during these years of fund-raising, two Missions being conducted, one by a Franciscan from Buckingham, the other by a Dominican from Cambridge. Days of Prayer, ordered either by the King or the Hierarchy, were well observed; we also had the Forty Hours Adoration each Lent, and Devotions such as the Holy Hour, Stations of the Cross, and October Devotions. For many of these the church was filled, in contrast to the present time (1976) when they have had to be dropped owing to lack of support. Also, we now had the benefit of Solemn Ceremonies during Holy Week, that is, ceremonial conducted with Deacon and Subdeacon, since, besides having Father James, we also had the assistance of Father Henry Mahy, O.D.C., who came each Holy Week from Wincanton.

Meanwhile, World War II dragged on with terrible destruction and loss of life. Apart from the nation-wide austerity, we in Woburn Sands were not much affected, though one night a German plane dropped a land-mine near the village of Salford. Besides giving us a bad fright, it shattered most of the shop windows in the High Street. Bombs were also dropped at Cranfield and near Aspley Guise, without causing any damage. I did a weekly turn of night fire-watching with others (our task was to extinguish incendiary bombs) in the old Scout hut in Sandy Lane. We did not have to deal with a single bomb but we had some pleasant times together! The war in Europe ended on 8th May 1945 and we in common with other churches in the country, gave thanks to God at Benediction on the following Sunday by singing the Te Deum.

Now we could really direct all our efforts towards building a permanent church. The need for this was becoming more and more urgent as numbers increased. But first, a new site had to be found, as the one on which the wooden hut stood was too small; and, more­over, it was in a side street, which meant that a new church built there would not be easily seen or known. I found what I considered to be a site with a great potential. It was large, it stood on the brow of Aspley Hill, and at once I recalled the words of Our Lord, 'A city set on a hill cannot be hid'. Yes, this was the spot: a church built here would be seen by all. Could I secure it? Part of it was used for allotments, but the greater part was just rough ground, a mass of brambles and undergrowth. Upon making enquiries I found that it was owned by the Duke of Bedford, so I arranged an interview with the Duke, who was then living in a small house in Woburn as the 'Abbey' had been requisitioned. He received me very kindly, but said that he was not prepared to sell a piece of the land; it was the lot or nothing. Now 'the lot' amounted to just under three acres, which was much more than we needed, so I had to refer back to Bishop Parker, who empowered me to negotiate for 'the lot' - 'with such a large piece of land, you can have a cemetery as well!’ he said. (The Bishop was very keen on every parish having its own cemetery wherever possible.)

Negotiations for the land were conducted through the Duke's steward, and it was eventually secured on 22nd February 1949, for £750. Even in those days it was practically a gift! Today it is worth thousands of pounds.

So now we had a really wonderful site for our new church, and an added incentive to work still harder for it. The year 1951 saw the Silver Jubilee of the first Mass celebrated in Woburn Sands, and we were determined to make this a memorable year. A target of £1,000 for the Building Fund was decided on! With only about 300 people this seemed impossible to achieve, but nevertheless we reached it! Jim Foley was elected Chairman of a small Fund-raising Committee, and he proved to be a wizard at getting money. It came in from all kinds of people, and all kinds of places. His Lordship the Bishop of Cloyne sent £20, a worker at Ford's Dagenham Works sent a week's wages, and a small boy sending five shillings wrote as follows:

25 Tyrells End 5.4.51
Dear Father,
I have saved my Picture money for God in Lent. Put some to build your Church, and save a bit to buy yourself a cake.
Love,
MICHAEL

I bought a cake! Apart from fund-raising events, the highlight of the year was a Solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving on 18th July. The Ministers of the Mass were:

Celebrant:        Father E Golston
Deacon:            Very Rev Canon G. Dalby (Canon Dalby used to say Mass at the 'Fir Tree’ when he was a Curate at Bedford)
Subdeacon:     Father C. Banham (My predecessor)

The Mass concluded with the Te Deum, and a lunch for the visiting clergy followed. Don't get the impression that the good laity were forgotten! They had a wonderful Garden Party in June. So, the year 1951 was a milestone in the progress of our little Parish. It was time now to start thinking about what kind of a church we could erect on the new site.

