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A Short
History of the Catholic Church in Llandudno
This posed an urgent problem, for whilst the summer visitors swelled
the congregation for three or four months of the year, at the end of
each summer season the church once again became dependent on its small
resident population. In 1891, the Advertiser reported a Church and
Chapel Census of the town.
Sunday - November 22nd. 1891
Total number of inhabitants in Llandudno 7333
Attendance at English Services 1092 (from 8 places of worship)
Attendance at Welsh speaking Service 879 (from 11 places of worship)
Attendance at Roman Catholic Chapel 79
With great determination, Father Mulligan set about the task of finding
a suitable site for the church. After many setbacks, an excellent site
of approximately half an acre was purchased from Lord Mostyn for the
sum of £1210 - plus other charges that were already attendant on
that piece of land. In 4 years, by much hard work and many fund-raising
efforts on the part of the parishioners who were very well supported by
the townspeople, the sum of £3000 was raised, and with this in
hand a start could be made on a new and handsome church to accommodate
500 worshippers. What extraordinary vision Father Mulligan had - to
build a church out of all proportion to the size of his congregation,
to foresee the future needs of the Catholic Community and visitors to
the town!
The church was to be built from the designs of Mr. Edmund Kirby of
Liverpool, by Mr. J. D. Williams of Knighton, Radnorshire. It was to
cost £5000 and the whole of the main building was to be completed
in ten months! The Weekly News of September 17th 1891 gives a very full
description of the proposed church:
"The design is to be Gothic with Yorkshire stone facings and dressings
of Runcorn stone. The church will include two aisles, nave, baptistery,
two side chapels and sanctuary, with columns of Runcorn stone along
each side. The roof will be of pitch pine, as will be the floor, the
latter being laid with encaustic tiles in the nave and aisles. There
will be a fine traceried window at the East end of the church. It is
also intended to erect a presbytery at the end of the church as soon as
funds allow. The inside measurements of the church are 83ft by 24ft.,
of the sanctuary 20ft by 11 ft 3in., of the side chapels 11 ft 3ins.,
by 10ft., and of the baptistery 12ft by 10ft. The main entrance will be
from Deganwy Street and the church will be crowned with a fine tower,
which however, will at present be left in abeyance."
On the morning of Thursday September 10th 1891 (a beautiful day of
brilliant sunshine from a cloudless blue sky) the Right Reverend Dr.
Knight, Lord Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury, laid
the foundation stone of the new church in the presence of a very large
number of people, both within the enclosure and crowding round the
outside of the palisade.
Shortly after 12:30pm, the Right Reverend Dr. Knight accompanied by a
number of priests, walked up the carpeted path to the raised platform
where the foundation stone was ready. In the course of a most
impressive service he blessed the stone - a square slab of marble with
a cross cut deeply at each corner and tied round with blue ribbon - and
placed it in its foundation, blessing the stone again and sprinkling it
with holy water. Dr. Knight then walked round the foundations of the
church, blessing and sprinkling them also.
In a short address after the laying of the stone, the Bishop referred
to the fact that a Welsh Bishop was present at the council of Sardis in
347AD, where the Creed of Athanasius was proclaimed, and that today,
more than 1500 years later, it was in the spirit of that same faith
that the foundations of the new church were being laid. He gave thanks
that today people were able to gather in peace, which had most
certainly not always been the case, and he hoped that when the church
was built those not of the Catholic Faith would be tolerant and judge
for themselves, rather than listen to the rumours and the falsehoods
spoken about the Catholic Church.
His Lordship appealed to all who
wished to contribute to the funds to do so at the close of the service,
after which he pronounced the Solemn Blessing. Many people passed by
the raised platform, placing their gifts on the foundation stone, and
the considerable sum of £200 was
collected.