A NEW BEGINNING

The need for a larger church was becoming more and more a matter of very great urgency as the old 'hut' church could no longer accommodate the numbers who were coming to Mass. People now had to stand not only in the porch, but outside, and almost in the street. Indeed, I recall that on Easter Sundays in the old church, the only way possible to deal with the large number of communicants was for those who had received to go out of the church by the back door, walk down the street and enter again by the front door! Whilst this procedure was good publicity, it could not go on like that for long. By now, the end of 1951, as I have said, we had approximately £8,000 in the Building Fund, a good sum of money but insufficient to build the lovely spacious church we now have. How then did it come to be built? Most people know by now that we were enabled to build our lovely church by the kindness and generosity of Miss Christine Chichester. Very few people, though, know how she came to leave a legacy of some £8,000 to us. So now, for posterity here is the true story of how we came to get it. I have always regarded what happened as Providential, and an answer to prayer.

One Sunday morning (the actual date eludes me) after the 10.30 Mass, I was introduced to a lady, Miss May Ffrench who was staying with Mr and Mrs Lyons at Wavendon Fields. We talked, as people do, mostly about the weather; then she said to me, 'Father, I wonder whether you can help me? I have an aunt, a Miss Chichester, who has asked me to suggest a small Mission somewhere in England, to which she could leave some money for the building of a church.' I naturally replied: 'Of course I can help. What about the Mission here at Woburn Sands?" To this Miss Ffrench replied, 'Why yes, Father, but the only trouble is, my aunt doesn't know you or Woburn Sands. I will certainly write and suggest it though.'

I soon received a letter from Miss Chichester, who was living then at Portfaw, County Waterford, Ireland. It was the first of many, many letters, full of questions, some of which I could not answer: 'How much will the church cost? How many will it seat? Who is to be the architect? To Whom will it be Dedicated? etc, etc.' She wrote similar letters to Bishop Parker, who handed them to me to be kept in the Parish Archives. These letters showed her to be quite a character and possessed of a sense of humour. In one of her letters to the Bishop she asked to be assured that she would have a Mass said each year for her soul. 'I don't want to be left too long in Purgatory,' she said, 'and I can't rely upon my friends to help me when I am gone!' In one of her last letters she asked for a photograph of me! I sent her one, and I flatter myself that this photo tipped the balance in our favour, for after having received it, she wrote: 'I have decided to leave you the money, and now I suppose you will pray for me to die soon!' I didn't, of course, but it was only natural to hope that she would not live too long! In fact, Miss Chichester died on 18th May 1951, just two years after she had promised the money.

Now, with approximately £16,000 in hand we could really start planning. The first thing to be done was to secure the services of an architect, and my choice was Mr Francis Pollen who was then commencing his career. He produced a sketch plan of a lovely church but he and his plans were firmly rejected, much to my regret, by Bishop Parker, who insisted that I should employ the architect of his choice, Mr John Sebastian Comper FRIBA who had already built St Gregory's at Northampton, and was eventually to build several more churches in the Diocese. He was the son of Sir Ninian Comper, the famous architect, who was responsible for such glorious churches as St Mary's, Wellingborough, St Cyprian's Clarence Gate, and many others. Mr Comper was a good architect, possessed of a charming old-fashioned, very courteous manner. We got on well together, and he eventually produced plans which were acceptable to Bishop Parker who gave permission to start building.

The year was now 1953, and it was eight years since World War II had ended, but new building was still very much restricted. A licence was required, and this could only be obtained in the case of new churches on the recommendation of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese in which the proposed church was situated. Application was made therefore to the Bishop of St Albans, and in due course the licence was received, and the work of preparing the foundations was begun towards the end of 1954. I believe I am right in saying that ours was the last church for which a licence had to be obtained. Building restrictions were lifted soon after. Tenders had been received from several firms, and the one accepted was that submitted by Messrs Simcox and Usher of Northampton, who contracted to build the Church for £16,700. April 23rd, 1955, the Feast of St George, was the first red letter day of our new church; Bishop Parker laid the Foundation Stone, assisted by the Very Rev Canon J. Thomson of Bedford and Father P. Carey of Bletchley. Amongst the many priests present were Canon Dalby from Luton, Canons E. Stokes (Cambridge) and C. Davidson (Beaconsfield).

The inscription on the Stone had been composed by a noted Latin scholar, Mgr F. Davis, Professor of Theology at Oscott College, Birmingham, where I studied for the priesthood. It reads:

'Leo, Bishop of Northampton, laid the Stone of this Church to Thee Christ God, in honour of your Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the 3rd of April 1955, during the Pontificate of Pope Pius XII.'

After the Ceremony Mr and Mrs Jack Needs kindly provided tea for the Bishop and Clergy in their house, St David's, Weathercock Lane.

Now that the Foundation Stone had been well and truly laid, work on the church went ahead very quickly, and it was exciting to see the walls rising and the building taking shape. As no such edifice had been erected in Woburn Sands within living memory, it caused quite a lot of comment locally, all very favourable; indeed quite a number of non-Catholics subscribed towards the Fund. One poor woman, however, who was later found to be mentally afflicted, did tell the foreman to stop work because the Government had forbidden me to build a church! Poor Sam Vas quite upset until I explained the situation to him!

The question of a Priest's house now arose. When I put that to the Bishop, he said that I would have to continue living in the old Presbytery in Wood Street since we had not got sufficient money to build a new one. I told him that the old house could be sold and the proceeds used to build a new one. He replied: 'You won't get sufficient to be able to do that.' He did, however, allow me to try, and right away, without any sort of advertising, it was sold to Mr Herbert of Wavendon for £2,570. (It had originally been purchased by my predecessor for £450!) So now, as the new house was going to cost only just over £3,000, I was allowed to proceed with the building and church and house were built at the same time.

As the work proceeded, we were able to fix a day for the opening of the new church, Monday, 2nd July 1956. For some reason that I have never understood, the Bishop wrote to say that he would delegate me to bless and open the church myself. I cannot recall that this was done for any other new church in the Diocese, because Bishop Parker loved opening churches; so perhaps it meant that he didn't think so badly of me after all! You see, we had clashed over several details of the new church, particularly the Foundation Stone! However, that is another story perhaps best left untold!

The day before the opening was, in some respects, a very sad one. It was the occasion of the last Mass to be celebrated in the old church. Being a Sunday, it was of course packed as usual, and our sadness was due to the fact that we had all become very attached to this little church, so homely and so devotional. At the end of this last Mass, remembering the many blessings and graces we had received, we sang the Te Deum, after which the congregation dispersed rather sadly, but nevertheless joyfully looking forward to the great event of the next day.

Monday, 2nd July, was, in those days before the revision of the Liturgical Calendar, the Feast of the Visitation of Our Lady, a most appropriate day for the opening, since our new church was to be dedicated to the Holy Mother of God, with the title of 'Our Lady of the Assumption'. I had asked the Bishop if this could be shortened to 'St Mary", and he replied 'Yes, providing the Anglican church is not called 'St Mary's', because if it is, then the Vicar will be getting letters intended for you!' Weather-wise the opening day was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. Long before the time fixed for the ceremony (7.30p.m.) priests and people began to assemble, and it was estimated that 400 people were present. As the church could hold only 210, that meant that many had to stand outside. Over the entrance to the church, carved in stone, was the Chichester family motto Ferme en Foy (Norman French) Strong in Faith, a most appropriate motto as we had all needed a lot of faith to achieve our ambition.

Solemn High Mass followed the opening, Father Golston being assisted by Father P. Carey (Bletchley) and Father R. Manley (High Wycombe). Amongst the many priests present was Father R. Atkinson who, as a boy, used sometimes to travel from Bedford with Canon Dalby to serve Mass at the 'Fir Tree".

In the congregation were Miss Ffrench, who, you will remember, persuaded her aunt, Miss Chichester, to contact me; the architect, Mr J.S. Comper; Mr Simcox, representing the builders; 'Sam', the foreman, and his men who built the church. After the Mass, Mr and Mrs Wells served a buffet supper for everyone in the grounds of their house, St Vincent's, conveniently situated directly opposite the church.

So, after all the years of struggle and effort, we now had this lovely church, which to us who had been accustomed to a very small makeshift building, seemed almost like a cathedral.

It can now be revealed that a number of people kindly gave furnishings for the church. At the time they wished to remain anonymous, but I feel sure that posterity should know of their kindness and generosity:

High Altar                                  Miss E. Evennett
Side Altar                                  Mr and Mrs T. Doran
High Altar Candlesticks              Mrs E. Price
Ebony and Ivory Crucifix Mrs H. Forbes
Our Lady's Statue                      Mrs H. Lyons
St Joseph's Statue                     Mrs Lowe
Stained Glass Window               Mrs Lyons
Silver Gilt Monstrance                Mr T Doran
Holy Water Stoup                      Children of St Vincent's School
Church Bell                               Mr and Mrs V. Finbow
Sanctus Bell                             Miss J. Read
Cemetery Crucifix                      Mr D. Fearnley-Sander
Baptismal Font                          The late Mrs H. Phillips

One thing now remained to be done, to set the seal on all the work and effort of past years, and that was the Consecration of our church, to make it truly The House of God'.