It
was in August 1893 that the visit occurred of the Lord Mayor of London
for the opening of the new Catholic Church, the realisation of Father
Mulligan's long cherished dream. Tuesday August 15th. 1893 saw
Llandudno buzzing with excitement at the arrival, by special train at 6
o'clock, of Sir Stuart Knill, Bart, Lord
Mayor of London. He was met at the station by several of the town's
dignitaries, Rev. Father Mulligan and several Catholic laity, and
ensconced in grand style to the Marine Hotel, through the streets of a
town festooned in his honour with flags and bunting bearing
inscriptions of 'Welcome – A Thousand Greetings'. The bells of the Holy
Trinity Church rang a peal of welcome.
Sir Stuart spent two days in the town and on the Wednesday a great
procession was organised which made its way along the Promenade to the
Happy Valley where Sir Stuart was presented with an illuminated
address. Mr. Riviere's orchestra entertained the vast crowds before the
procession re-formed, to return to town via the Marine Drive, round the
Great Orme to Abbey Road where the brass band waited to lead the
procession back down Mostyn Street to the Marine Hotel. The banquet
given that evening was a sumptuous affair and the celebrations ended
with the floodlighting of most of the Hotels, The illumination of the
Great Orme and a magnificent display of fireworks.
The following day, Thursday 17th August 1893, was declared a Public
Holiday and Sir Stuart joined other distinguished guests at the opening
of the new Catholic Church, dedicated to Our Lady Star of the Sea.
The completion of the building had been considerably delayed by the
difficulties encountered in securing the foundations. Because of the
nature of the soil in the area, a thick bed of concrete had to be laid
to ensure the safety of the building. The resulting church was a most
handsome building and a fitting stage for a most impressive ceremony.
The Most Rev. Archbishop Scarisbrick, OSB, was the officiating prelate,
assisted by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Riddell, Bishop of Northampton, and the
Rt. Rev. Dr. Knight, Bishop of Shrewsbury. His Eminence Cardinal
Vaughan, Archbishop of Westminster, was received at the main entrance
of the church by a large group of clergy and was conducted up the nave
to the accompaniment of the Choir of St. Werburgh's (Chester) singing
'Ecce Sacerdos Magnus'. The choir was under the leadership of Mr. Oakes
and was augmented by the Llandudno Pier Orchestra, conducted by Mr.
Arthur Payne. The sermon was preached by His Eminence the Cardinal.
The ceremony was followed by a luncheon at the Marine Hotel, hosted by
Father Mulligan. On the following Sunday, His Eminence Cardinal Vaughan
celebrated Mass both in the new church and in the old chapel in Ty Gwyn
Road, where the Lord Mayor also attended.
When the church was opened it was used only during the summer months.
In the winter the resident congregation continued to worship in the old
Chapel in Ty Gwyn Road. In those early days the church was not complete
- there was no Sacristy, just a lean-to hut which served
the purpose, nor was the Presbytery built until a year or two
later. A harmonium was used instead of an organ.
Born in Columblilli, County Longford, Ireland, in the year 1835, he was
educated in Carlow College and afterwards at All Hallows, Drumcondra, Dublin, where, in 1858, he was ordained Priest.
He came to Shrewsbury Diocese, serving at Bangor for some time before
transferring to Bollington. After seven years ministry there he had to
return to Ireland because of ill health.
In 1869 he came to Llandudno and began his mission here with only
half-a-crown in his pocket! When he had been in Llandudno for some time
he was made a Canon of the Shrewsbury Diocese and when that Diocese was
divided into two he was made a Dean in the Menevia Diocese.
His funeral took place on Tuesday May 14th.1906. The Solemn Requiem was
held at 12 o'clock and the celebrant was the Rt. Rev. Francis Mostyn,
D.D., Bishop of Menevia. The Church was full and a large crowd gathered
outside the Church. Every shop and office in Llandudno was closed and
every cab and horse-drawn vehicle hired. Fourteen carriages and pairs
followed the coffin as the cortege went from the Church up to Saint
Tudno’s Cemetery on the Great Orme. It was a very wet day, but the
dense crowds of mourners seemed impervious to the rain as they lined
the streets of the town to pay their last respects to the Priest they
had loved and who had been such a faithful friend of the town.
The history of Llandudno Catholic
Church is continued in section 3.
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