There was a small debt, approximately £1,750, which had to be repaid before this final act could take place; as a result of many people's generosity and money-raising events this was soon done, and then Bishop Parker decided upon 8th May 1957, for the day of the Consecration. Now it is a fact that the Bishop had no special reason for choosing this particular date, it just happened to be a convenient one; but some years later it was found, through researches made into the history of the last days of the old Abbey at Woburn, that this date was the exact day of the month on which St Mary's Abbey, at Woburn, had been surrendered to Henry VIII exactly 419 years earlier! A truly remarkable coincidence!

The Rite of the Consecration of a Church was in those days a very long and intricate one. In our case it began at 9.30a.m. and we were not out of the church until 1.45p.m.! There is no need here to go into details of the ceremony; all I will say is that in spite of its length it was a most moving ceremony. The principal Consecrator was, of course, our Bishop, assisted by Father P. Carey (Bletchley) and Father D. Jenkinson (St Margaret's, Luton); Father J. Reffitt, Bishop's Secretary, was Master of Ceremonies, Mr T Doran assisting A word here about Mr T. Doran - 'Terry'. Although not one of the few who heard Mass at the 'Fir Tree', Terry was here in Father Banham's time, and for 40 years has been a most loyal and faithful Master of Ceremonies.

The co-Consecrator was Archbishop Aston Chichester, S. J., retired Archbishop of Salisbury, Rhodesia, and a cousin of Miss Chichester. He dedicated the Side Altar to St Joseph. The Archbishop was then in his eightieth year, a huge figure of a man, and a great character. I had met him the previous day at Bletchley Station and was greeted with: 'Well, Father, I expect you are worried about tomorrow's ceremonies. I know nothing about them, but I'm not worried! Canon Hunting was his M.C. and he literally had to lead him everywhere, and guide his hand for the anointing of the Altar! At his age he naturally found the ceremony very tiring; so when he had finished, and as there was some time to wait for the High Mass, I took him into the house and gave him a Martini, biscuits and a cigar, which he thoroughly enjoyed. When the time came for the High Mass I went to him and said: The Bishop wants you to be present on the Sanctuary for the Mass." 'Oh does he? Well, tell him I am not coming. I have had quite enough and I am enjoying myself!' I thought that reply was so honest and down to earth. He died on the steps of St Peter's, Rome, as he was going in to attend one of the Sessions of the Vatican Council. May he rest in Peace!

The High Mass which followed the Ceremonies of Consecration was celebrated by the Very Reverend Canon John Thomson of Bedford, Dean of the Bedford Deanery; after which the Bishops and Clergy were entertained to lunch at the Swan Hotel.

The Consecration of the Church was the culmination of all the sacrifices, all the striving, all the hard work and prayer over the years since that humble beginning on 18th July 1926. I am sure that none of those who were present at that First Mass could possibly have even dreamt that one day, just up the hill there would stand this fine building of which we could now say in the words of the Liturgy, 'This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven'.

As soon as we had acquired the site for the new church, Bishop Parker had said we must have a cemetery; so I now started negotiations with the appropriate authorities, beginning with Ampthill R.D.C., and going from them to the County Council, then to the Home Office, which sent an official to view the site. Our proposal had then to be advertised to give anyone who might object an opportunity to state their objections. In the event, three people objected, so this necessitated a public enquiry.

Mr and Mrs Wells kindly allowed us to use a large room in their house for this enquiry, and when the day came an impressive body of people arrived: representatives of the Ampthill R.D.C., an official from the Home Office, Counsels for the Diocese and the Objectors, and our present Bishop, Mgr Charles Grant, who was then Vicar General and represented Bishop Parker. He has always said that it was the funniest meeting of its kind that he ever attended. It certainly was! The Home Office official sat there, taking copious notes in longhand, and indicating from time to time who was to speak. I was called, by one of the objectors, 'the Italian Priest in charge of the Italian Mission', to which our Counsel replied: 'My good friend, Father Golston is most certainly not Italian, since he was born in Ipswich, Suffolk'. 'You know what I mean,' said the good lady. 'Madam, I only know what you said, was the Counsel's reply.

There was much more in similar vein, but it was really very pleasant, good-humoured and friendly. Anyhow, in the end we won the day, and permission to have a cemetery was granted by the Home Office. The first burial was that of Henry Bonney, which took place on 23rd October 1957. Since that time, of course, many deceased parishioners have been buried in that little cemetery, including my own mother, who spent her last years with myself and my sister.

To these, O Lord, and to all who sleep in Christ, grant we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light and peace."

The handsome wrought-iron cemetery gates were made by S. Pierce and Son, of Bredfield, Woodbridge, Suffolk, and presented by Mrs Price in memory of her father.

Soon after the church was consecrated a Conference of Saint Vincent de Paul was established in the parish. The first President was Mr P. Beavis. He was followed by Mr J. Parkinson, Mr J. Mulroy, Mr C. Ingrouille and Mr C. Phillips, who is still in office.

I mention our S.V.P. because under the presidency of Cyril Ingrouille it made history in a very important way. It was felt by us that the work of the S.V.P. should be open to all Christians of whatever denomination. After much discussion as to the best way to achieve this desired object we invited members of other Churches to sit in at one of our meetings in order to see what was done, and how we did it. As a result of this, two Methodists offered to help with the work we were doing. They could not, at that time, be accepted as members, but they attended the meetings and did valuable work.

When the Diocesan Council and then the National Council were approached on the matter they were at first rather shattered by our proposal, but eventually allowed our arrangements to continue, and ultimately other Christians were granted full membership of the Society. This has now actually been written into Article I of the Constitutions:

'Membership is open to all Christians of all ages and both sexes, who have the will to commit themselves to active personal service in the works of Charity within the Society.'

At present we have two Methodist members of our Conference, David Firth and John Hesseltine, who are absolutely committed and enthusiastic members of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

To show what progress has been made in this direction, it is of interest to note that there is now one completely Anglican Conference, at St Cecilia's, Sheffield. So, in this way our local S.V.P. Conference made history.

At both the opening and the Consecration of our church the clergy of other Churches were not present. This was not through any fault of theirs - they were not invited! In those days, before Vatican II, this was one of those things which were simply just not done, we were far apart from each other; though, from the beginning of my ministry here I was always on friendly terms with the neighbouring clergy. I remember especially in this connection the Rev John Shelton, for many years Vicar of Woburn Sands. He and I were great friends; I was often invited to the Vicarage for tea, and I was with him the day before he died. But it would never have occurred to either of us to pray or worship together or to attend each other's Services.

Today, thanks to the new spirit of Ecumenism we are no longer far apart, but very close; on occasions we worship together, and all the time we pray and work together for the establishment of God's Kingdom. This is how it should be, and when our great day of Jubilee comes, all the clergy of other Churches will be with us to join in our thanks to God.

I now come to the end of this brief history of our Parish since that day, 18th July 1926, when Canon Tonks offered the first Mass in the Fir Tree Hotel. In going back over the records of the past years, I have realised more than ever how very much we have been blessed by God, and how very blessed I have been in having, over the many years that I have been here, such good, loyal and devoted people.

If I do not mention by name the living, it is only because they are too numerous; but I do feel that present-day parishioners should be reminded of those 'who have gone before us in the sign of Faith and sleep in the sleep of Peace', those who did so much in so many ways for the Parish:

Rt Rev Mgr T. Leo Parker, Bishop of the Diocese when the church was built.
Most Rev Archbishop Aston Chichester, S.J., co-Consecrator of the church.
Rt Rev Mgr Provost J. Tonks and Very Rev Canon G. Dalby, both of whom said Mass at the Fir Tree Hotel.
Rev Cyril .Banham, first resident Priest, who did so much to lay a good foundation.
Rev Henry Mahy, O.D.C., who helped during Holy Week.
Ella Montagu - benefactress.
Henry M. Lyons - benefactor.
Mother Lyons of the Cenacle Order.
Christine Chichester, whose benefaction made possible the building of our church.
Richard C. Wilton, Reader.
Lewis S. Moorat, who did much work in the old church.
Charles Howard, Secretary of the Altar Society, and one of the 'pioneers'.
Brigadier and Mrs Beresford, Proprietors of the Fir Tree Hotel.
Mr H. O. Evennett, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, who so often led the Chants in Holy Week.
Cyril Ingrouille, Altar Server, S.V.P. President, and a tower of strength in so many ways.
Mrs E. Green and Mrs H. Doran, both of whom helped with bazaars and children's parties.
Edward Hersee, Chairman of the Church Council and S.V.P. member.
Mrs H. Phillips, who helped me to catechize the children.
And many others, who each in their own way, did much to help build up a loving, caring Community.
Finally, I express my gratitude to Miss G. Frith, who so patiently and so painstakingly typed my manuscript.

EDMUND J. GOLSTON
The Presbytery,
Woburn Sands,
Milton Keynes
MK17 8NN
24th November 1975